General News Thread

[Squire]

This looks like the 2019 version done wrong, though.

In what way? Climbs not hard enough?

By just looking at the profiles and not knowing the details, I'm loving the route. Tirreno used to be great in the late 00s/early 10s with just muritos and a TT. Gave it a unique character instead of just another MTF-dominant stage race.

 

[Tim Cahill]

The route pays homage to Tirreno-Adriatico's finest ever winner

 

[Netserk]

In what way? Climbs not hard enough?

By just looking at the profiles and not knowing the details, I'm loving the route. Tirreno used to be great in the late 00s/early 10s with just muritos and a TT. Gave it a unique character instead of just another MTF-dominant stage race.

stage 6 is the biggest gc stage and a waiting game for the last 3 km.

 

[tobydawq]

In what way? Climbs not hard enough?

By just looking at the profiles and not knowing the details, I'm loving the route. Tirreno used to be great in the late 00s/early 10s with just muritos and a TT. Gave it a unique character instead of just another MTF-dominant stage race.

Yeah, I'm really happy to not see a MTF in this race, finally.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

In what way? Climbs not hard enough?

By just looking at the profiles and not knowing the details, I'm loving the route. Tirreno used to be great in the late 00s/early 10s with just muritos and a TT. Gave it a unique character instead of just another MTF-dominant stage race.

Climbs not chained together very well. If you look at the greatest Tirreno murito stages - Castelfidardo 2021, Recanati 2019 and so on - you see an onslaught of climbs without much flat between hills every single time. Here, the two main GC days play out on circuits of 22 and 29 kilometres respectively, and both circuits only have the one climb - the one they finish on/immediately after. It could be a great race, don’t get me wrong, but the chances of both GC stages ending up with all the GC favourites starting the final climb in the same group are too high for my liking and that wasn’t the case on the 2019 route.

Fwiw I fully agree that this race, much like Paris-Nice and Itzulia, generally becomes better the less it relies on a big MTF.

 

[Samamba]

Yeah I don't think the light criticism is about it not having a big MTF, more about the hilly stages potentially not being hard enough. Stage 6 is indeed just a waiting game till the steep final climb, stage 5 could maybe give some fireworks tho. it's up and down, some smaller roads too, lot's of steep sections. I hope it will be enough to not make it all about the TT and defensive riding.

And I'm not sure where the stage with the gravel part ends exactly, hard to see on the little map (and I don't think it's correct cause it doesn't seem to be what the short text summary says)

 

[postmanhat]

They did also announce the start/finishes for TdFF2027 Grande Bretagne stages as well 🙃

Stage 1 starts in Leeds, capital of Yorkshire according to them (i can feel people in York already foaming at the mouth about that one). and finishes in Manchester.

Stage 2 will start in Manchester, pop across snake pass and finish in Sheffield

And Stage 3 will be London...Emma Pooleys city apparently, look i know she was born in Wandsworth,but we're stretching the links here, and no doubt its just another godawful RideLondon style crit stage anyway

Promo video

View: https://youtu.be/AqlCCSuhHCc

Should be possible to create some really good routes for the first two stages. Will get to watch racing in the Peak District again!

 

[Netserk]

And I'm not sure where the stage with the gravel part ends exactly, hard to see on the little map (and I don't think it's correct cause it doesn't seem to be what the short text summary says)

yeah, the map is useless

i think it might be like this:

Tirreno stage 2, finale

71.2 km, +1320 m. Bike ride in Pomarance, Toscana

ridewithgps.com

 

[Samamba]

yeah, the map is useless

i think it might be like this:

Tirreno stage 2, finale

71.2 km, +1320 m. Bike ride in Pomarance, Toscana

ridewithgps.com

Not sure if they have extra info (or just guess based on the bad maps like me) but LFR had mapped out the course on their website

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/maps/viewtrack/631435

They did exactly like you did

 

[Netserk]

Not sure if they have extra info (or just guess based on the bad maps like me) but LFR had mapped out the course on their website

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/maps/viewtrack/631435

They did exactly like you did

it was the only way i could make sense of the profile with how the sterrato sections looks.

 

[Samamba]

it was the only way i could make sense of the profile with how the sterrato sections looks.

Yeah I have no doubt aboutt he sterrato section but the text on their website says a steep final km outside the village, so I'm confused about that, but it's probably correct. Maybe I misunderstood the text.

Will be insanely stressful runin towards the sterrato section

 

[Netserk]

Yeah I have no doubt aboutt he sterrato section but the text on their website says a steep final km outside the village, so I'm confused about that, but it's probably correct. Maybe I misunderstood the text.

Will be insanely stressful runin towards the sterrato section

i hope del toro will be as well-positioned as on cipressa

 

[awavey]

Should be possible to create some really good routes for the first two stages. Will get to watch racing in the Peak District again!

the rumour for stage 2 at least is winnats pass, snake pass, the strines, jawbone & possibly finish with Cote de Jenkin Road. (and yes obviously half of those were used in 2014)

 

[RedheadDane]

the rumour for stage 2 at least is winnats pass, snake pass, the strines, jawbone & possibly finish with Cote de Jenkin Road. (and yes obviously half of those were used in 2014)

What kind of place names are those?

 

[rallybanana]

What kind of place names are those?

By Yorkshire standards they're pretty tame.

 

[awavey]

By Yorkshire standards they're pretty tame.

it always amused me they simply Franglais'd them, like we'll call it a Cote as its a climb, but still call it a road at the same time.

 

[RedheadDane]

it always amused me they simply Franglais'd them, like we'll call it a Cote as its a climb, but still call it a road at the same time.

"snake pass" and "jawbone" aren't Franglais'd...

 

[search]

The route for the UAE Tour was presented today, and it looks relatively good. They kept the uphill sprint and ITT at the start, but for day three, replaced Jebel Jais with a new, much steeper climb:

Stage #4 right after is new as well (although the finish was used before - won by Kittel and Cav), and at least feautures some elevation:

The final three days will then be two flat sprints and Jebel Hafeet.

Edit: The women will get three totally flat stages and Jebel Hafeet.

 

[Netserk]

im sceptical of such a steep mtf making the race better

hafeet is steep enough, but still somewhat tactical

 

[search]

Maybe not better, but I think a bit of a change doesn't hurt

Jebel Jais had its moments, like Rubio beating the headwind, or VPP & O'Connor applying the Decathlon cheat code, but overall, it's not a very attractive climb.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

The pacing of the race is still just bad, with all three flat stages in the final four days. Would be better if one of the sprints was stage 3 and Jebel Mobrah was stage 4, or if they put the TT in between both MTFs.

 

[Samamba]

Where is the new sprint stage situated? High or low chance for echelons?

 

[Berniece]

Where is the new sprint stage situated? High or low chance for echelons?

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Where is the new sprint stage situated? High or low chance for echelons?

Low. Most of the stage is in the valleys of the mountains in between the new MTF and the old Hatta Dam finish.

 

[tobydawq]

The route for the UAE Tour was presented today, and it looks relatively good. They kept the uphill sprint and ITT at the start, but for day three, replaced Jebel Jais with a new, much steeper climb:

Stage #4 right after is new as well (although the finish was used before - won by Kittel and Cav), and at least feautures some elevation:

The final three days will then be two flat sprints and Jebel Hafeet.

Edit: The women will get three totally flat stages and Jebel Hafeet.

Bring back Hatta Dam!