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@ Libertine: I wanted to have an easier stage before the final ITT, having the TT right after such a hard stage could result in conservative racing and riders trying to conserve energy for the next day.
Österreich-Rundfahrt stage 7: Münzzuschlag - Klosterneuburg; 166,9km
The already mentioned stage for the sprinters before the final TT.
The stage starts in Mürzzuschlag, a town known mostly for his rich history in steel processing, in 1912 Max Mauermann developed the first staintless steel here.
After 9km of false flat we have the first climb of the day, Preiner Gscheid, 7,7km at 3,9%, a pretty easy climb that will bring the race to Niderösterreich, Ausria's largest Bundesland.
After 50km of false flat we have the next climb that has a pretty unusal name, Auf dem Hals, 4km at 4,4%.
The final 84km of the stage are mosty false flat and will bring the riders to Klosterneuburg, a town mostly known for the stunning Klosterneuburg Monastery.
I know, It's a boring sprint stage, but I wanted to have something easy before the final TT and I think the other stages of my Österreich-Rundfahrt are hard enough and could create a decent amount of great racing.
Klosterneuburg:
The already mentioned stage for the sprinters before the final TT.
The stage starts in Mürzzuschlag, a town known mostly for his rich history in steel processing, in 1912 Max Mauermann developed the first staintless steel here.
After 9km of false flat we have the first climb of the day, Preiner Gscheid, 7,7km at 3,9%, a pretty easy climb that will bring the race to Niderösterreich, Ausria's largest Bundesland.
After 50km of false flat we have the next climb that has a pretty unusal name, Auf dem Hals, 4km at 4,4%.
The final 84km of the stage are mosty false flat and will bring the riders to Klosterneuburg, a town mostly known for the stunning Klosterneuburg Monastery.
I know, It's a boring sprint stage, but I wanted to have something easy before the final TT and I think the other stages of my Österreich-Rundfahrt are hard enough and could create a decent amount of great racing.
Klosterneuburg:
I was thinking more in the lines of TV time but I guess given the limited coverage the Österreich Rundfahrt gets it's kind of a moot point.
Stage 4: Verden an der Aller - Clausthal-Zellerfeld, 175km
GPM:
Sternplatz (cat.3) 4,7km @ 5,0%
Hahnenklee (cat.3) 4,0km @ 6,3%
Starting in the small town of Verden an der Aller, just to the east of Bremen (which hosted the final ever Deutschlandtour stage in 2008) and best known for an apparent massacre of the Saxons conducted in the age of Charlemagne, the fourth stage of the Deutschlandtour is entirely in Niedersachsen, and is both the first opportunity for hillier riders to come out and play, and perhaps the first real stage for the sprinters. The race route heads back south-south-east, more or less running parallel to yesterday's stage but in the opposite direction, between 50 and 100km to its west.
Given that this is Niedersachsen, for the most part the route is flat; the main notable point in the first 3/4 of the stage is the intermediate sprint in the middle of Hanover, a city which has some noteworthy cycling repute, hosting the finish of the 2007 Deutschlandtour and a year earlier, in 2006, the finish of the last ever fully open Friedensfahrt. It is only after the second intermediate sprint, in the historic town of Hildesheim, that we get anything to challenge the riders. Clausthal-Zellerfeld is known as Germany's northernmost skiing facilities, with a successful talent factory churning out primarily Nordic skiers and biathletes; as such it is perhaps no surprise to discover that unlike most towns around the Harz mountains the city lies within the mountains rather than below them - so the riders have got to ascend up to that altitude.
