Race Design Challenge

[barmaher]

Libertine, if you think you may get criticised for borrowing old ideas, I will be crucified. I reckon at least 5 of my stages are outright plagiarism.

Brullnux, that is a serious, serious mountain stage.

I am just putting the finishing stages to my third stage now. I have changed the route 5 times already. It is a flat stage, but I find those hardest to design.

 

[barmaher]

Giro di Barmaher

Stage 3 Rossano to Policoro 150km

So the Giro will move from Calabria to the province of Basilicata. For those of you who have yet to read my introduction, one of the main goals is to showcase every region in Italy, with either a stage start of a stage finish. We can’t do that without getting the hell out of Calabria, but not before we get in some more of this beautiful region before a finish in southern Basilicata.



Hopefully the riders have managed not to succumb to the spirit of Pope John VII, and have had a restful night. Riders will roll out of Rossano for a relatively easy day in the saddle. Due to a late start as the stage is not so long, riders will have a chance to wander around Rossano’s old town, to take in the 9th century Church San Marco.

Sprinters will have managed to endure yesterday’s stage with the hope of today’s stage. There is one category 2 climb that may trip them up, and it is not straightforward. However, there is ample time to regroup for all but the poorest climbers amongst the sprinters. I tried to tip the balance in favour of the fast men, but not all of them will survive unless it is ridden at a funereal pace.

The profile of the day is pretty standard. Neither the distance nor the climbing is extraordinary. The Category 2 climb up past Montegiordano will give the most chance of excitement. The climb is 9km long at 6.4%, so if raced hard, it would cut up the bunch. The likelihood is that the teams of sprinters in the mould of Degenkolb, Sagan et al would try to keep up a pace to distance the fatties and keep the break in check.



Climbs
Cat 2 Montegiordano 593m altitude 9km at 6.4%

The peloton will see some pretty nice scenery along the way, with some lovey beaches and towns along the Ionian sea.

And as they turn inland, it gets nicer, with Montegiordano and Rocco Imperiale being very easy on the eye.

But realistically, one would imagine a typical Grand Tour flat stage with a weak group of riders from wild card teams being given a moderate lead, before being reeled in gradually by the peloton, for a sprint finish by the beach in Policoro.

Policoro has a very nice beach, but it has been selected for two other reasons. It is the town in this region of Basilicata (close enough to Montegiordano) that was most likely to produce a sprint (we need to keep the fast men happy) and it is the birthplace of my favourite Italian cyclist, Domenico Pozzovivo.

Man of the Stage
Pozzovivo has a degree in economics and wrote a thesis entitled "Southern politics from the unity of Italy up to now". His high education has earned him the nickname "Dr. Pozzovivo" in the peloton. He stated that his fields of interest outside cycling are history, technology, economics, politics and weather forecasting. AG2R will be hoping he will be able to help them to forecast any high winds coming off the sea today to avoid getting caught behind in echelons.

Munch for the Bunch
Riders will once again be served a treat at the finish line. Basilicatan heritage will be celebrated with a barbecue of lucanica, which is a smoked pork sausage, hailing from Ancient Roman cuisine from the area. Indeed, it is considered by some to be the grandfather of sausages, with variants now found in many other Mediterranean countries.

Two sausages per rider, with the winner of the stage getting a third if he wants it. I guarantee you he will. Pic especially for Libertine

 

[Gigs_98]

100th GIRO D'ITALIA stage 3: Abano Terme - Bologna (201 km)
First of all, sorry for the profile, where I wrote Albano Terme instead of Abano

better map and profile of the last 70 kilometers:

