- Mar 24, 2011
- 10,524
- 1,923
- 25,680
Don't forget, today is stage 18 day.
JUDGE 1:
Gigs_98 T: 3 C: 2
Pretty nice stage, but I do think the climbs aren't hard many attacks to stick with all the descent/flat that follows
Brullnux T: 2 C: 3
Not really much here, last 10/15 km should be interesting
Rghysens T: 4 C: 4
Better than any ASO stage in that region I've ever seen.
mb2612 T: 4 C: 5
Really, really interesting stage. That climb is #murderkilldeath, I just think that there's not enough terrain before it to establish a breakaway that leaders can ride towards. Right now I think it's too likely attacking GC riders will be on their own.
JUDGE 2:
Gigs_98 T: 5 C: 2
A great mountain stage using some classics and some less known, along with a tricky run-in that will guarantee at least some action from the remains of the bunch if they've been conservative to that point. Culturally, it's ok but nothing more.
Brullnux T: 3 C: 3
We should get some action late on, the length is the saving grace for you here. Likewise culturally a very significant start town but somewhat obscure finish town so a middling score.
Rghysens T: 4 C: 4
I'm not actually the biggest fan of the Col de la Madone like this as it will inevitably reduce action on the earlier climbs which back into one another better. Good cultural points though.
mb2612 T: 2 C: 4
Off the back of a monster stage, the tough early climb will only mean that the peloton will roll in half an hour behind the break. Very good cultural points, however.
JUDGE 3:
Gigs_98 T: 5 C: 2
I love the design. Beautiful use of familiar climbs.
Brullnux T: 3 C: 3
Solid transitional stage
Rghysens T: 4 C: 5
Another cracker. Beautiful use of the hills in the area. A fascinating part of the world. I love how this stage showcases it.
mb2612 T: 3 C: 4
I like the early climb. Great start and finishing towns.
JUDGE 4:
Gigs_98 T: 4 C: 3
Very good stage, although the easy side of Bales isn't that attractive to me.
Brullnux T: 3 C: 3
290 km and a little bump towards the end... just like MSR. And like MSR, I'm not particularly fond of it.
Rghysens T: 4 C: 4
Nice stage, although everything will probably come down to the Madone.
mb2612 T: 3 C: 5
Very nice climb, but this stage would probably go to a breakaway. As often, you excel in culture points.
CLASSIFICATION FOR STAGE 17
Rghysens: 33
mb2612: 30
Gigs_98: 26
Brullnux: 23
CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 17:
rghysens: 677
mb2612: 629
Gigs_98: 593
Brullnux: 585
JUDGE 1:
Gigs_98 T: 3 C: 2
Pretty nice stage, but I do think the climbs aren't hard many attacks to stick with all the descent/flat that follows
Brullnux T: 2 C: 3
Not really much here, last 10/15 km should be interesting
Rghysens T: 4 C: 4
Better than any ASO stage in that region I've ever seen.
mb2612 T: 4 C: 5
Really, really interesting stage. That climb is #murderkilldeath, I just think that there's not enough terrain before it to establish a breakaway that leaders can ride towards. Right now I think it's too likely attacking GC riders will be on their own.
JUDGE 2:
Gigs_98 T: 5 C: 2
A great mountain stage using some classics and some less known, along with a tricky run-in that will guarantee at least some action from the remains of the bunch if they've been conservative to that point. Culturally, it's ok but nothing more.
Brullnux T: 3 C: 3
We should get some action late on, the length is the saving grace for you here. Likewise culturally a very significant start town but somewhat obscure finish town so a middling score.
Rghysens T: 4 C: 4
I'm not actually the biggest fan of the Col de la Madone like this as it will inevitably reduce action on the earlier climbs which back into one another better. Good cultural points though.
mb2612 T: 2 C: 4
Off the back of a monster stage, the tough early climb will only mean that the peloton will roll in half an hour behind the break. Very good cultural points, however.
