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Climbers classic.

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Re: Re:

Red Rick said:
Red Rick said:
Priorities are different, and the possible group of winners would be vastly different. Classics, especially the smaller ones, often have more unpredictable racing and a bigger group of possible winners and more tactics. I think classics shouldn't just be W/Kg's slugfest. Nobody prefers FW to PR.

I do think that there should be one day races with cat 2 and maybe some cat 1 mountains far from the finish. Medium mountains would be best for this. When should they be though? I think the best place would between the Tour and the Vuelta, have a week of two with 4 classics including CSS. June would also be possible.


Meeeeeeehhhh
Well, the Timmelsjoch is still 30 km's away from the finish so we would get action anyway.

Generally I have written about why I think climbers classics would work a few times and I'm not changing my mind. The fact that there is such a hard pass means that nobody except the best climbers of the race have a chance in a controlled race. Therefore way less people will be willing to wait for the finale than in other classics. For example in LBL every kind of favorite still has a chance to win if he is in the peloton 10 km from the finish, in this classic maybe 5 riders still have a chance if there is still a relatively big peloton 10 km before the top of the Timmelsjoch. Therefore everyone else will attack earlier which will make the race extremely hard to control and very chaotic, at least thats my theory. It might be proven wrong next year.
I have to say though that I'm not sure if my idea works for a small one day race, since the favorites aren't as obvious as in the racers where the big guns ride. For example, in a race with this route with Quintana, Nibali and Froome no other team would have a reason to keep the race together before the final climb. However in a 1.1 race there probably aren't 3 obvious favorites but 10-20 relatively good climbers who all have a decent chance to win.
 
May 19, 2010
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The difference is that it is a classic. In a GT a second tier rider is more likely to be conservative as they are less likely to lose big time. They will view losing 10-20 seconds on a stage a win rather then gamble to win/gain time as there is more chance of failing.

However as it is a classic these same riders have nothing to lose. Playing it safe is not going to achieve anything. That is why I think you would see a lot attack early in the hope of making it the finish or going ahead to be caught near top of last hard climb where they only have to hang on alittle longer. In PR this is a very common tactic, instead of staying in peloton and fighting for position you go ahead and wait for the race to catch up.

If you use giggs first route, I think you would find a big break would go at start. The forming of this break will set a fast pace as most teams will want a riders in it. After break gets formed you will see sky control the race, but riding tempo over that many climbs is going to take its toll. if sky keep break within reaching distance with 2-3 climbs to go (or have caught break) but are now reduced in numbers the last 60-70km will be very exciting as all 2nd tier riders will go on attack. Which will force 1st tier to make a choice.
 
richo36 said:
The difference is that it is a classic. In a GT a second tier rider is more likely to be conservative as they are less likely to lose big time. They will view losing 10-20 seconds on a stage a win rather then gamble to win/gain time as there is more chance of failing.

However as it is a classic these same riders have nothing to lose. Playing it safe is not going to achieve anything. That is why I think you would see a lot attack early in the hope of making it the finish or going ahead to be caught near top of last hard climb where they only have to hang on alittle longer. In PR this is a very common tactic, instead of staying in peloton and fighting for position you go ahead and wait for the race to catch up.

If you use giggs first route, I think you would find a big break would go at start. The forming of this break will set a fast pace as most teams will want a riders in it. After break gets formed you will see sky control the race, but riding tempo over that many climbs is going to take its toll. if sky keep break within reaching distance with 2-3 climbs to go (or have caught break) but are now reduced in numbers the last 60-70km will be very exciting as all 2nd tier riders will go on attack. Which will force 1st tier to make a choice.
This
 
When is the race anyway and what's the categorization?

I'm starting to think that if there's a good time for true climbing classics it's from CSS onwards, and possibly overlapping with the Vuelta. Nowadays there's very little interesting to do for climbers after the Tour if you don't ride the Vuelta. There's Lombardia, but I think that's a part of the calendar that could be beefed up a little.
 
Not sure that can be right since in 2016 we had:

Drôme Classic (1.1) 203,8km
GP Le Samyn (1.1) 202,6km
GP Cholet-Pays de la Loire (1.1) 210km
Paris-Camembert (1.1) 205km
Tro Bro Leon (1.1) 203km
Halle-Ingooigem (1.1) 200,5km
GP Pino Cerami (1.1) 211km
Rund um Köln (1.1) 205,8km
GP de Wallonie (1.1) 205,5km
GP d'Isbergues-Pas de Calais (1.1) 204,3km
Tour de Vendée (1.1) 203,8km (could have sworn this was .HC?!)
 
With "Clássica Aldeias do Xisto" (1.2) there is a new classic this weekend in the central region of Portugal. It isn't very long, but the finale of the race seems quite difficult and should be something for a climber.

From Kilometer 118 to 124 the road averages 8%. On the last 1,5k they will face "A Rampa da Cerdeira". A proper sting of 11% on that short distance.

I have a strong feeling that Amaro Antunes will win his next race here.

nf5P4Dh.png
 
Max Rockatansky said:
With "Clássica Aldeias do Xisto" (1.2) there is a new classic this weekend in the central region of Portugal. It isn't very long, but the finale of the race seems quite difficult and should be something for a climber.
That looks like a great course, somewhat comparable to Lombardia.

A one-day race in the high mountains sounds likea great idea to me. I would hold it in August, currently an uninteresting summer month. The best would be to include one or two HC cols, followed by a MTF on a less tough climb. E.g. the finish could be on La Plagne, Les Deux Alpes or the Aspin - or an equivalent in another country. The best climbers would have to take initiative before the final climb. There would be more than ten riders with a winning chance, at least as many as in P-R. Riders who aren't interested don't have to start; even with motivated subtop climbers this would be an interesting race to watch.
 
Re:

Nirvana said:
Rad am Ring was a carnage last year.

I would love to see that race on a longer distance. Maybe seven rounds on the Nordschleife (171k; 3920hm) and then the F1 circuit like they did last year (25,5k; 625hm). Or you make it eight rounds (195k; 4480hm) on the Nordschleife and include the famous Steilstrecke on the last lap. Steilstrecke was used in the first years of the Ring and also in the first ever world road race in 1927 won by legendary Alfredo Binda.

steilstreckenprofil


Rate it 1.HC and invite a stronger peloton. Could be put between Liège and Frankfurt.
 

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