Olympic Road Race

[AussieGoddess]

How will the Olympic Road Race change things for next years tour?

It will be a sprinters course - so will the main contenders still do the Tour? will they do part of the tour and pull out like in 2008?

Even with a course designed just for him - can Cav win without his train?

Will we see Cav as world champ and olympic champ by this time next year?

 

[just some guy]

Heres the route

http://www.london2012.com/documents/venue-documents/cycling-road-race-route.pdf

No Profile

 

[nesocip]

There is a thread about this already.

Disgraceful course for a semi classic, let alone a race that takes place once every 4 years.

 

[AussieGoddess]

no profile - but what I have read says its very flat ... with a small climb pretty early in the race and thats it. Its a sprinters course (as you would expect)

In addition, from what I can work out, the TdF is from June 30 (prologue) to 23 July

The Olympic Road Race is on July 28, and the Time Trial on 1 August ... giving not much time at all.



ETA : didnt find the other thread when I posted this ... its here

 

[the asian]

no profile - but what I have read says its very flat ... with a small climb pretty early in the race and thats it. Its a sprinters course (as you would expect)

In addition, from what I can work out, the TdF is from June 30 (prologue) to 23 July

The Olympic Road Race is on July 28, and the Time Trial on 1 August ... giving not much time at all.

The olympics starts on the 27th doesnt' it? They are having the road race pretty early. Since it's sprinters course the tour GC contenders would not probably participate.

 

[the asian]

There is a thread about this already.

Disgraceful course for a semi classic, let alone a race that takes place once every 4 years.

Yr. The course should be more selective. This is simply handing victory to Cavendish on a plate. Beijing 2008 was a great course.

 

[Hawkwood]

There is a thread about this already.

Disgraceful course for a semi classic, let alone a race that takes place once every 4 years.

Other than siting the course in a completely different part of the country I'm not sure what they could have done. The south-east is the most built up and congested part of the UK. Once you dial in a London start and finish, try to avoid major transport routes, and follow the advice of the Police you're probably left with pretty much the route they've chosen. However it could be that if the pros decide to ride hard on the nine Box Hill ascents there will be a selection.

 

[L'arriviste]

no profile - but what I have read says its very flat ... with a small climb pretty early in the race and thats it.

Here's the profile:

Seriously though, there could be a bit of a bump going back up into Richmond, a place I used to know quite well, but other than that your source was probably quite correct.

I agree with Hawkwood above inasmuch as they could have tried something else - sounds like a local government stitch-up to me. They could have gone west into Buckinghamshire and tried out some of the leg snapping hills around Great Missenden and the Chalfonts but of course there would have been egregious moans about narrow roads and blocking access to the country estates of all those rockstars and politicians.

 

[goggalor]

Can't wait to see the Dorking cockerel.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

There is a thread about this already.

Disgraceful course for a semi classic, let alone a race that takes place once every 4 years.

It's not a semi classic. It's the Olympic road race. A separate entity to anything else. And, quite rightly, entirely up to the host nation as to how they want to stage it. And besides, what do you want them to do, erect a Cat 1 climb in the centre of London?

As for being not selective enough, it will be plenty selective - there'll be one gold medal winner, one silver medal winner and one bronze medal winner.

 

[nesocip]

It's not a semi classic. It's the Olympic road race. A separate entity to anything else. And, quite rightly, entirely up to the host nation as to how they want to stage it. And besides, what do you want them to do, erect a Cat 1 climb in the centre of London?

As for being not selective enough, it will be plenty selective - there'll be one gold medal winner, one silver medal winner and one bronze medal winner.

I never said its a semi-classic, i just said the route is not selective enough EVEN for a semi classic.

Following your logic, if Cavendish was French, we would have a TdF with 21 pancake flat sprint stages and time bonuses for 1st place only.

 

[Reverend_T_Preedy]

Unfortunately, London is pretty boring geographically speaking so it is always going to be a sprinters race unless, as others point out, they finished it outside of London. However, I understand the route was changed at the request of the UCI to take in more of London's attractions (hence the finish on the Mall, Richmod park etc).

Only thing they could have done is sent the race up Swains Lane in Highgate and around that way on. However, the climbs there are short, with lots of residential properties, high amounts of traffic and, therefore, a logistical nightmare.

 

[Mambo95]

I never said its a semi-classic, i just said the route is not selective enough EVEN for a semi classic.

In the Olympics nobody has a team bigger than five riders and the national coaches have had two years to think about the race. If they can't think of a strategy to make things selective, then they shouldn't be in their job.

The problem will come if teams without a top rank sprinter lack ambition and decide that they're best chance of a medal is by putting the likes of Feillu or Rojas on Cavendish's wheel hoping to get a bronze.