Stage 3 of my giro and for the first time its really getting interesting (Although it isnt a hight mountain stage yet. Seriously I am extremely surprised some of you already have such brutal monster stages in the first three days). The stage starts in Abano Terme, a city in the south of Padova. I could have started there too but I think in the 100th giro there are a lot of cities who want to host a stage, so I put the start to Abano Terme. Abano Terme is in the east of the Euganean Hills, a little low mountain range in the Po Valley (the mountains of stage 2 all were in the Euganean Hills, I forgot to mention that). After the start the riders head southwards directly in the direction of Bologna. A little problem of my route is that I had to do that one stage where the riders have to ride through the whole Po Valley from north to south, which means a very long pan flat section. However I think I managed it quite good to make the finish of the stage interesting. After 38 kilometers the first TV is reached, which is located in Rovigo. About 35 kilometers later there is the next intermediate sprint, this time in Ferrara. Ferrara is a beautiful historic city although its one of the few big italian cities which wasnt built by the Romans. Luckily the center of the city was never an important goal for bombs or wars in general, which means that most of the old buildings are still there. Ferrara is also a Cycling City and part of the organisation Cities for Cyclists so its just a perfect location for the 100th giro although this isnt the stage finish yet. The finishing city Bologna, will be reached after 121.5 km's but before the riders reach the finish they have to ride very hard, Ardenne like, 70 k's. The first climb of this hilly section is the Monte Capra (which is the only climb today, I have a profile of)

The next climb to Montecchiaro is even harder with 3 kilometers at about 10%. However, these are the only two 3rd category climbs of the day, but that doesnt mean it gets a lot easier. Pieve del Pino is shorter than the first two ascents, but still pretty steep. After the descent there is a little flat section before the hardest part of the stage starts, with 3 categorized climbs in a row: Monte Paderno, San Vittore, Colle Barbiano. All three are short but steep, with average elevation gains of over 8%. After the Colle Barbiano there is a very short flat section before the last bump of the stage starts. The Monte Donato, is the easiest climb of the day although its over 10% steep. The problem is that the length isnt even 1 kilometer and to be honest, normally I wouldnt even categorize this climb. However it could make a big difference in this stage so the fight up there might be big --> worth to give the first man there a point for the mountain points classification. Btw, from the top of the Monte Donato you have a beautiful view of Bologna:

After the descent and a short flat section we reach the centre of Bologna where the stage will finish. Bologna hosted the first stage finish of a Giro d'Italia ever, which makes it automatically an important city for cycling. The city also has an interesting history because it often belong to different empires. Bologna is also the home of the oldest University of Europe. Once again its hard to say who will win here. Normally I'd say it would go to the break but the time gaps in the gc wont be very big after the first two stages so there could be a pretty big and interesting fight for the pink jersey. Whatever would happen, I think this would be a lot of fun to watch.
Abano Terme:

Bologna:

 

[Stromeon]

Goddammit Libertine I knew at least one other person would think of putting a Montalcino stage in but I was hopeful that they wouldn't

And RE plagiarism I am certainly guilty of that too! Although I am quite proud of one of my stages where I took two fairly memorable stages in Italy, chopped off the first halves and stuck the second halves together back-to-back

Anyway, Montalcino is still quite a long way away for the riders in my Giro, as we continue to head south before going back north again.

Giro di Stromeon Stage 3: Cassino - Amalfi 216km

The first half of this stage is rather uneventful, as we cruise through Campania after setting out from yesterday's finish town, before we reach Napoli, one of the original 1909 host cities and a very beautiful city indeed. The Bay of Naples is not only a very scenic area of Italy, but it is also an important one historically, and so it feels right that we should visit the area in the 100th Giro. After an intermediate sprint in Napoli, we swing round the bay, including a 4th category climb where we climb up the first 4km of the road to Vesuvius from Ercolano before descending to Torre del Greco. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii is also passed by the route today, marking some of Italy's very old and very famous history, not just the Vesuvian eruption but also Roman life as a whole (as a Latin student I feel obliged to visit such areas in the Giro!). After admiring the Roman remains we come off the bay road and start climbing. There are two very similar climbs between the riders and the finish at Amalfi. The first up is the climb to Agerola, which is followed by a tunnel and then a swift descent down to Amalfi. However it's not over for the riders as they then have to ascend the slightly steeper Valico di Chiunzi before heading back to finish in what has been named by some as one of the most beautiful towns in the world. A fitting place for a stage finish in the 100th Giro, I think?