The actual climbs to do so are not that threatening, but do mean that an absolute climbing mug like a Guardini or a Kittel may struggle here; first up is Sternplatz, a wide open and mostly unthreatening road which is only properly steep for the last 2km, which average around 7,5% with a maximum of 15%, cresting with 17,3km remaining. This leads directly into the mostly very consistent climb to Hahnenklee, a holiday village slightly to the north of Clausthal-Zellerfeld which also sits at the foot of some of the local skiing facilities. The climb is, according to Quäl dich, 4km bang on, at 6,3%, which is slightly easier than cronoescalada suggests but more likely to be accurate. Enough to offer an opportunity for a puncheur to give this one a go. However, they must be wary that there is no descent to recover after putting in the strong efforts uphill, and though the run-in after the summit is only 10km, that lack of recovery time could prove problematic. Also, the sprint-from-a-reduced-bunch types will surely be keen to contest this one - you know the types, the Sagans, Lobatos, Boasson Hagens and Matthewses of this world. Maybe even Gerrans. And after his performances in North Norway this week you can't write off the likes of Kristoff, while the stage also looks pretty similar to a Giro stage won by John Degenkolb a couple of years ago. The final run-in is slightly uphill but not in the way that would put the focus back on to puncheurs, it's just a slightly uphill sprint.
Verden an der Aller:
Clausthal-Zellerfeld:
Stage 4: Verden an der Aller - Clausthal-Zellerfeld, 175km
GPM:
Sternplatz (cat.3) 4,7km @ 5,0%
Hahnenklee (cat.3) 4,0km @ 6,3%
Starting in the small town of Verden an der Aller, just to the east of Bremen (which hosted the final ever Deutschlandtour stage in 2008) and best known for an apparent massacre of the Saxons conducted in the age of Charlemagne, the fourth stage of the Deutschlandtour is entirely in Niedersachsen, and is both the first opportunity for hillier riders to come out and play, and perhaps the first real stage for the sprinters. The race route heads back south-south-east, more or less running parallel to yesterday's stage but in the opposite direction, between 50 and 100km to its west.
Given that this is Niedersachsen, for the most part the route is flat; the main notable point in the first 3/4 of the stage is the intermediate sprint in the middle of Hanover, a city which has some noteworthy cycling repute, hosting the finish of the 2007 Deutschlandtour and a year earlier, in 2006, the finish of the last ever fully open Friedensfahrt. It is only after the second intermediate sprint, in the historic town of Hildesheim, that we get anything to challenge the riders. Clausthal-Zellerfeld is known as Germany's northernmost skiing facilities, with a successful talent factory churning out primarily Nordic skiers and biathletes; as such it is perhaps no surprise to discover that unlike most towns around the Harz mountains the city lies within the mountains rather than below them - so the riders have got to ascend up to that altitude.
The actual climbs to do so are not that threatening, but do mean that an absolute climbing mug like a Guardini or a Kittel may struggle here; first up is Sternplatz, a wide open and mostly unthreatening road which is only properly steep for the last 2km, which average around 7,5% with a maximum of 15%, cresting with 17,3km remaining. This leads directly into the mostly very consistent climb to Hahnenklee, a holiday village slightly to the north of Clausthal-Zellerfeld which also sits at the foot of some of the local skiing facilities. The climb is, according to Quäl dich, 4km bang on, at 6,3%, which is slightly easier than cronoescalada suggests but more likely to be accurate. Enough to offer an opportunity for a puncheur to give this one a go. However, they must be wary that there is no descent to recover after putting in the strong efforts uphill, and though the run-in after the summit is only 10km, that lack of recovery time could prove problematic. Also, the sprint-from-a-reduced-bunch types will surely be keen to contest this one - you know the types, the Sagans, Lobatos, Boasson Hagens and Matthewses of this world. Maybe even Gerrans. And after his performances in North Norway this week you can't write off the likes of Kristoff, while the stage also looks pretty similar to a Giro stage won by John Degenkolb a couple of years ago. The final run-in is slightly uphill but not in the way that would put the focus back on to puncheurs, it's just a slightly uphill sprint.
Verden an der Aller:
Clausthal-Zellerfeld:
Re:
yay you use my hometownMayomaniac said:Österreich-Rundfahrt stage 7: Münzzuschlag - Klosterneuburg; 166,9km
The already mentioned stage for the sprinters before the final TT.
The stage starts in Mürzzuschlag, a town known mostly for his rich history in steel processing, in 1912 Max Mauermann developed the first staintless steel here.
After 9km of false flat we have the first climb of the day, Preiner Gscheid, 7,7km at 3,9%, a pretty easy climb that will bring the race to Niderösterreich, Ausria's largest Bundesland.
