Holy s***!!!! It's everything I could have hoped for, and potentially more!!! More potentially decisive stages than any year since 2009 and possibly even more so 2007.
First up, the prologue is twice as long as the 2009 one, so obviously isn't the same as that as was previously advertised. Still awaiting details on that one. Then the first stage is pan-flat, more so than usual, but since there's almost always a sprint on day 1 (unless Oleg Chuzhda's around) I'll let that slide.
Stage 2 is a lot flatter than it
could have been, passing through many towns and cities that play host to teams around the Douro estuary, and also Rui Costa's hometown of Povóa de Varzim, but I'm prepared to forgive them that for genuinely doing the Santa Luzia cobbled climb to finish. This will not create big gaps or anything, it's not that steep, but it will make a nice puncheur's finish early on.
The Fafe stage isn't too great, but the finishing circuit looks bumpy enough that it won't be a pure sprinter's feast; it'll probably still be a sprint but they'll have to earn it. The Senhora da Graça stage is back to what it should be! Comparatively long (181km) and with a proper category 1 lead-in climb. Surprised they went with Barragem do Alvão given the direction they're coming from, but definitely no complaints for this, given the anæmic stages they've had in 2011 and 2012.
Stage 5's a bit of a disappointment in how long the flat run-in is after the climbs, which will make a sprint highly likely whereas the first half of the stage suggested it would be one for the break. Stage 6 similarly is nothing like as hard as a stage from Sertã to Castelo Branco COULD be, but given the vast improvement in the mountain stages I'll give them a pass since there would always likely be enough flat to make it GC-irrelevant, either a break stage or a sprint anyhow.
Stage 7 is where I am really, genuinely impressed, however. Stages into Gouveia from the east have followed the same format since time immemorial - go over Penhas Douradas then two laps of the cobbled gradual climb into Gouveia. Which is fine, but I've always advocated doing the Penhas da Saúde/Piornos climb (basically the first 2/3 of the Covilhã side of Torre) before Penhas Douradas to increase the selectivity. Here, however, they've topped that, by not doing the Gouveia circuits, and instead just looping to the south of the town and just doing the last kilometre or so of the climb straight off the Penhas Douradas descent, meaning that Penhas Douradas tops just 22km from the finish. And as the upper slopes are pretty gradual this will tempt earlier attacks, perhaps. Colour me very happy with this stage.
But if I was happy about stage 7, I'm absolutely ECSTATIC about stage 8. This isn't the one-climbers to Torre, this is a proper brutal mountain stage. They're approaching from the south and climbing to Lagoa Comprida FROM VIDE. Via Portela do Arão (Alto do Carrazedo). This is the super-tough, arguably hardest side of Torre that I included in my fantasy Torre stage in the Race Design thread, and here we're getting to see it in A Volta!!! They're then descending from Lagoa Comprida via Sabugueiro to Seia (but not by the most direct route, probably going north to the N232 and M522 back to Seia, before climbing the conventional side of Torre. Really happy about this stage, really, really happy. In days past, Carrazedo was a cat.1 and was the only lead-in; this time we have two straight off the back of one another, which probably would be an HC climb if they weren't broken up halfway through.
The stage 9 ITT is 35km, longer than in recent years, but that off-sets the tougher climbing stages than the last 3 years at least; the TT isn't quite the same as (but similar to) the 2011 super-tough ITT - this one's flatter so probably not as direct a route up into the city since Guarda's the highest altitude city in the country. And then finally the Viséu stage which, sadly, looks like being a flat parade.
However, SO happy about the mountain stages of this race. The parcours looks so much better than in recent years. I can see 4 road stages that will have a GC impact, then you have the 2 ITTs, and I can't see all 5 of the others going to sprints, the Fafe circuit and the first stage after the rest day will probably give attackers a chance, and there could be wind on the first road stage too...
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