Race Design Challenge

[Eshnar]

We're almost ready to go people! Tomorrow all participants will post their first stage. Since a couple of potential players asked me, I'll also write it here... If you want to play but have no time to post your stages as scheduled here, you can send me via PM in advance your stages and I'll post them for you every other day.
Now, I remind everyone that in order to participate you just have to post a stage tomorrow. Even if you didn't tell me anything yet. All is still open.
Here is the point system... everyone pay attention (especially the judges XD):
on every round, each judge will have to assign 2 votes to each Giro: the "Technical rating" and the "Cultural rating".
The former rates the pure sporting value of the whole route up to that stage, while the latter only judges the cultural/historical value of the last stage presented.
Both ratings go from 1 (bad) to 5 (great). For each kind of rating, a judge can give a 5 only to one player, and in any case he cannot give the same rating to more than 2 players.
All points assigned are simply added up together, every day. During the last 7 stages, however, the technical rating will be worth double.
And that's it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

I'm gonna follow this fanatically, but not participate.

Someone make sure RCS is following this too

Y U NO play?

Don't want to spend too much time on it and awesome as it is, I don't want to half-ass it.

but you could be part of the jury, its great that mayo and Pricey_Sky applied but I think a fourth member wouldn't hurt
Ps: I wonder that Libertine neither posts a route nor is he part of the jury. Libertine is such an important member of the race design thread that I am really sad he isnt included in the challenge

 

[Eshnar]

Re: Re:

Ps: I wonder that Libertine neither posts a route nor is he part of the jury. Libertine is such an important member of the race design thread that I am really sad he isnt included in the challenge

Libertine will play.

I shall enter, but my route is something of a rush. I shan't be able to do my eighty-paragraph stage summaries that I usually end up doing on the RDT here either I fear, do we just post the route or do we do a brief summary of the reasoning behind choosing that stage?

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

Ps: I wonder that Libertine neither posts a route nor is he part of the jury. Libertine is such an important member of the race design thread that I am really sad he isnt included in the challenge

Libertine will play.

I shall enter, but my route is something of a rush. I shan't be able to do my eighty-paragraph stage summaries that I usually end up doing on the RDT here either I fear, do we just post the route or do we do a brief summary of the reasoning behind choosing that stage?

Than, why the hell did he start a deutschland tour yesterday

 

[Billie]

Cultural points! Good news.

Do we post here or in the race design thread?

Overview:

Giro d'Italia - Prologue: Firenze

Giro d'Italia - Stage 2: Firenze -Lido di Camaiore

Giro d'Italia - Stage 3: Lucca - Piombino

Giro d'Italia - Stage 4: Follonica - Orbotello

Giro d'Italia - Stage 5: Follonica- Perugia

Giro d'Italia - Stage 6: Perugia - Assisi

Giro d'Italia - Stage 7: Foligno - Rieti

Giro d'Italia - Stage 8: Leonessa - Roma

Giro d'Italia - Stage 9: Roma - Vesuvio

Giro d'Italia - Stage 10: Gallarate - Como

Giro d'Italia - Stage 11: Delebio - Santa Catarina Valfurva

Giro d'Italia - Stage 12: Edolo - Verona

Giro d'Italia - Stage 13: Garda - Riva del Garda

Giro d'Italia - Stage 14: Palu di Giovo - Val di Mules

Giro d'Italia - Stage 15: Brixen - Passo Fedaia

Giro d'Italia - Stage 16: Parma - Genoa

Giro d'Italia - Stage 17: Genoa - San Remo

Giro d'Italia - Stage 18: San Remo - Borgo San Dalmazzo

Giro d'Italia - Stage 19: Valgrana - Demonte

Giro d'Italia - Stage 20: Cuneo - Pinerolo

Giro d'Italia - Stage 21: Vercelli - Milano

 

[Brullnux]