After 50km of false flat we have the next climb that has a pretty unusal name, Auf dem Hals, 4km at 4,4%.
The final 84km of the stage are mosty false flat and will bring the riders to Klosterneuburg, a town mostly known for the stunning Klosterneuburg Monastery.
I know, It's a boring sprint stage, but I wanted to have something easy before the final TT and I think the other stages of my Österreich-Rundfahrt are hard enough and could create a decent amount of great racing.
Klosterneuburg:
Re:
I wouldn't say that. This is quite hilly terrain and harder than the profile suggests. Not so easy to control things here. Nice Rundfahrt.Mayomaniac said:
Re:
Credit where credit is due, my knowledge of cobbles in Belgium and Northern France mainly comes from Francophone cyclotourist websites. I personally know a few cobbles that are unknown to the cycling calendar but that's it (I don't recall having talked about them either).
Bravo for your Tour of Germany so far. Looking forward to the rest. Nice to see cobbles outside of the historical Flanders & Walloon land (but I know that they exist, I still remember that cobbled climb in Olomouc, Czech Republic for the Czechoslovakian nats in 2011 or 2012). I still dream to see the Lüneburger Heide cobbles or some other cobbles (seems there exist some in Schleswig Holstein between Lubeck & Hamburg), included in the Vattenfall Cyclassics. There aren't enough cobbled classics these days as opposed to hilly classics (even in Flanders, too many cobbled sections have been asphalted with time ) and a cobbled stage in a stage race does not have the same impact on a palmares as a classic has (sorry that's my opinion ).
Libertine Seguros said:
Credit where credit is due, my knowledge of cobbles in Belgium and Northern France mainly comes from Francophone cyclotourist websites. I personally know a few cobbles that are unknown to the cycling calendar but that's it (I don't recall having talked about them either).
Bravo for your Tour of Germany so far. Looking forward to the rest.
Nice to see cobbles outside of the historical Flanders & Walloon land (but I know that they exist, I still remember that cobbled climb in Olomouc, Czech Republic for the Czechoslovakian nats in 2011 or 2012). I still dream to see the Lüneburger Heide cobbles or some other cobbles (seems there exist some in Schleswig Holstein between Lubeck & Hamburg), included in the Vattenfall Cyclassics. There aren't enough cobbled classics these days as opposed to hilly classics (even in Flanders, too many cobbled sections have been asphalted with time ) and a cobbled stage in a stage race does not have the same impact on a palmares as a classic has (sorry that's my opinion ).
Londres Paris Stage 2: 155km Dorking to Folkestone
On the second stage of the Londres Paris, we start as close as possible to stage 1's finish. From Dorkingwe head over to Redhill for the first Prime. Because it is very early on, the riders going for the GC at the end of the week, will probably want to get the bonus seconds of 3,2,1. After that the break will probably get away and take the next prime at Tonbridge. This is followed by the feed at the similarly named Royal Tumbridge Wells. We then head south to Ryeto start the most decisive part of the stage. In Rye there are cobbled roadsbut we will leave the pavé until tommorrow after we travel across La Manche/The English Channel. As I seaid we have the decisive part of the stage, as the only protection from the sea wind, are thefew dykes along the way. The rest is unprotected. We shall then proceed past the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. However the riders will have no chance to look at it (or ride on it) as it will be full speed ahead until the finish line. Before we reach the finish, the riders will be faced with a slight rise where a Puncheur could possibly escape to take victory on his lonesome, or in a very small group. After a technical slight descent through Folkestone, we finish on the marine parade by the sea front.
Dorking:
Folkestone:
A ferry across to Calais from Folkestone will follow, before being transfered to La Touquet Paris Plage for the next stage.
