General News Thread

[staubsauger]

Infront wants to shift the Tour de Suise into early fall. They already requested it prior to this season, but the UCI refused it. They might grant their wish next year, though. In late September it should still be possible to hit the Alps and the Tour de Suisse could potentially strike some major riders that ain't got no more season goals other than the Italian fall classics after the Tour. Just put in the new Tour of Germany into the current slot of the TdS and / or grade up the Route du Sud, then!

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Infront wants to shift the Tour de Suise into early fall. They already requested it prior to this season, but the UCI refused it. They might grant their wish next year, though. In late September it should still be possible to hit the Alps and the Tour de Suisse could potentially strike some major riders that ain't got no more season goals other than the Italian fall classics after the Tour. Just put in the new Tour of Germany into the current slot of the TdS and / or grade up the Route du Sud, then!

I'd definitely welcome this change. It could also serve as a warmup for Il Lombardia that way!

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

Infront wants to shift the Tour de Suise into early fall. They already requested it prior to this season, but the UCI refused it. They might grant their wish next year, though. In late September it should still be possible to hit the Alps and the Tour de Suisse could potentially strike some major riders that ain't got no more season goals other than the Italian fall classics after the Tour. Just put in the new Tour of Germany into the current slot of the TdS and / or grade up the Route du Sud, then!

Yes, it wouldn't be a bad idea. They already wanted to have the the same week as Dauphine, but the UCI refused it.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Paris - Roubaix

The race will feature 28 sectors of pavé this year. This means 257 kms of racing with 55 kms of cobbles. The new beginning of the pavés sections will look like this:

Troisvilles (nº 28, 2,200 m)
Viesly to Quiévy (nº 27 , 1800 m)
Quiévy to Saint-Python (nº 26, 3 700 m)
NEW Briastre (nº 25, 3 000 m) -> last time used in 1987
NEW Briastre to Solesmes (nº 24, 800 m)

This means sectors 26, 25 and 24 with a combined length of 7,5 kilometers are packed on only 11 kilometers.

And there is another change...

After the refreshment in Solesmes the following three sectors 23, 22 and 21 are packed differently. These sectors have a combined length of 5,7 kilometers. They are now packed on 7,5 kilometers of racing.

http://www.letour.fr/PHOTOS/PRX/2017/100/parcours_2017.pdf

Here we have the map with all the details.

The way to Arenberg will look like this more or less. It's quite difficult to map the sectors, when you don't have street view.

 

[May0maniac]

Here's the route of the returning Baby Giro:

Stage 1: Imola-Imola; 132.2km
Stage 2: Castellarano – San Valentino di Castellarano; 145.8km (uphill finish)
Stage 3: Bagnara di Romagna – Forlì; 140.5km
Stage 4: Forlì – Gabicce Mare; 155.5km
Stage 5a: Segnigallia – Osimo; 87.2km (uphill finish)
Stage 5b: Campocavallo – Campocavallo ITT; 14km
Stage 6: Francavilla al Mare – Casalincontrada; 132.2km (hilly stage with a finish on a murito)
Stage 7: Francavilla al Mare – Campo Imperatore; 148.9km (MTF)

The Maglia Nera is also making a comeback.

Source: http://www.bicitv.it/ecco-il-giro-d...tte-tappe-alla-scoperta-dei-giovani-campioni/
Not a bad route, stage 6 should come after stage 7, but it's still decent.
28 teams will be invited, 11 one of those will be foreign teams. No official names, but from what I've hear the BMC Development Team and the Axelbots from Axeon will be there.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Any news on the Catalunya-route?

 

[snccdcno]

Re:

Any news on the Catalunya-route?

Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
Stage 7

 

[the asian]

Is the Baby Giro for Under 23 riders or still for Under 27 ones?

 

[RedheadDane]

U27?... that sounds like a pretty high age-limit for a "youth race"...

 

[the asian]

Re:

U27?... that sounds like a pretty high age-limit for a "youth race"...

It used to be.

Would be good if it's limited to just under 23 riders.

 

[RedheadDane]

I just figured that since it's called the Baby Giro it would be for rather young riders...
Surely you can't ride it if you're on a WT team?

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

Is the Baby Giro for Under 23 riders or still for Under 27 ones?

Yes, the new name is Giro d'Italia Under 23, I forgot to mention that.
The 16 best Italian developmental teams (they have a new points ranking) will be invited and according to La Gazzetta also the teams from Lotto Soudal, BMC, a Russian and a Colombian team, the DD ct team, the Astana City team, Team Wiggins and Axeon + 2 regional squads/interregional squads (different regions could join forces to send a single team).

Also 6 riders per team, the italian teams will only be CT level and they'll only be allowed to bring a single non-Italian rider to the race.
Source: http://www.bicitv.it/giro-ditalia-u23-2017-aggiornati-i-criteri-per-la-partecipazione/

 

[DNP-Old]

Re: Re:

Is the Baby Giro for Under 23 riders or still for Under 27 ones?

Yes, the new name is Giro d'Italia Under 23, I forgot to mention that.
The 16 best Italian developmental teams (they have a new points ranking) will be invited and according to La Gazzetta also the teams from Lotto Soudal, BMC, a Russian and a Colombian team, the DD ct team, the Astana City team, Team Wiggins and Axeon + 2 regional squads/interregional squads (different regions could join forces to send a single team).