Here, I think

Overview

Stage 1 - Hilly/Medium Mountain

Stage 2 - Flat

Stage 3 - Mountain

Stage 4 - Hilly/Medium Mountain

Stage 5 - Medium Mountain

Stage 6 - Flat

Stage 7 - Mountain

Stage 8 - Medium Mountain

Stage 9 - Hilly + Sterrato

Stage 10 - ITT

Stage 11 - Mountain

Stage 12 - Flat

Stage 13 - Mountain

Stage 14 - Mountain

Stage 15 - Mountain ITT

Stage 16 - Mountain

Plan B stage if bad weather

Stage 17 - Medium Mountain

Stage 18 - Mountain

Stage 19 - Medium Mountain

Stage 20 - High Mountain

Stage 21 - Processional Stage

 

[Eshnar]

here yes

 

[Eshnar]

The challenge is officially open! I'll kick it off with the Giro of Brullnux, who is on holiday and sent me his first few stages in advance. Here's the first one.

LA CENTESIMA STAGE 1: PALERMO - AGRIGENTO 180.2km
For the first time since 2008, the Giro starts in Palermo, and this time not for a TTT. Although the finish city is the same as the second stage of that year's Giro, the run-in is completely different, as we are coming from the north, no the south.

The stage contains six categorised climbs, and a few other uncategorised bumps along the road. The stage suits more durable sprinters like Sagan, Degenkolb and Matthews. The home crowds will be pinning their hopes on a late attack on the rise 3 and a half kilometre before the end that hits 12%, or, failing that, Felline is probably Italy's best chance today. 3000m climbing on day one of La Centesima should, hopefully, throw the competitors in medias res, and test the riders straight away.

 

[barmaher]

So here we are in my centenary Giro. For once in a break with tradition, the race has agreed to change its name to honour its modest organiser. All marketing material will be changed to celebrate Il Giro di Barmaher. This promises to be the most exciting Grand Tour in the history of mankind.

There were a few objectives that I had when I designed my Giro. First of all I wanted to embrace the whole of Italy. It was no possible to stage a realistic race that would visit every region of Italy including the islands. But I have succeeded in building a tough, exciting, varied Giro that manages to visit every region in the Italian mainland. This will celebrate the variety and breadth of Italy.

Secondly, I have always loved Italian cycling. Not just Il Giro, but also Italian classics. Therefore, we will see a homage to classic Italian classics. Il Lombardia, Strade Bianche, Milan San Remo and even Roma Maxima will be celebrated in a sporting sense, with stages closely relying on these races for inspiration.

Thirdly, we celebrate the Italian people in each stage. Every since an Italian girl let me touch her in a funny area after a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Dublin in the mid 90’s, I have always had a fascination with Italians. I will therefore try to tie in every stage with an Italian person. Politicians, artists, sports people and writers will be honoured. And a few more.

Additionally, my Giro will force all participants to consume a dish of the organiser’s choice within 1 hour of completing each stage. This will not only counterbalance the trend for riders to obsessively worry about their weight, but it will also allow them to experience the Italian cuisine that is so frustratingly close to them during Giri. If everyone is eating a big plate of carnarolli truffle risotto, you might as well enjoy it.

And finally, I have tried to cater for all cyclists. You will see classic stages, sprint stages, hilly stages, time trials (up, down and flat). You will see mountain stages involving classic climbs, finishing on the top of a hill and finishing with a descent. And you will not see any other country other than Italy.

Vai Italia!

Vai Il Giro di Barmaher!

Giro Di Barmaher Race Summary

Stage 1 Catanzaro to Catanzaro Lido (ITT 14km) Short ITT, half downhill, remainder flat.


Stage 2 Lamezia Terme to Rossano 226km Medium/high mountain stage with short hill finish.


Stage 3 Rossano to Policoro 150km Flat stage.


Stage 4 Laterza to Postiglione 238km Medium mountain stage with uphill finish.