The best one day race last year was the Commonwealth Games which was on the flatest course anyone has ever seen. It was selective because the Aussies made it that way.

There also seems to be an idea with some that all Worlds/Olympics courses have to be suitable for climbers - LBL clones if you will - an idea seemingly bourne out of a false assumption that climbers are more worthy cyclists.

Beijing was a climber's course. Rio will almost certainly be a climber's course. London provides something different.

 

[Andy99]

Test event is taking place in a couple of weeks.

Cav, Boonen, Goss, Pozzatto amongst the starters..

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news...line-up-for-olympic-road-race-test-event.html

London-Surrey Cycle Classic (August 14 2011)
National teams
Australia
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Croatia
France
Germany
Great Britain
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Luxembourg
Morocco
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Russia
Slovenia
United States of America
Venezuela

British trade teams/non-national squads
Cyclepremier-Mataltek
Motorpoint
Endura
England
Rapha-Condor-Sharp
Sigma Sport
Team Raleigh
Twenty3c-Orbea

 

[El Pistolero]

It's not a semi classic. It's the Olympic road race. A separate entity to anything else. And, quite rightly, entirely up to the host nation as to how they want to stage it. And besides, what do you want them to do, erect a Cat 1 climb in the centre of London?

As for being not selective enough, it will be plenty selective - there'll be one gold medal winner, one silver medal winner and one bronze medal winner.

Don't kid your self, it will not be selective.

 

[AussieGoddess]

Will Cav get a full team? even if GB arent in the top 10?

At the moment they would not .... but being the host country, do they get an automatic pass on that?

 

[spalco]

Even with a course designed just for him - can Cav win without his train?

Wiggins, Swift, Millar, Thomas - if the Brits put their focus on it, Cavendish can have a plenty strong train.

eta: oh, strike Millar of course, my bad, but still, my point stands.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

I never said its a semi-classic, i just said the route is not selective enough EVEN for a semi classic.

Following your logic, if Cavendish was French, we would have a TdF with 21 pancake flat sprint stages and time bonuses for 1st place only.

What route do you suggest, then?

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Don't kid your self, it will not be selective.

As I said, plenty selective, as there'll only be 3 medallists, and it can probably only be won be a small handful of the world's top sprinters, again, plenty selective.

 

[Winterfold]

There are plenty of other steeper hills on decent enough roads nearby that they could have used - but let's face it the Olympics are being held in the UK and we want Cav to win.

9 laps of that course will be selective, but the race should come back together to some extent by the time they get back to London.

So **** off!

 

[King Of The Wolds]

by the time they get back to London.

Exactly. The race has to finish in London, realistically, therefore it's going to end up as a bunch sprint. Cav or no Cav, that would have been the case.

 

[El Pistolero]

As I said, plenty selective, as there'll only be 3 medallists, and it can probably only be won be a small handful of the world's top sprinters, again, plenty selective.

Ah so you think a totally flat Tour would be selective as well then

It's not selective and the majority of the GC contenders and one day race stars won't give a **** about this race.

It's not selective just because there can be only one winner. What kind of argument is that lol. Cycling isn't swimming you know.

As for not being able to do anything just because it finishes in London? Why not make the race 400km long then? We won't see Frodo anymore then.

 

[Lanark]

Ah so you think a totally flat Tour would be selective as well then

It's not selective and the majority of the GC contenders and one day race stars won't give a **** about this race.

It's not selective just because there can be only one winner. What kind of argument is that lol. Cycling isn't swimming you know.

As for not being able to do anything just because it finishes in London? Why not make the race 400km long then? We won't see Frodo anymore then.

He can handle 300km, but not 400?

Anyway, a shame about the route, but there's not much they can do about it. I still have nightmares of Zolder though, probably the worst race I've ever seen (and for some reason I decided to watch the entire broadcast, which was probably over 4 hours long, although it felt a lot longer).

 

[greenedge]

I wonder if Cancellara would like to power away from the pack somewhere. Maybe Gilbert might as well. But it will come down to Cav, Greipel, Farrar and Goss. Maybe Ventoso and EBH as well.

 

[El Pistolero]

He can handle 300km, but not 400?

Anyway, a shame about the route, but there's not much they can do about it. I still have nightmares of Zolder though, probably the worst race I've ever seen (and for some reason I decided to watch the entire broadcast, which was probably over 4 hours long, although it felt a lot longer).

Zolder was even worse than London as Belgium actually has a lot of possibilities to make a great race. But this will be as bad and boring. Unless something like in San Remo 2011 happens.

And I don't think Cav can handle 400km without a strong team, no. And otherwise make ik 500km.