I think this could be quite an interesting stage, it's quite like the stage to Marina di Ascea in the 2013 Giro that Luca Paolini won and had GC action if I remember correctly, although this stage is probably slightly harder than that. Even if there isn't major GC action, with a profile like there is, with the descent leading straight to the finish without any flat afterwards, it's improbable that it will be a bunch sprint. Surely we will see some attacks on the Valico di Chiunzi.

Napoli:

Amalfi:

This is the last stage from the first week that I'll post personally but I'll try and finish up the write-ups for the other 6 stages and send them to Eshnar this afternoon so all can progress smoothly and I'm still around to unleash my third week on those poor riders (although actually come to think of it the second week is probably harder )

 

[barmaher]

There is going to be more strade bianche in these 7 tours than you can shake a stick at!

 

[Gigs_98]

Goddammit Libertine I knew at least one other person would think of putting a Montalcino stage in but I was hopeful that they wouldn't

Yeah...one

 

[Brullnux]

@barmaher
I'm starting to worry that one of our stages will be very alike. You mentioned paying tribute to Strade Bianche: does this mean including part of the route or just using sterrato?

 

[Eshnar]

Finn, can you please use the same numbers as the others? I know your first stage was a prologue, but please call it stage 1. It's just confusing to see you posting a stage 2 when all the others are posting stage 3...

 

[Billie]

Edited stage 1 to stage 2 and stage 2 to stage 3!

Giro d'Italia: Stage 3: Lucca - Piombino (178 km)

The second stage will take the riders from Lucca southwards along the Tyrrhenian coast. Start will be inside the Lucca city walls. It's a rather easy stage that should end up in a mass sprint. Main attraction is the climb (3rd cat: 7.6 km at 5.2%) up to Volterra. A place I advise everyone to visit if you ever find yourself in the neighbourhoud. It's one of two hills on the stage combined with the climb to Guardistallo (4th cat: 2.2 km at 6.7%). The last 50 kilometres are completely flat close to the coast so nothing can stop the sprinter teams here. They'll have to go for it cause it's one of the few pure sprinter stages. Finish city Piombino is most famous for it's port which is the main connection to Elba which lays right in front of Piombino in the Tyrrhenic Sea.

 

[barmaher]

Re:

@barmaher
I'm starting to worry that one of our stages will be very alike. You mentioned paying tribute to Strade Bianche: does this mean including part of the route or just using sterrato?

The route. Let's not worry, though. I guess some Dolomote stages will be similar among entrants.

 

[Eshnar]

Judge 1:
Brullnux T: 3/5 C: 2/5 (nice use of Etna but too soon?)
Barmaher T: 2/5 C: 4/5 ( sprint stage in a lovely location)
Gigs_98 T: 5:5 C: 3/5 (brilliant route, would make a nice one-day race)
Billie: T: 2/5 C: 4/5 (Piombino is a really beautiful place)
Finn84 T: 3/5 C: 2/5 ( nice hilly stage for this point of the race)
Libertine T:4/5 C: 3/5 ( love your tribute to the epic 2010 stage)
Stromeon T: 4/5 C: 5/5 ( nice climb near the final to create action, Amalfi is a nice location)

Judge 2:
Brullnux T: 4/5 C: 2/5
Barmaher T: 2/5 C: 4/5
Gigs_98 T: 5/5 C: 5/5 (who told you that I love the Euganean Hills? )
Billie T: 2/5 C: 3/5
Finn84 T: 3/5 C: 2/5
Libertine: T: 4/5 C: 3/5
Stromeon T: 3/5 C: 4/5

Judge 3:
Brullnux T: 5/5 C:3/5 (5000m of climbing on stage 3? Why not)
Barmaher T: 2/5 C: 2/5
Gigs_98 T: 4/5 C: 4/5 (nice finish, really)
Billie T: 2/5 C: 3/5
Finn84 T: 3/5 C: 2/5
Libertine: T: 4/5 C: 5/5 (what's a better tribute to the Giro than repeating the Montalcino stage?)
Stromeon T: 3/5 C: 4/5 (I love Amalfi)

Here's the GC:
Libertine 68
Stromeon 64
Gigs 62
Barmaher 59
Billie 50
Brullnux 49
Finn 44

 

[Gigs_98]

If a stage is very scenic does that count to the technical or to the cultural rating?