Stage 5 Salerno to Venafro 196km Flat stage

Stage 6 Frosinone to Roma 202km Flat stage with hills in middle (Roma Maxima tribute)

Stage 7 Tivoli to Chieti 214km Medium mountain stage with uphill finish

Stage 8 Pescara to Fermo 178km Medium mountain stage with uphill finish

Stage 9 Loreto to Pian di Molino 192km High mountain stage with downhill finish

REST

Stage 10 San Gimignano to Siena 200km Hilly stage, white roads

Stage 11 Castiglione del Lago to Florence 215km Flat stage

Stage 12 Porretta Terme to Bologna 58km ITT (Flat)

Stage 13 Modena to Padua 182km Flat (hills near end)

Stage 14 Treviso to Zoncolan 223km Mountain stage, MTF

Stage 15 Pieve di Cadore to Arabba 147km Mountain stage, descent finish (queen #1)

REST

Stage 16 Daone to Madonna di Ghisallo 239km Mountain stage, hill top finish (GdL Tribute)

Stage 17 Como to Tortona 191km Flat stage, hills near end

Stage 18 Tortona to San Remo 244km Hilly stage, Milan San Remo (near) replica

Stage 19 Garessio to Pinerolo 194km Mountain stage, descent finish

Stage 20 Ivrea to Aosta 199km Mountain stage, MTF (queen #2)

Stage 21 Turin to Superga 24.6km ITT, hill top finish

Race Breakdown

3 x ITT (one downhill, one uphill, one flat and long)
6 "Flat" Stages. (3 with minimal difficulty, 3 with moderate difficulty or hills near end)
1 x Strade Bianche stage
5 x Medium mountain stages (4 with uphill finish, 1 with downhill finish)
6 x Mountain stage (3 descent finish, 2 MTF, 1 HTF)

 

[barmaher]

Giro Di Barmaher

Stage 1 Catanzaro to Catanzaro Lido (ITT 14km)

So the Giro is going to start this time in Calabria. Calabria is one of the most fascinating regions of Italy. Rich in history and culture, the region has been important to the Greeks, the Romans, the Normans, and was a battleground in the unification of Italy.

The region is very underdeveloped and beautiful, so is perfect for cycling tourism.

My Giro first stage will start and finish in the region's capital, Catanzaro. This has always been an important city historically, as the town overlooks the bay to the east, which is part of the Ionian sea. And the trip down to the bay will be enjoyed by the cyclists. There will be lots of aerial shots of the canyon and town.

And we come down to the beach, which is very pretty, so more aerial shots as the Giro di Barmaher does wonders for Italian tourism in this southern part of the country.

It is not the most difficult stage, but the descent from the town is quite tricky, with a lot of sharp turns and a gradient average 5% over nearly 4 kilometres. After this it flattens out, apart from a bump as we get close to the finish.



We should see good bike handlers come to the fore here. Strongmen. And this region is famous for strongmen, none more so than the father of bodybuliding, Charles Atlas. He was the developer of a bodybuilding method and its associated exercise program that was best known for a landmark advertising campaign featuring Atlas's name and likeness; it has been described as one of the longest-lasting and most memorable ad campaigns of all time

And to finish the day, each team will be fed a plate of Pignolata. It is a soft pastry, covered in chocolate and lemon flavoured syrup/icing. This pastry is half covered or iced in one flavouring and the other half in the other flavour, which hardens when the pignolata is ready to be served. Each pastry serves several people, and is meant to be cut into small pieces when served.

 

[Gigs_98]

"meaningful for the history of the country"
Joking apart, I already like the first two 1st stages. I think this will be a lot of fun to follow and ofc also to post

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Baharmer, I find it rather funny you say the region is very underdeveloped and beautiful then the picture below shows a raised roundabout!