Also 6 riders per team, the italian teams will only be CT level and they'll only be allowed to bring a single non-Italian rider to the race.
Source: http://www.bicitv.it/giro-ditalia-u23-2017-aggiornati-i-criteri-per-la-partecipazione/

Curious what the Colombian team will be. When Bananito Betancur won Giro Bio they had a national team with riders from different teams, like in Tour de l'Avenir. But in races like Giro Valle d'Aosta they had a sponsored team (Manzana Postobon).

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re: Re:

Is the Baby Giro for Under 23 riders or still for Under 27 ones?

Yes, the new name is Giro d'Italia Under 23, I forgot to mention that.
The 16 best Italian developmental teams (they have a new points ranking) will be invited and according to La Gazzetta also the teams from Lotto Soudal, BMC, a Russian and a Colombian team, the DD ct team, the Astana City team, Team Wiggins and Axeon + 2 regional squads/interregional squads (different regions could join forces to send a single team).

Also 6 riders per team, the italian teams will only be CT level and they'll only be allowed to bring a single non-Italian rider to the race.
Source: http://www.bicitv.it/giro-ditalia-u23-2017-aggiornati-i-criteri-per-la-partecipazione/

U23 is much better than U27 for a developing riders event. There is no purpose to having guys in their mid 20s there. The 16 Italian teams part is crazy though. There are not 80 to 100 young riders of any one country of a level to be racing the cream of the world's development teams on a mini GT route. Most of those guys are going to get clubbed like baby seals. Also it means the Italians who actually are good enough will be split among too many teams.

 

[the asian]

Re: Re:

Is the Baby Giro for Under 23 riders or still for Under 27 ones?

Yes, the new name is Giro d'Italia Under 23, I forgot to mention that.
The 16 best Italian developmental teams (they have a new points ranking) will be invited and according to La Gazzetta also the teams from Lotto Soudal, BMC, a Russian and a Colombian team, the DD ct team, the Astana City team, Team Wiggins and Axeon + 2 regional squads/interregional squads (different regions could join forces to send a single team).

Also 6 riders per team, the italian teams will only be CT level and they'll only be allowed to bring a single non-Italian rider to the race.
Source: http://www.bicitv.it/giro-ditalia-u23-2017-aggiornati-i-criteri-per-la-partecipazione/

U23 is much better than U27 for a developing riders event. There is no purpose to having guys in their mid 20s there. The 16 Italian teams part is crazy though. There are not 80 to 100 young riders of any one country of a level to be racing the cream of the world's development teams on a mini GT route. Most of those guys are going to get clubbed like baby seals. Also it means the Italians who actually are good enough will be split among too many teams.

Agree with both the age limit & your comments with regards to the number of Italian teams.

Should have invited much more foreign teams.

 

[May0maniac]

Overall we'll have 10 foreign teams, that's not too bad.
I don't mind having a decent amount of Italian teams, but 15 teams are just too many and only 1 foreign rider per Italian team is a stupid rule.
There aren't many Italian teams that could send a competitive squad with 5 Italian U23 riders (Colpack, Palazzago and maybe Zalf have the potential to do that).

 

[Breh]

http://www.letour.fr/criterium-du-dauphine/2017/us/

Dauphiné route for 2017.

 

[RedheadDane]

If you need a lawyer in the peloton, now you know where to look.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRqw_yvjkOU/?taken-by=manuelquinziato&hl=da

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

http://www.letour.fr/criterium-du-dauphine/2017/us/

Dauphiné route for 2017.

Stage 1 is good.

Not a fan of them using a climb (here Mont du Chat) as a teaser for July. This trend must die.

I like how they are using the town of Alpe d'Huez in a different manner. Last stage is short but the parcours is not really incentive for early attacks.

 

[dacooley]

Re: Re:

http://www.letour.fr/criterium-du-dauphine/2017/us/

Dauphiné route for 2017.

Stage 1 is good.

Not a fan of them using a climb (here Mont du Chat) as a teaser for July. This trend must die.

I like how they are using the town of Alpe d'Huez in a different manner. Last stage is short but the parcours is not really incentive for early attacks.

hilly time trial is also worth paying attention to. that will be another great toss up between bertie and sky. hopefully nairo will want to join too.

 

[Valv.Piti]

No fan of the route, but it isn't bad either. Looking forward to see a couple of new climbs.

 

[johnymax]

What about Vuelta al Pais Vasco route. Are the stage profiles out yet? If not I don't know what are they waiting for. The race starts in two weeks.

 

[Netserk]

Contador vs. Kwiatkowski. Not a route for Henao to really contend, I think.

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

Mount Etna erupted today.

Will this cause some complications for the next Giro?

Don't think so. Etna is constantly an active volcano (the most active in Europe) and sometimes it has its moments when it decides to erupt. It happens every once in a a while and usually doesn't last that long. The eruptions usually aren't very intensive (ie. about 1/100 the power of the Iceland volcano in 2010) but the lava can obviously be very deadly. Zomegan had contingency plans ready in 2011 and I'm sure Vegni does now, too.

Not looking good for the mountain right now

 

[Dan2016]

They should knock that mountain down. It's a total nuisance.