 

[Eshnar]

If a stage is very scenic does that count to the technical or to the cultural rating?

I'd say cultural.

 

[Brullnux]

It would be cool if all the routes from the competitors were brought together to form 7 different libraries.
Also, how about at the end the judges pick their favourite stage from each day and then we bring it together also? Eshnar could then put it into the OP to look back upon.

@Eshnar no need to post my 6th stage. After an umpteenth calculation I have realised I will indeed be back by the 27th, the 6 stage.

 

[skidmark]

I'm obviously not participating in the game, but I just wanted to say that I think this is such a great idea. The race design thread, although it's not something I have the time or skill in which to partake, is one of my favourite threads on the whole message board, if for nothing else the fact that it focuses on a passion for cycling without fanboy-induced squabbling, doping innuendo, or all those other exhausting things that come with discussing individual riders or races. (not to mention, of course, that it is a pretty good canvas for people to be imaginative, and often has informative tidbits about the host areas of the races).

Anyway, just want to say kudos to all participants. Also Eshnar, I wonder if it would be possible as we go along to link directly in the original post to each participant's individual posts for new stages, essentially to make a listing of each participant's Giro all in one place. It would be cool (and maybe helpful for the judges too) to easily be able to take a look at someone's whole giro, instead of parsing out who posted what while scrolling through pages. Just an idea, if it's not feasible then that's cool.

 

[Pricey_sky]

I'm obviously not participating in the game, but I just wanted to say that I think this is such a great idea. The race design thread, although it's not something I have the time or skill in which to partake, is one of my favourite threads on the whole message board, if for nothing else the fact that it focuses on a passion for cycling without fanboy-induced squabbling, doping innuendo, or all those other exhausting things that come with discussing individual riders or races. (not to mention, of course, that it is a pretty good canvas for people to be imaginative, and often has informative tidbits about the host areas of the races).

Anyway, just want to say kudos to all participants. Also Eshnar, I wonder if it would be possible as we go along to link directly in the original post to each participant's individual posts for new stages, essentially to make a listing of each participant's Giro all in one place. It would be cool (and maybe helpful for the judges too) to easily be able to take a look at someone's whole giro, instead of parsing out who posted what while scrolling through pages. Just an idea, if it's not feasible then that's cool.

I agree, the race design thread is also one of my favourites and this was a fantastic idea that I hope goes from strength to strength in the future. Whilst I've been busy with work the last few weeks I still wanted to be involved so had no hesitation to request a spot on the jury.

 

[Finn84]

Stage 4, Brienza - Colle del Dragone, 150.5 km

Italy is a country where you can build challenging stages almost everywhere. That means we are heading for the first mountaintop finish as early as 4th day.

The stage will start from the comune of Brienza, home of the medieval Caracciolo's Castle which is nowadays a ruin.

The stage goes up and down almost all the time, while it has only two categorized climbs. The first of them is starting after 24 kilometres, 6.5 kilometres over 7%. The intermediate sprints are held at Tardiano and Luccio Inferiore, the latter just 27 kilometres from the finish.

But while true sprinters may still compete in those, they have no chance at the finish. The final climb is 18.7 kilometres over 6%. The stage is very short, just 150.5 kilometres which is a bit of change after two longer stages.

 

[Gigs_98]

100th GIRO D'ITALIA stage 4: Bologna - Ancona (226 km)