On the second stage of the Londres Paris, we start as close as possible to stage 1's finish. From Dorkingwe head over to Redhill for the first Prime. Because it is very early on, the riders going for the GC at the end of the week, will probably want to get the bonus seconds of 3,2,1. After that the break will probably get away and take the next prime at Tonbridge. This is followed by the feed at the similarly named Royal Tumbridge Wells. We then head south to Ryeto start the most decisive part of the stage. In Rye there are cobbled roadsbut we will leave the pavé until tommorrow after we travel across La Manche/The English Channel. As I seaid we have the decisive part of the stage, as the only protection from the sea wind, are thefew dykes along the way. The rest is unprotected. We shall then proceed past the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. However the riders will have no chance to look at it (or ride on it) as it will be full speed ahead until the finish line. Before we reach the finish, the riders will be faced with a slight rise where a Puncheur could possibly escape to take victory on his lonesome, or in a very small group. After a technical slight descent through Folkestone, we finish on the marine parade by the sea front.
Dorking:
Folkestone:
A ferry across to Calais from Folkestone will follow, before being transfered to La Touquet Paris Plage for the next stage.
Just in case you didnt know, the stages for the race design challenge are posted in a thread in the games section.
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=29806
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=29806
@ Gigs: You'll probably also like the final stage
Österreich-Rundfahrt stage 8: Klosterneuburg - Klosterneuburg ITT; 36,7km
The final TT takes place on a circuit around your hometown.
This one is not just a pure power test, you have a little bit of rolling terrain and a short climb, Hirschberg, 3,8km at 5,1%.
The TT starts in Klosterneuburg and after a few km of flat, some rolling terrain and a short descent the riders ride through St. Andrä vor dem Hagenthale after 11,4km.
The climb starts in Königstetten after 16km, you have some flat on top of the climb and the gentle escent starts after the riders reach Steinriegl after 24km.
Even the descent is, just like the whole final part of the TT, more of a false flat, you just should be able to ride the biggest gear that you can.
Overall the TT is not too technical, we have some rolling terrain and a short climb to spice things up, but it'S still a TT for the specialists.
The long final TT should force the climbers to attack on the hard road stages.
Klosterneuburg:
Österreich-Rundfahrt stage 8: Klosterneuburg - Klosterneuburg ITT; 36,7km
The final TT takes place on a circuit around your hometown.
This one is not just a pure power test, you have a little bit of rolling terrain and a short climb, Hirschberg, 3,8km at 5,1%.
The TT starts in Klosterneuburg and after a few km of flat, some rolling terrain and a short descent the riders ride through St. Andrä vor dem Hagenthale after 11,4km.
The climb starts in Königstetten after 16km, you have some flat on top of the climb and the gentle escent starts after the riders reach Steinriegl after 24km.
Even the descent is, just like the whole final part of the TT, more of a false flat, you just should be able to ride the biggest gear that you can.
Overall the TT is not too technical, we have some rolling terrain and a short climb to spice things up, but it'S still a TT for the specialists.
The long final TT should force the climbers to attack on the hard road stages.
Klosterneuburg:
Its really kind of funny to see a stage in my hometown. I can almost see my house on the picture and I live about 100 meters away of your route.
Btw, I wouldnt underestimate how technical the second part of your stage is. In my area Weidling is known for its narrow streets, because nobody wants to drive through that town by car
Btw, I wouldnt underestimate how technical the second part of your stage is. In my area Weidling is known for its narrow streets, because nobody wants to drive through that town by car
Stage 5: Göttingen - Winterberg, 224km
GPM:
Hohes Gras (cat.2) 7,3km @ 5,5%
Küstelberg (cat.4) 4,2km @ 3,6%
Großes Bildchen (cat.3) 7,4km @ 3,1%
Schanze (cat.2) 5,7km @ 6,3%
Laibach (cat.3) 2,1km @ 7,8%
Kühhude (cat.3) 7,5km @ 3,7%
Astelberg (cat.4) 3,2km @ 4,8%
The first intermediate stage of the race comes on the first Wednesday, as we head southwest into the Sauerland and out of the flat northern third of the country. The stage begins in Göttingen, a historic university city on the southern tip of the Harz which mostly survived the war intact and is therefore renowned as being both attractive and traditional AND vibrant and comparatively trendy owing to the youthful population. There are seven categorized climbs today, including the first two category 2 climbs of the race. The first climb of the day is the first of these, ascending Hohes Gras, the Hausberg of Kassel, thus tying together the two cities which are inexorably linked to the famous Brothers Grimm, who both studied at Kassel and taught at Göttingen. The climb is fairly consistent and serves only as an early factor; the next two climbs are also pretty gradual and unlikely to cause much difficulty.
