will10 said:Yours is the opinion I've been waiting for. This looks much more like a race in it's own right again, a step in the right direction for sure?
They could have had a 60km TTT, six sprint stages and the Col de la Gueulaz MTF and I'd give it at least a 5/10. This is definitely a huge, huge step in the right direction for this race. 2011 and 2012 were the nadir, it's on the rise again. I once designed a Dauphiné route with a Lyon prologue similar to the one they have; mine was slightly shorter and had the steeper variation of the climb, going up the Colline de Fourvière via Montée Saint-Barthélemy. Even so, nice TT. Like it. We then have a MTF in the Massif Central, rather than the same parts of the Alps ensuring we get the same climbs as we often see in the Tour as well, which is nice. Stages 5 & 8 are OK, could be better, could be worse. But stage 7 is amazing. The Forclaz-Gueulaz duo is amazing. The only way to improve it is to stick the Col du Lein in in front of it - which would be very, very plausible. If they had Lein-Forclaz-Gueulaz, I would give the route 10/10, égal of the rest of it. The Col de la Gueulaz is perhaps a little behind Col Tze Core, but up there with the very best of my favourite climbs not called Fedaia.