After the more hilly stage 3 the sprinters get another chance. And with "the sprinters get another chance" I mean, if the sprint teams aren't able to control the race here the sprinters should think about going to another team. Yeah, this stage is flat, very flat, I know it isnt really good to have such stages in a gt. However after today the race will really get difficult, so I want to make sure the sprinters get another stage. Although the profile really isnt interesting, I tried to make the day culturally interesting and very scenic.
the start of the stage is in Bologna, finishing town of stage 3. With some little exception, the next 115 kilometers are all on the same street, the Via Emilia. This is street, which already existed in the Roman age, is one of the oldest streets of italy. The great thing about this street is that it goes through a lot of beautiful, famous and big cities. I even had problems to decide in which cities I want to put my intermediate sprints, which is the reason why you can see 3 TV's in the profile, for the first and last time in this giro. The intermediate sprints on the Via Emilia are in Forli and Rimini, which is the city where the Via Emilia ends. Two other big cities in the first part of the stage are Imola and Cesena. All these cities already existed before, or were build in the Roman age.
Rimini is very famous for its tourism, so it is also a very important city for the economy in this region. As soon as the riders arrive in Rimini they head south and drive alongside the coast. That doesnt even change when the terrain gets suddenly a little bit more hilly on the Strade Panoramica Adriatica. This is were the only mountain point of the stage will be given. Btw, there is obviously a reason why the street is called like that, and yes the view from up there is really beautiful
After the descent the riders arrive in Pesaro, the town which hosts the last intermediate sprint of the day. Once again this city is famous for tourism.
Pictures are in the order Forli, Pesaro, Rimini

Before the riders arrive at the finish they ride through Senigallia, another city without a TV, but I thought its worth mentioning because of the size of the city. The finish is in Ancona, probably the only city of the day which isnt mainly famous because of its tourism. No, the most important part of the town isnt any touristic centre, it is its harbor, on which the stage will finish. Although it isnt the main attraction for tourists in this area, it is still a very beautiful town. About two weeks ago I also had the plan to make an extremely scenic uphill finish at the Duomo San Ciriaco, before I decided to make this a sprint stage.
Ancona:

Yeah that stage really isnt that great, but as I already said I needed another easy ride for the sprinters. Moreover the organizers surely would be happy about a stage which goes through so many big cities and presents the beauty of italy that well, which should more or less excuse the lame profile

 

[Eshnar]

There was a minor mistake in the votes of stage 3... judge 1 gave 4/5 three times in technical scoring... he couldn't by the rules, so he gave 5/5 to Gigs instead.

Here's Brullnux stage 4:

LA CENTESIMA Stage 4: CATANZARO-SCALEA 241.4
The first of two very long stages succeeds the rest day. Very bumpy first 100km, before a Cat. 1 climb, before going along the coast to Scalea. One Cat 3 hill and two bumps at the finish. One is very slight, the other being 1km at 9%, and just 3.5km from the finish could be a great springboard for an attacker. The finish is slightly uphill.

 

[Eshnar]

yes, I agree it would be nice to have a library, but the limit of links for each post is an issue... perhaps we could all link on each stage the post of the following stage? In turn I'll link on the OP the first stage of each participant

 

[Brullnux]

Sorry about that really short description, I had really little time to do it.

I forgot to mention that it showcases two of the biggest towns in Calabria, an underdeveloped region of Italy. It is, like the first stage, on a really fine line between attackers and sprinters.

 

[Gigs_98]

Is the forum broken, am I stupid or are there really 4 more stages which have to be posted in the next 3 hours

 

[Eshnar]

yes. here's one, by Barmaher who couldn't post today.

Giro di Barmaher

Stage 4 Laterza to Postiglione 238km

So we went a little bit easy on the riders yesterday, with a sprint finish the most likely result in Basilicata.

The riders have a short drive to the Apulian town of Laterza. It is with a heavy heart that we have such a short visit to Apulia, one of the richest archealogical regions in Italy. I have therefore resolved to having a one-week Giro di Apulia as my next design challenge. Still, seeing as we are only in Apulia for a short while, it is lucky that we are in such a nice town. We will start at the Santuario Mater Domini, which is famous for having beautiful crypts (in which the Virgin Mary appeared) and ornate frescoes and stained glass.

The first few kilometres sees the bunch ride through the “Graverna di Laterza”. Unspoiled beauty

But after a handy enough start, riders are going to have a fair few challenges on the way to Postiglione in Campania.

Much of the route will take in the rugged countryside and rolling roads of Basilicata. There are three categorised climbs today (one Cat 4 and two Cat 3 ascents), but as always in the Giro, that tells just half the story. Make no mistake, this stage is a killer, at 238km and with almost 4000m of climbing, this will test the riders again.