It is only after we pass our finishing town for the first time with 90km remaining that things start to hot up as the closing sections of the course are on a complex looping route around the Hochsauerland between Schmallenberg and Winterberg, which doubles up as Northern Germany's foremost wintersports mecca, with a well-known ski jump, Bobbahn and more conventional Alpine pistes. The first of the four climbs on this section of course is the steepest, to a small village called Schanze just southeast of Schmallenberg. The road is narrow and though the average is just 6%, there are a couple of kilometres at nearly 9% in the middle there. The riders then head on some false flat to the scenic pass at Albrechtsplatz.
From here, we head south for a short, steep ascent called Laibach (also the name of a Slovenian industrial band, named after the old German name for Ljubljana) at 35km to go; we then loop back and climb up a two-stepped ascent called Kühhude which is in effect the southern side of the Schanze climb, consisting of around 4,5km of false flat followed by a quick punchy ascent which finishes with 2km at 9% and a maximum gradient of 15%. With this topping out at 21km from the finish, the last sprinting hangers-on should be dropped here as we retrace our steps to Albrechtsplatz and set upon the final run-in to Winterberg. Winterberg hosted a stage in the 2008 edition of the Deutschlandtour, although it wasn't as tough a stage as this, with Albrechtsplatz being climbed from Schmallenberg by the main road, less steep than Schanze or Kühhude, and also then having an uphill run-in to Winterberg which, despite the categorization there, is little more than false flat - indeed, the stage was won by that noted puncheur Gerald Ciolek, though the presence of Löfkvist, Urán and Gavazzi in the top 10 give a bit more of an idea of what the stage was like. Either way, rather than that run-in we take a separate run-in via a gradual and unimposing but not to be underestimated final ramp near Kahler Asten; 3km long but only averaging a mostly very consistent 5%, it shouldn't drop many from a péloton that wouldn't have already been dropped before this, but from a small attack group or breakaway, this could be important in deciding who takes the stage and potentially, with this being the first hilly stage and depending how versatile the Classics men near the top of the GC are, the jersey.
Göttingen:
Winterberg:
GPM:
Hohes Gras (cat.2) 7,3km @ 5,5%
Küstelberg (cat.4) 4,2km @ 3,6%
Großes Bildchen (cat.3) 7,4km @ 3,1%
Schanze (cat.2) 5,7km @ 6,3%
Laibach (cat.3) 2,1km @ 7,8%
Kühhude (cat.3) 7,5km @ 3,7%
Astelberg (cat.4) 3,2km @ 4,8%
The first intermediate stage of the race comes on the first Wednesday, as we head southwest into the Sauerland and out of the flat northern third of the country. The stage begins in Göttingen, a historic university city on the southern tip of the Harz which mostly survived the war intact and is therefore renowned as being both attractive and traditional AND vibrant and comparatively trendy owing to the youthful population. There are seven categorized climbs today, including the first two category 2 climbs of the race. The first climb of the day is the first of these, ascending Hohes Gras, the Hausberg of Kassel, thus tying together the two cities which are inexorably linked to the famous Brothers Grimm, who both studied at Kassel and taught at Göttingen. The climb is fairly consistent and serves only as an early factor; the next two climbs are also pretty gradual and unlikely to cause much difficulty.
It is only after we pass our finishing town for the first time with 90km remaining that things start to hot up as the closing sections of the course are on a complex looping route around the Hochsauerland between Schmallenberg and Winterberg, which doubles up as Northern Germany's foremost wintersports mecca, with a well-known ski jump, Bobbahn and more conventional Alpine pistes. The first of the four climbs on this section of course is the steepest, to a small village called Schanze just southeast of Schmallenberg. The road is narrow and though the average is just 6%, there are a couple of kilometres at nearly 9% in the middle there. The riders then head on some false flat to the scenic pass at Albrechtsplatz.