 

[Gigs_98]

Before I start with the 1st stage of my giro I want to write some basic stuff about it.
First of all here is the map:

At this point you should be confused for the first time. Why are there only 8 stages, why are these stages so long, why is the number 1909 written in the corner and (to sum it all up) why the hell do I post the map of the first Giro d'Italia from the year 1909? Well, the answer shouldn't be that unexpected after you saw that picture: The route of my giro will be based on the route of the first giro ever.
Although that first seems to be a pretty good idea if you consider that the goal is to design the 100th giro, but it also causes a very strange route. So for me personally its a little bit like an experiment, but I still hope that you guys will like my 100th Giro d'Italia

100th GIRO D'ITALIA stage 1: Milano - Verona (211 km)

The start of my 100th giro will be in Milano, the city where the giro usually ends. However, as you can see on the little map, this giro will end there too, so I will write about the meaning of the city for cycling and the history of italy on stage 21. The starting line is beside the San Siro, a very famous football stadium in the west of Milan. There are two reasons why I situated the start there. 1.) There are other sports facilities directly next to the stadium, like a horse racing track or a golf court, so the area there is very famous for sports. 2.) The first official street which will be used is called Piazzale dello Sport which is simply suitable for the start of the 100th giro.
After the rider leave Milan they will head north east in the direction of the first categorized mountain of the race. The fourth category climb to Gandosso comes after about 75 kilometers. The single point here, will probably go to the break. After a short descent there is a flat section of over 100 km's with the first intermediate sprint of the race, located in Brescia, as the only little highlight. Shortly after the riders pass Brescia the route peloton will be very near the Lago di Garda, a lake which is very important the the tourism of this region.
Up to this point the stage is very easy with only one little bump which will have no influence into the race. That changes about 20 k's before the finish, when the climb to Montecchio starts. This is the first 3rd category climb and it is the reason why I think a stage like this would be extremely interesting as the first stage of a gt. That comes because after the descent there is hardly any flat before the finish in Verona. The point with Montecchio is is steepness with over 8% average elevation gain and sections well over 10%. The reason why I think these last 20 kilometers would be so interesting is the fight for the pink jersey. Every team will want to have the first maglia rosa and almost every team will have riders who could take it. It is just hard to say if a sprinter or a hill classics rider would win this stage. Even the break might have a chance because some sprint teams maybe think their sprinter cannot climb good enough (I doubt someone like kittel could win this stage), so there only would be a few teams left which would set the pace here. These teams ofc also would need to control the peloton on the last climb, but once again thats one hell of a work if riders attack all the time and the pace you set shouldnt be too high, so your sprinter doesnt crack. I really have no idea who would take this stage but If I would have to bet, my money would be on a rider like gerrans.
Verona is probably one of the most beautiful cities of europe, with a big historical centre, full of old buildings. My stage will finish directly next to the beautiful Arena di Verona, a Roman amphitheater. Another reason why I think it could be difficult for sprint teams to catch attackers, is that the streets in Verona are often quite narrow and with cobbles. I even wanted to let the riders pass the Ponte Scaligero a historical, cobbled bridge but at the end I decided that it would be too dangerous if a sprint train rides over it.

San Siro:

Verona:

climbs:
Gandosso (4th cat.)
Montecchio (3rd cat.)

 

[Eshnar]

Guys, please write the length and average gradient of all your climbs, if that's not shown on the profile already

 

[Billie]

Giro 2017: Prologue: Firenze - Firenze.

My Giro will start in Tuscany, in what is in my opinion one of the most beatifull city's in the world. Firenze.

The Giro will start with a short prologue through the cultural center of the city riding past (and over) some if it's main attractions. Start will be at the Piazza Santa Croce in front of the Basilica with the same name. The route will take the riders to the other bank of the Arno were the riders will get a relatively long straight road. Up untill now the route has not been very technical but that's about to change. On the right the riders will see a special bridge, il Ponte Vecchio. The riders will not only get to see this bridge from the outside as they'll also cross it to get back to the other side of the river. This is where it gets real technical on the treachurous stones and it won't get any easier. That's because next up is the Galleria degli Uffizi. This will lead the riders onto the Piazza della Signoria where the riders will pass right under il David da Michelangelo. A fake, cause the real one is inside. Some smaller city roads will lead the riders back to the other side of the Piazza Santa Croce where the finish line is.