JUDGE 3:
Gigs_98 T: 5 C: 2
I love the design. Beautiful use of familiar climbs.
Brullnux T: 3 C: 3
Solid transitional stage
Rghysens T: 4 C: 5
Another cracker. Beautiful use of the hills in the area. A fascinating part of the world. I love how this stage showcases it.
mb2612 T: 3 C: 4
I like the early climb. Great start and finishing towns.
JUDGE 4:
Gigs_98 T: 4 C: 3
Very good stage, although the easy side of Bales isn't that attractive to me.
Brullnux T: 3 C: 3
290 km and a little bump towards the end... just like MSR. And like MSR, I'm not particularly fond of it.
Rghysens T: 4 C: 4
Nice stage, although everything will probably come down to the Madone.
mb2612 T: 3 C: 5
Very nice climb, but this stage would probably go to a breakaway. As often, you excel in culture points.
CLASSIFICATION FOR STAGE 17
Rghysens: 33
mb2612: 30
Gigs_98: 26
Brullnux: 23
CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 17:
rghysens: 677
mb2612: 629
Gigs_98: 593
Brullnux: 585
- Feb 18, 2015
- 13,655
- 9,430
- 28,180
ULTRA STAGE
CONSTANTINOPOLIS - ROMA stage 18: Carcasso - Aurasio (429 km)
The 3rd of 5 weeks is close to its conclusion and a very hard week will also end very hard. This 3rd ultra stage comes relatively early and although I understand the approach to put them later in the race to make them more crucial I simply wanted to put them early in my route. I thought that otherwise there could be the danger that the whole race only focusses on 3 stages and nothing really happens before them. With the ultra stages and therefore probably big time gaps early in the race, the riders are later forced to attack if they want to make up time again.
Anyway, as in the first two ultra stages this isn't just a classical mountain stage. This day will, although there is one brutal climb, rather be about crosswinds.
The start of the stage is in Carcasso (Carcassonne). This might surprise some since Carcassonne is actually known as a medieval fortress, but the fortress was actually already built in the Roman times. It was later extended, but many parts of the Roman buildings still remain. For example on this picture you can see a few of the Roman towers:
And the whole town:
After 55 kilometers the riders pass the first famous Roman town, Narbo Martius (Narbonne). This city had a very special meaning for the whole empire, since it was the first Roman colony outside of Italy. Therefore unsurprisingly the first Roman road in France, the Via Domitia also passed this city and there are still some ruins of the street visible in Narbonne.
Besides that there are many other Roman buildings in the city:
The route follows the Via Domitia for a while, until the riders reach Baeterrae (Béziers), another very old town, founded somewhere between 750 and 650 BC. It's most famous Roman landmark are the ruins of an amphitheater:
We then leave the Via Domitia, and the route goes into the direction of the city Agatha (Adge) where the route passes the Hérault river. In the Roman times the route would have crossed the river a few kilometers norther but the bridge in Cessero is unfortunately destroyed.
For over 150 km the riders ride directly along the coast so they will be extremely affected by the mistral, the wind which has often caused carnage in the tour de france, like this year when Froome and Sagan outfoxed both the gc riders and the sprinters with a late crosswind attack. And even after the riders leave the coast the street stays exposed and goes in the perfect direction for crosswind. The riders then arrive in Arelate (Arles) a city which became the capital of Gaul in 395 AD and 7 years later the Praefectura Galliarum, the supreme authority of the Western Roman Empire relocated in Arelate. Obviously this city was very important for the Roman history and looking at the city today isn't very surprising since the cityscape is dominated by a beautiful Roman amphitheater:
There are many more Roman landmarks in this town, like a theater and an aqueduct, but the amphitheater is probably the most famous one.