From here, we head south for a short, steep ascent called Laibach (also the name of a Slovenian industrial band, named after the old German name for Ljubljana) at 35km to go; we then loop back and climb up a two-stepped ascent called Kühhude which is in effect the southern side of the Schanze climb, consisting of around 4,5km of false flat followed by a quick punchy ascent which finishes with 2km at 9% and a maximum gradient of 15%. With this topping out at 21km from the finish, the last sprinting hangers-on should be dropped here as we retrace our steps to Albrechtsplatz and set upon the final run-in to Winterberg. Winterberg hosted a stage in the 2008 edition of the Deutschlandtour, although it wasn't as tough a stage as this, with Albrechtsplatz being climbed from Schmallenberg by the main road, less steep than Schanze or Kühhude, and also then having an uphill run-in to Winterberg which, despite the categorization there, is little more than false flat - indeed, the stage was won by that noted puncheur Gerald Ciolek, though the presence of Löfkvist, Urán and Gavazzi in the top 10 give a bit more of an idea of what the stage was like. Either way, rather than that run-in we take a separate run-in via a gradual and unimposing but not to be underestimated final ramp near Kahler Asten; 3km long but only averaging a mostly very consistent 5%, it shouldn't drop many from a péloton that wouldn't have already been dropped before this, but from a small attack group or breakaway, this could be important in deciding who takes the stage and potentially, with this being the first hilly stage and depending how versatile the Classics men near the top of the GC are, the jersey.
Göttingen:
Winterberg:
While everyone is lapping up the sun in Italy, I am up in the cooler climes of northern France.
Londres Paris Stage 3: 186km La Touquet - Lille
Climbs:
Côte de Campagnette
Côte de Cassel
Côte de Cassel
Monts du Cats
Côte de Molenhof
Côte de Kemmel
Primes:
Arques
Armentieres
Feed Zone:
Bavinchove
Taday we start in the seaside town of La Touquet. This is where stage four of the 2014 Tour de France started (and finished in todays finish town). The stages are not similar, as you will find out. We head for the Côte de Campagnette which was used in that stage. It is then off to the prime at Arques where there is a castle ruin. The race continues on to Bavinchove for the feed. We shall head off to the cobbled Côte de Cassel and then looping round to the paved Côte de Cassel. We leave the hilltop town via the cobbled main road as used in the TDF stage mentioned earlier. We will coninue on to the Monts du Cats. We ride over that to the uncatorgorised Côte de Banne and into Kemmel and its berg. We will work our way to the border with France and head for the prime in Armentieres. We will head into Lille to finish in the Grand Place.
La Touquet:
Lille:
Londres Paris Stage 3: 186km La Touquet - Lille
Climbs:
Côte de Campagnette
Côte de Cassel
Côte de Cassel
Monts du Cats
Côte de Molenhof
Côte de Kemmel
Primes:
Arques
Armentieres
Feed Zone:
Bavinchove
Taday we start in the seaside town of La Touquet. This is where stage four of the 2014 Tour de France started (and finished in todays finish town). The stages are not similar, as you will find out. We head for the Côte de Campagnette which was used in that stage. It is then off to the prime at Arques where there is a castle ruin. The race continues on to Bavinchove for the feed. We shall head off to the cobbled Côte de Cassel and then looping round to the paved Côte de Cassel. We leave the hilltop town via the cobbled main road as used in the TDF stage mentioned earlier. We will coninue on to the Monts du Cats. We ride over that to the uncatorgorised Côte de Banne and into Kemmel and its berg. We will work our way to the border with France and head for the prime in Armentieres. We will head into Lille to finish in the Grand Place.
La Touquet:
Lille:
Londres Paris Stage 4: 215km Lille - Compiègne
Climbs:
Côte de Vimy
Côte de Maucourt
Côte de Cuts
Côte de Tracy le Mont
Primes:
Arras
Roye
Feed zone:
Sappy
We start in yesterday's finish town of Lille, but in the Citadelle de Lille and head south west to the first climb of the day. This is theCôte de Vimy. This is where the monument for the fallen in the ww1 battle of Vimy Ridge. They will then head on to Arraswhere another ww1 battle took place. A battle will once again take place, but this time for the prime We move on to the feed at Sappy. With no stopping we head onto the prime at Roye where many lorries had to stop in 2013 due to snow. They will then take on the climbs at the back end of the day. We head over the Côte de Maucourt, Côte de Cuts and Côte de Tracy le Mont through the forest around Compiègne. In these woods are the Railway Carriage where the ww1 armistice was signed. We will finish in Compiègne by the river but have to navigate the square outside the Maire de Compiegne
Lille:
Compiègne:
One day to go!