A short (5 km), technical prologue that should keep the GC very close.

Route:

Profile:

 

[Finn84]

What's better place to start 100th Giro than capital of Italy?

The race will kick out with prologue, which has distance of 5.5 kilometres. It may sound short, but and while it doesn't have major difficulties profile-wise, it has multiple tight corners and narrow streets. Another difficulty factor is cobblestones which will be featured during the stage.

The route will go past several important sights of Rome. The start is next to Colosseum and the finish next to Pantheon. In-between, Circo Massimo, Piazza Venezia and Fontana di Trevi will be passed.

Stage 2: viewtopic.php?p=1797706#p1797706
Stage 3: viewtopic.php?p=1798545#p1798545
Stage 4: viewtopic.php?p=1799440#p1799440
Stage 5: viewtopic.php?p=1801137#p1801137
Stage 6: viewtopic.php?p=1802248#p1802248
Stage 7: viewtopic.php?p=1803611#p1803611
Stage 8: viewtopic.php?p=1805110#p1805110
Stage 9: viewtopic.php?p=1806813#p1806813
---REST DAY---
Stage 10: viewtopic.php?p=1808966#p1808966
Stage 11: viewtopic.php?p=1809710#p1809710
Stage 12: viewtopic.php?p=1811452#p1811452
Stage 13: viewtopic.php?p=1813469#p1813469
Stage 14: viewtopic.php?p=1815785#p1815785
Stage 15: viewtopic.php?p=1816942#p1816942
---REST DAY---
Stage 16: viewtopic.php?p=1818068#p1818068
Stage 17: viewtopic.php?p=1818550#p1818550
Stage 18: viewtopic.php?p=1819428#p1819428
Stage 19: viewtopic.php?p=1820747#p1820747
Stage 20: viewtopic.php?p=1821587#p1821587
Stage 21: viewtopic.php?p=1823798#p1823798

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Whats the length Billie?

 

[Billie]

Re:

Whats the length Billie?

5 km. You can see it underneath the profile. Will add it in the text aswell

 

[barmaher]

@lemon cheese cake

I got lazy and basically picked the first photo I found. I spent a lot longer looking for pictures of bodybuilders and pastries.

 

[barmaher]

Some great first stages so far. I love it!

 

[Finn84]

I can tell that my route has certain theme regarding Giro/Italian cycling but I'm not going to reveal until stage 6 (7th day of competition because of prologue) which is the first with that.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

A bit like Gigs_98, I have had a bit of inspiration taken from the 1909 first ever Giro d'Italia. However, my tribute to this route is slightly less direct than theirs, as I will be including all of the original host cities at some point in the route, but not in order nor directly between them - a bit like the centenary Tour de France, but not the 100th edition. Zomegnan didn't do this for the centenary Giro, so we'll do it for this instead.

And we open up with a very unique feature and something that's pretty rare: a prologue MTT.

Prologue: Bologna - Bologna San Luca, 2,2km

Though the presentations will likely be in the centre of Bologna on the Friday night, on the Saturday the riders will set off to the west of the city, which was one of the original Giro hosts, and set off from Stadio Renato dall'Ara with its iconic architecture.

Seating up to 38000, the stadium (which was built in the 20s, though Bologna's football team was, like the Giro, founded in 1909) serves as the perfect spot for a Grand Départ, with a huge crowd to cheer the riders off the ramp - possibly with teams being set up in the stadium as well before heading to the ramp to give it a gladiatorial aspect. which will lead under the tower and out into Piazza della Pace, where the riders will turn right, before a quick right again through Arco del Meloncello and then turning left onto the steep wall that is the climb to San Luca.