Generally there are probably hardly any areas with more Roman monuments than here. Only 25 kilometers later the riders arrive in Nemausus (Nimes), where another Roman amphitheater and a very well preserved Roman temple:
And again only a few kilometers after Nimes the riders ride past the Pont du Gard, probably one of the most famous Roman bridges. I also thought about letting the riders ride over the bridge but decided that that would probably be too dangerous.
After a short section which went northwards the route now goes eastwards again which means that it could very well be affected by crosswinds again.
Next up the riders ride through Avennio (Avignon), a city which was actually also quite big in the Roman times but unfortunately most Roman buildings are destroyed. A few kilometers later however the riders pass Carpentorate (Caprentras), where a very famous Roman arch is located.
Then shortly after the riders have passed Carpentorate they tackle the first and only serious climb of the day, but that one is very serious. It's the mythical Mont Ventoux, the giant of the provence. This mountain doesn't only have a rich cycling history it actually was also very important for the folks who lived close to it, since it was a holy mountain for old cultures. Nowadays its only a holy mountain for sport fans, especially cyclists and runners. And the profile of the climb shows why it is so famous:
This climb is simply brutal and it's actually a shame it only ever used as a mtf nowadays although this is actually a pass. And yes I know this is the only climb of the day, but it comes after over 350 kilometers possibly after crosswind and therefore already big splits before the climb even starts. Moreover there is a restday coming, so the riders don't have anything to hold back, so there will probably be a big selection although there is still some racing left. First of all a very tricky high speed descent into the town Maulcene. Btw, we are now very close to the city Vasio (Vaison-la-Romaine), where rghysens finished his Ventoux stage. However I used a slightly different finish. First of all there is another short climb, where the golden mile is located. (I know I use this "put the golden mile on a short ascent after the hardest climb to encourage long range attacks" trick very often, but I just think it would work very well) Then after some more descending there are a few flat kilometers left before the stage finishes in Arausio (Orange).
The ancient city is mainly known for the battle of Arausio where the Romans were defeated by the Cimbri and the Teutoni. Besides that there are also many beautiful Roman landmarks in this city, like a theater and one of the most famous triumphal arches of the empire.
This is a very similar stage to my first ultra stage. A high chance of crosswinds followed by hard climbs or in this case one very hard climb. The hard race early on might let the race explode on the very hard last part of the race if the race doesn't already explode on the flat due to crosswinds. Anyway this should be a very interesting stage with possibly huge time gaps.
CONSTANTINOPOLIS - ROMA stage 18: Carcasso - Aurasio (429 km)
The 3rd of 5 weeks is close to its conclusion and a very hard week will also end very hard. This 3rd ultra stage comes relatively early and although I understand the approach to put them later in the race to make them more crucial I simply wanted to put them early in my route. I thought that otherwise there could be the danger that the whole race only focusses on 3 stages and nothing really happens before them. With the ultra stages and therefore probably big time gaps early in the race, the riders are later forced to attack if they want to make up time again.
Anyway, as in the first two ultra stages this isn't just a classical mountain stage. This day will, although there is one brutal climb, rather be about crosswinds.
The start of the stage is in Carcasso (Carcassonne). This might surprise some since Carcassonne is actually known as a medieval fortress, but the fortress was actually already built in the Roman times. It was later extended, but many parts of the Roman buildings still remain. For example on this picture you can see a few of the Roman towers:
And the whole town:
After 55 kilometers the riders pass the first famous Roman town, Narbo Martius (Narbonne). This city had a very special meaning for the whole empire, since it was the first Roman colony outside of Italy. Therefore unsurprisingly the first Roman road in France, the Via Domitia also passed this city and there are still some ruins of the street visible in Narbonne.
Besides that there are many other Roman buildings in the city:
The route follows the Via Domitia for a while, until the riders reach Baeterrae (Béziers), another very old town, founded somewhere between 750 and 650 BC. It's most famous Roman landmark are the ruins of an amphitheater:
We then leave the Via Domitia, and the route goes into the direction of the city Agatha (Adge) where the route passes the Hérault river. In the Roman times the route would have crossed the river a few kilometers norther but the bridge in Cessero is unfortunately destroyed.