Climbs:
Côte de Vimy
Côte de Maucourt
Côte de Cuts
Côte de Tracy le Mont
Primes:
Arras
Roye
Feed zone:
Sappy
We start in yesterday's finish town of Lille, but in the Citadelle de Lille and head south west to the first climb of the day. This is theCôte de Vimy. This is where the monument for the fallen in the ww1 battle of Vimy Ridge. They will then head on to Arraswhere another ww1 battle took place. A battle will once again take place, but this time for the prime We move on to the feed at Sappy. With no stopping we head onto the prime at Roye where many lorries had to stop in 2013 due to snow. They will then take on the climbs at the back end of the day. We head over the Côte de Maucourt, Côte de Cuts and Côte de Tracy le Mont through the forest around Compiègne. In these woods are the Railway Carriage where the ww1 armistice was signed. We will finish in Compiègne by the river but have to navigate the square outside the Maire de Compiegne
Lille:
Compiègne:
One day to go!
ATM I'm having some problems with the internet connection in my hometown, so I haven't used google earth and steetview to see how narrow the roads are, but it's always great to get some feedback from a local guy.Gigs_98 said:Its really kind of funny to see a stage in my hometown. I can almost see my house on the picture and I live about 100 meters away of your route.
Btw, I wouldnt underestimate how technical the second part of your stage is. In my area Weidling is known for its narrow streets, because nobody wants to drive through that town by car
@Libertine: Stage 5 lookes gorgeous and I really like the Laibach reference, do you like the band?
I appreciate the playful, subversive nature of Laibach, but if I'm honest for the most part the industrial styles leave me cold, I most enjoy that genre at its birth, something like Halber Mensch by Einstürzende Neubauten would be what I would point to.
Stage 6: Frankenberg an der Eder - Königstein im Taunus, 158km
GPM:
Donnerskopf (cat.3) 3,1km @ 5,1%
Saalburger Höhe (cat.4) 1,9km @ 5,0%
Großer Feldberg (cat.1) 13,5km @ 4,7%
Mammolshainer Berg (cat.3) 2,3km @ 8,0%
After a scenic stage through the Sauerland, we head southward through the state of Hesse for our shortest road stage thus far, and the first chance for the climbers to show themselves. The start is not far from yesterday's finish, in the scenic and historic town of Frankenberg an der Eder, currently part of an experiment by the Hessian Land to test the impact municipal improvement measures have on the town's demographics (I assume what this corporate jargon means is that they want to test if they can change the profile of who lives in the town and/or their quality of life through means of town planning/administrative changes). It's a scenic town, but the riders will be heading south towards Hesse's largest conurbation, the Frankfurt am Main urban sprawl. For the most part, the route there is rolling; ramps are short and/or insignificant for the first half of the stage until we reach the foothills of the Taunus mountains, that low-to-mid range that sits between the Eifel and the Rhön mountains, and characterises the northern Rhein-Main area.
The first two climbs of the stage aren't really much to write home about from a climbing perspective, though the reconstructed Roman fortress at Römerkastell Saalburg is worth a visit. From here we descend into the first of the scenic low-Taunus towns and cities that form the affluent suburbs of the Frankfurt financial hub. Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is famous for its eponymous hats, but is a scenic spa town in its own right, which we pass through before the intermediate sprint at the chocolate box town of Oberursel. Weirdly, you can visit both of these on Frankfurt's U-Bahn network as lines U2 (Bad Homburg) and U3 (Oberursel) turn into suburban overgrounds on the city's outskirts. Oberursel-Hohemark, the end of the latter, is right at the foot of our first category 1 climb of the race, the long but gradual ascent of the highest peak in the Taunus mountains, the mighty Großer Feldberg.