The climb to the Madonna di San Luca is of course best known as the trademark climb of the Giro dell'Emilia one day race, which has traditionally been a Lombardia tune-up and features an illustrious list of winners. However, it also has Giro history, featuring on three occasions as a stage finish, won by Moreno Argentin in 1984 and Simon Gerrans from the break in 2009. Most famously though, it hosted - like today - a short MTT in 1956, which legendary Luxembourger Charly Gaul, the Angel of the Mountains, won, the second of three stage wins en route to his overall victory that year. Back then, the climb was two weeks into the race, but here it will make a pretty unique and interesting prologue... also meaning that the stage winner here could potentially take ALL the jerseys as of course a young rider winning here will take the maglia rosa, the lead in points, the only available GPM points. And the GC boys have to be prepared to fight early.

With 2km @ 10,8%, and a steepest ramp of 18%, the profile of this climb is enough to already bother some of the pure sprinters. No maglia rosa for them here.

 

[Gigs_98]

So only 6 instead of 7 participants

 

[Stromeon]

A rather late and not particularly confident entry joins the list; I nevertheless present to you my Giro d'Italia 2017. I'm away from Saturday until 3 September so I'll have to make use of Eshnar's very kind offer of posting the stages for that period while I'm away. I haven't quite finalised the route yet so I might not end up having enough time to cronoescalada and write up all the stages I have to send off before Saturday but hopefully I will and I can get this through to the end. I'm not quite perfectly happy with a few stages, and there is a bit too much pandering to the masses than I would like in a route, but I guess pandering to the masses is allowed in the 100th Giro! Anyway, enough OT rambling, let's get stuck in! It looks as if I'm not the only one to choose this as my Grand Partenza location:

Giro d'Italia Stage 1: Roma ITT 13km

It might seem a little unadventurous to start this special edition of the Giro in the nation's capital, but the Giro barely visits the splendid city of Rome these days, the last visit being the time-trial on the last day of the Giro 2009 where Denis Menchov infamously fell on the wet cobbles. The last time Rome was visited before that was for the Grande Partenza of the 2000 Giro, a short prologue won by Jan Hruška. Today's stage, a 13km time-trial, bears more similarities with the 2009 TT than the 2000. We start on the Via della Conciliazione, with the magnificent backdrop of the Piazza San Pietro and of course the famous Basilica behind the starting ramp, after all what more of a spectacle could you ask for to kick off the 100th Giro? However, the riders won't have much time to admire the scene as they negotiate the first couple of tight corners in what is, in between some long straight sections, a technical course. We cross the river Tiber for the first time and head into the outskirts of the gardens of the sumptuous Villa Borghese. Exiting the leafy parkland, a couple more tight turns are to be negotiated before we sweep through the Piazza della Repubblica and down the Via Nazionale before we get to the intermediate time-check at the majestic Piazza Venezia, with the hulking great big monument to Vittorio Emanuele, the Altare della Patria. The second half of the time-trial then runs up the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and then we have a complicated technical section as we cross and re-cross the Tiber, the route appearing to double back on itself but there's a sort of traffic island to separate the two parts of the route, don't worry! Weaving our way through a combination of avenues and narrower streets, we end up near the Piazza Venezia again, this time with a side view of the Altare della Patria. From then on, we follow the course of the 2009 TT round the Circus Maximus to finish in front of the Colosseum à la Roma Maxima (except cronoescalada has decided that the Via dei Fori Imperiali is some sort of impassable footpath so we stop outside the Colosseum). Nevertheless it's a spectacular finish to the TT to mirror the equally spectacular beginning, and as well as taking in many of the sights of Rome, the course should be an interesting one - of a length long enough to open some reasonable gaps that will be important not only in the GC battle but also in jockeying for the maglia rosa in the opening week, and a mixture of technical sections and straight avenues to make sure all skills are needed to claim victory and don the first maglia rosa of the centenary Giro.

Piazza San Pietro:

Piazza Venezia:

Colosseo:

__________

__________


Library Route Overview

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Stage 7

Stage 8

Stage 9

Stage 10

Stage 11

Stage 12

Stage 13

Stage 14

Stage 15

Stage 16

Stage 17

Stage 18

Stage 19

Stage 20

Stage 21

 

[barmaher]

I jumped the gun somewhat. I need to read the rules properly!