For over 150 km the riders ride directly along the coast so they will be extremely affected by the mistral, the wind which has often caused carnage in the tour de france, like this year when Froome and Sagan outfoxed both the gc riders and the sprinters with a late crosswind attack. And even after the riders leave the coast the street stays exposed and goes in the perfect direction for crosswind. The riders then arrive in Arelate (Arles) a city which became the capital of Gaul in 395 AD and 7 years later the Praefectura Galliarum, the supreme authority of the Western Roman Empire relocated in Arelate. Obviously this city was very important for the Roman history and looking at the city today isn't very surprising since the cityscape is dominated by a beautiful Roman amphitheater:
There are many more Roman landmarks in this town, like a theater and an aqueduct, but the amphitheater is probably the most famous one.
Generally there are probably hardly any areas with more Roman monuments than here. Only 25 kilometers later the riders arrive in Nemausus (Nimes), where another Roman amphitheater and a very well preserved Roman temple:
And again only a few kilometers after Nimes the riders ride past the Pont du Gard, probably one of the most famous Roman bridges. I also thought about letting the riders ride over the bridge but decided that that would probably be too dangerous.
After a short section which went northwards the route now goes eastwards again which means that it could very well be affected by crosswinds again.
Next up the riders ride through Avennio (Avignon), a city which was actually also quite big in the Roman times but unfortunately most Roman buildings are destroyed. A few kilometers later however the riders pass Carpentorate (Caprentras), where a very famous Roman arch is located.
Then shortly after the riders have passed Carpentorate they tackle the first and only serious climb of the day, but that one is very serious. It's the mythical Mont Ventoux, the giant of the provence. This mountain doesn't only have a rich cycling history it actually was also very important for the folks who lived close to it, since it was a holy mountain for old cultures. Nowadays its only a holy mountain for sport fans, especially cyclists and runners. And the profile of the climb shows why it is so famous:
This climb is simply brutal and it's actually a shame it only ever used as a mtf nowadays although this is actually a pass. And yes I know this is the only climb of the day, but it comes after over 350 kilometers possibly after crosswind and therefore already big splits before the climb even starts. Moreover there is a restday coming, so the riders don't have anything to hold back, so there will probably be a big selection although there is still some racing left. First of all a very tricky high speed descent into the town Maulcene. Btw, we are now very close to the city Vasio (Vaison-la-Romaine), where rghysens finished his Ventoux stage. However I used a slightly different finish. First of all there is another short climb, where the golden mile is located. (I know I use this "put the golden mile on a short ascent after the hardest climb to encourage long range attacks" trick very often, but I just think it would work very well) Then after some more descending there are a few flat kilometers left before the stage finishes in Arausio (Orange).
The ancient city is mainly known for the battle of Arausio where the Romans were defeated by the Cimbri and the Teutoni. Besides that there are also many beautiful Roman landmarks in this city, like a theater and one of the most famous triumphal arches of the empire.
This is a very similar stage to my first ultra stage. A high chance of crosswinds followed by hard climbs or in this case one very hard climb. The hard race early on might let the race explode on the very hard last part of the race if the race doesn't already explode on the flat due to crosswinds. Anyway this should be a very interesting stage with possibly huge time gaps.
Via Roma Stage 18 Zela (Zila) --> Tavium (Büyük Nefes) 175km
Veni Vidi Vici - Julius Caesar
So the first stage after the penultimate rest day, and we start in the Roman town of Zela. This town is most famous for the battle here between Julius Caesar, and the King of Pontus, who had defeated Caesars general the year before, before pillaging his way through the Roman controlled area, under the misapprehension that the Roman civil war would mean Caesar was too busy to deal with him. As Caesar arrived King Pharnaces plead for peace, but Caesar refused, and routed him in battle 5 days after arriving in the territory. In his missive back to Rome Caesar wrote the immortal line "veni vidi vici", a quote he was so proud of that it was displayed prominently at his later Triumph.