Riders go through the Dolomiti Iucane, with a few short climbs, two of which are classified. None of them are going to cause GC fireworks, but they will add to the sense of tiredness in the Giro, which will already be accumulating in these early stages. After descending a short climb from Tricarico, riders will gradually climb toward the famous city of Potenza, which is the capital and largest city of Basilicata. Potenza has a reputation for not falling into line with other cities in the area. They resisted Rome for a lot longer than nearer cities (until the Battle of Metaurus) and they rebelled both against the Spanish in the 17th century, and against the Neapolitan Republic in 1799.

The city has been ravaged by many earthquakes, but it still has some very nice things to see.

After Potenza, we have a few more uncategorised bumps (probably Category 3 or even 2 in the Tour!) before we hit the final climb, which is an uneven climb of nearly 10km at 4.6%. This does not tell the full story, as we have 6km at nearly 6%, followed by a short descent and a final ramp of 2.5m at 6.4% to the finish in the Campanian town of Postiglione. This will be a stage for the puncheurs and classics men. Again, I don’t expect much action from GC men at this stage, but there is the chance that a guy who is trying to peak on the third week could be found out by some digs in the final.

Man of the Stage
We will cover some more classical Italian artists later in the Giro, I couldn’t pass Potenza without paying homage to Ruggero Deodato, a legendary horror and cannibal film director who was born there. Although he has done films in many genres (horror and conventional) it is for his cannibal movie “The Cannibal Holocaust” that he is most widely known. Depicting scenes of animal slaughter, cannibalism, sexual assault and other acts of graphic violence, the film is critically acclaimed as a commentary of the tensions between civilised society and uncivilised society. In reality the film is highly sensational, but the boldness of the topics and the undoubted quality of the film-making has led Deodato to be a big influence on directors such as Oliver Stone and Tarantino.

Munch for the Bunch

It’s cheese time. People who know me well will be amazed that it took me to Stage 4 to pay homage to Italian cheese. But this is a good one. Caciovallo is a cheese made from stretched curd, and it is very popular in Campania, Apulia and Basilicata. So this is the ideal stage for it. Shaped like a bell, it looks very pretty. Each team will be given a bell each, along with a box of crackers and some mineral water.

 

[Eshnar]

And here's another one. Lots of people off on Sunday

Giro di Stromeon Stage 4: Paestum - Morano Calabro 234km

The Fourth stage is a long one, and it takes us further south on a beautiful ride along the coastlines of Campania and Basilicata, after a special start at Paestum, famous for its Roman remains. Along with all the nice ports, fishing villages, marinas and general Italian coastal scenery we do have to tackle a couple of not insignificant climbs before our 170km coastal journey comes to an end at Scalea. We then head inland, and ascend the Nuppolara climb (borderline 2nd/3rd, I decided 3rd when making the profile but think it should probably be 2nd now). This could provide a launchpad for attacks, but it isn't particularly steep and there's also 30km left after it tops out. After a short descent, we keep climbing on a false flat past the picture-postcard village of Mormanno. A sharp descent takes us to the finish at Morano Calabro, an absolutely beautiful town in the Calabrian countryside. Although you can't really see it on the profile, the last few hundred metres kick up to a bit of a gradient so we have a punchy sprint finish on our hands. But perhaps more likely is a strongman and good descender getting away, if you manage to build up a bit of a gap on the false flat before the descent, you can charge down the descent and keep the pack at bay.

Paestum:

Morano Calabro:

 

[Billie]

Giro d'Italia - Stage 4: Follonica - Orbotello (174km)

A shorter stage that is rather uninteresting until the final. But there it gets intresting cause the riders will take a tour around Monte Argentario before finishing in Orbotello. Monte Argentario is a small peninsula of the Italian coast. Two strips off land connect it to the mainland creating a lagoon in between. The finish town of Orbotello divides the lagoon in two pieces: il laguna di Levante and il laguna di Ponente. The tour around Monte Argentario won't be easy cause it follows the island's main road. That should give for some splendid images but also for some attractive racing as it means there is quite a steep hill (2.7 km at 11.2%) that tops out with little over 20 km to go followed by some smaller uphill sections. The last 8 km are flat so that should allow for some organisation by the sprinter teams if any of their main man have made it over the hill. It should be an exciting final once again!