The stage heads west out of Zela, and immediately starts climbing, with a category 2 obstacle starting after just 4km, and peaking 6.8 kilometres later, averaging 5.4%. This climb should give a strong break the chance to form, and it is likely that they will allowed to race to the finish line, so this climb should see plenty of aggressive racing.
Over the top of the climb, and the race settles down for the next 120km, heading pretty much due west. The road climbs gradually, from 700 to 1,100 metres, but nothing at a gradient hard enough to hurt the riders, and at this point in the stage, they are likely to have settled down to a cruise. After 130km the road has been descending down to to 850 metres, before it turns 90 degrees and head South, rising to 1,000 metres by kilometre 142, where the days sprint point occurs in the town of Hattusa. Hattusa is the former capital of the Hittite empire, almost 2000 years before Roman times, and the world earliest peace treaty was found in Hattusa. It had been abandoned long previously, however it was resettled by the Phrygians, who were a client kingdom during the Roman empire.
After Hattusa the final 30km get the race going, with the likelihood of good racing from both the break and the chance of action from the peloton. 2.2km at 4.4% is followed immediately by 1.2km at 7.6%, given a third category to get the racing going. The next Cat 2 climb has a sharp start, before settling into a6.2% average gradient for 4 kilometres, before descending another 2km. There are then 4km of rolling terrain, before a 4% gradient for the next 2.5km takes the race into the last 10 kilometres.
The riders descend to 6km to go marker before back to back climbs, both 600 metres in length, at gradients of 8.2% and 9.8% respectively. This final climb peaks with 3km to go, and is followed by a straight 7% descent and then a false flat rise for the final km to the line, meaning that any solo rider has an excellent chance of holding off a group to the finish in Tavium.
Tavium was a Galatian town, and a important caravan stopping point, and as such had been settled for centuries. The Galatians were a Galic tribe, who for some reason moved from southern France to settle the Turkish highlands, and spoke a language which, even in the 4th century AD, was considered very similar to that spoken in Southern Germany. Not much is known about Tavium today, as its ruins were scavenged to build later towns, however it is known that there was metal working, as coins were minted on site.
Veni Vidi Vici - Julius Caesar
So the first stage after the penultimate rest day, and we start in the Roman town of Zela. This town is most famous for the battle here between Julius Caesar, and the King of Pontus, who had defeated Caesars general the year before, before pillaging his way through the Roman controlled area, under the misapprehension that the Roman civil war would mean Caesar was too busy to deal with him. As Caesar arrived King Pharnaces plead for peace, but Caesar refused, and routed him in battle 5 days after arriving in the territory. In his missive back to Rome Caesar wrote the immortal line "veni vidi vici", a quote he was so proud of that it was displayed prominently at his later Triumph.
The stage heads west out of Zela, and immediately starts climbing, with a category 2 obstacle starting after just 4km, and peaking 6.8 kilometres later, averaging 5.4%. This climb should give a strong break the chance to form, and it is likely that they will allowed to race to the finish line, so this climb should see plenty of aggressive racing.
Over the top of the climb, and the race settles down for the next 120km, heading pretty much due west. The road climbs gradually, from 700 to 1,100 metres, but nothing at a gradient hard enough to hurt the riders, and at this point in the stage, they are likely to have settled down to a cruise. After 130km the road has been descending down to to 850 metres, before it turns 90 degrees and head South, rising to 1,000 metres by kilometre 142, where the days sprint point occurs in the town of Hattusa. Hattusa is the former capital of the Hittite empire, almost 2000 years before Roman times, and the world earliest peace treaty was found in Hattusa. It had been abandoned long previously, however it was resettled by the Phrygians, who were a client kingdom during the Roman empire.
After Hattusa the final 30km get the race going, with the likelihood of good racing from both the break and the chance of action from the peloton. 2.2km at 4.4% is followed immediately by 1.2km at 7.6%, given a third category to get the racing going. The next Cat 2 climb has a sharp start, before settling into a6.2% average gradient for 4 kilometres, before descending another 2km. There are then 4km of rolling terrain, before a 4% gradient for the next 2.5km takes the race into the last 10 kilometres.
The riders descend to 6km to go marker before back to back climbs, both 600 metres in length, at gradients of 8.2% and 9.8% respectively. This final climb peaks with 3km to go, and is followed by a straight 7% descent and then a false flat rise for the final km to the line, meaning that any solo rider has an excellent chance of holding off a group to the finish in Tavium.
Tavium was a Galatian town, and a important caravan stopping point, and as such had been settled for centuries. The Galatians were a Galic tribe, who for some reason moved from southern France to settle the Turkish highlands, and spoke a language which, even in the 4th century AD, was considered very similar to that spoken in Southern Germany. Not much is known about Tavium today, as its ruins were scavenged to build later towns, however it is known that there was metal working, as coins were minted on site.
Re:
Not great. The Dell person is coming soon, either today or tomorrow hopefully. It's lost its boot, so I have no idea how to fix that whatsoever. Up to you if you want more stages from the other or keep it going and the I can just post two or three together.Eshnar said:Brullnux, how is your pc doing?
Re:
It's really broken. Dell don't fix it so it has to be Microsoft, but it's taking a while to contact them. The best I can do is Friday tbh. I might have to drop out. I don't want to because I have quite a nice stage coming up soon, but it may have to happen.Eshnar said:**Crickets**
Brullnux...?
I think I will have to.
It's just not working. Microsoft are being a pain and the computer is just dead. Everything I'm doing is not on my own computer, or on my phone. It's been pretty hard actually these last two weeks.
I'm pretty disappointed, but with me in the competition this isn't finishing before October.
It's just not working. Microsoft are being a pain and the computer is just dead. Everything I'm doing is not on my own computer, or on my phone. It's been pretty hard actually these last two weeks.
I'm pretty disappointed, but with me in the competition this isn't finishing before October.
- Mar 24, 2011
- 10,524
- 1,923
- 25,680
:/
Alright the way I see it we have two options:
- Brullnux drops out and we rush to the finish.
- We wait for him, and that would mean waiting for when I'll be back on again (mid-November), and continue the competition then.
I would ask for the other participants, as well as the judges, to tell us their opinion on the matter.
Alright the way I see it we have two options:
- Brullnux drops out and we rush to the finish.
- We wait for him, and that would mean waiting for when I'll be back on again (mid-November), and continue the competition then.
I would ask for the other participants, as well as the judges, to tell us their opinion on the matter.
- Feb 18, 2015
- 13,655
- 9,430
- 28,180
Re:
Is there maybe also a possibility to continue with the challenge while you are away in November? Ofc I don't know what you will do but maybe it would at least be possible to look at this thread every 2nd evening and judge the routes. Maybe another judge can manage the challenge and post the points during that time.
I'd rather wait for Brullnux. Ofc such a long pause isn't great but 4 participants were already few, and we weren't sure if the competition should take place. And with 3 participants it would simply be lame.Eshnar said:
Is there maybe also a possibility to continue with the challenge while you are away in November? Ofc I don't know what you will do but maybe it would at least be possible to look at this thread every 2nd evening and judge the routes. Maybe another judge can manage the challenge and post the points during that time.
- Feb 20, 2010
- 32,499
- 14,266
- 28,180
I'm happy to wait. I've got some busy periods coming up between now and mid-November where I might hold the judging up a day or two a couple of times anyhow, so if we aren't done by October 30th, then we wouldn't get much further until you're back anyway.
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