Towering over Frankfurt and its surrounding area, the Großer Feldberg from this side is 13km of grind, with the wick slowly being turned up to a maximum gradient of 11%. There are no truly steep sections, so my anticipation here is that the pace will be turned up by the climbing leaders' teams to try to drop the puncheurs without the endurance for a longer climb and also the Classics style riders who may have time in hand from the ITT and the cobbled stages; the summit is only 19km from the finish, so riders may well push hard here, and second-tier challengers may even consider a flyer if they can descend well, with a fast descent into the finishing town of Königstein before turning left past Opel-Zoo and into Kronberg. From here things take a turn for the familiar; the Großer Feldberg, it may not have escaped you, is the first major climb of the day (Riedberg is barely a climb) in the Rund um Frankfurt, which I coo about owing to its' balanced parcours that has led to races where with 1km to go both Domenico Pozzovivo and André Greipel are still in the mix for victory, and its role in establishing my cycling fandom. It's now time for the race's trademark climb, the shorter, steeper puncheur's favourite that is the Mammolshainer Berg.
The actual profile of Mammolshain is quite hard to come by; what is known is the climb is between 2 and 3km long and averaging between 6,5 and 8,5% depending on where you draw the start and finish points. From where I've taken it for the purposes of this race, it's 2km @ 8%. Its most notorious section is the painfully steep Mammolshainer Stich, purported to get up to 26%, though other estimates have 19%, 21% and 23% as the maximum. To complicate matters, Quäl dich don't include it as a separate entry, only as part of the many southwestern faces of the Großer Feldberg, however their profile including it suggests 21% as the maximum, along with a tough 500m averaging over 14% in the middle.
My TV screen was sadly without the Mammolshainer Berg in 2015 thanks to the Rund um Frankfurt having to be cancelled following a terrorist scare. Therefore I'm bringing it back for this - and with the stage finishing back in Königstein, the crest of the climb comes a mere 1km from the finish, so while the climb is longer and steeper than the Cauberg, the finish will be a little like the current version of Amstel Gold. I would be mighty impressed if we saw the likes of Michael Matthews up there in this one (or local boy John Degenkolb, who lives in Mainhattan and has won the Maitagrennen twice), however the 1km run-in may lead to some interesting cat and mouse following the steep puncheur's special that is the climb. After a short stage and with the climbers hoping to put the pressure on early this could also be interesting to see the composition of the group fighting out the final climb as week 1 rolls towards an end.
Frankenberg an der Eder:
Königstein im Taunus:
Stage 6: Frankenberg an der Eder - Königstein im Taunus, 158km
GPM:
Donnerskopf (cat.3) 3,1km @ 5,1%
Saalburger Höhe (cat.4) 1,9km @ 5,0%
Großer Feldberg (cat.1) 13,5km @ 4,7%
Mammolshainer Berg (cat.3) 2,3km @ 8,0%
After a scenic stage through the Sauerland, we head southward through the state of Hesse for our shortest road stage thus far, and the first chance for the climbers to show themselves. The start is not far from yesterday's finish, in the scenic and historic town of Frankenberg an der Eder, currently part of an experiment by the Hessian Land to test the impact municipal improvement measures have on the town's demographics (I assume what this corporate jargon means is that they want to test if they can change the profile of who lives in the town and/or their quality of life through means of town planning/administrative changes). It's a scenic town, but the riders will be heading south towards Hesse's largest conurbation, the Frankfurt am Main urban sprawl. For the most part, the route there is rolling; ramps are short and/or insignificant for the first half of the stage until we reach the foothills of the Taunus mountains, that low-to-mid range that sits between the Eifel and the Rhön mountains, and characterises the northern Rhein-Main area.
The first two climbs of the stage aren't really much to write home about from a climbing perspective, though the reconstructed Roman fortress at Römerkastell Saalburg is worth a visit. From here we descend into the first of the scenic low-Taunus towns and cities that form the affluent suburbs of the Frankfurt financial hub. Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is famous for its eponymous hats, but is a scenic spa town in its own right, which we pass through before the intermediate sprint at the chocolate box town of Oberursel. Weirdly, you can visit both of these on Frankfurt's U-Bahn network as lines U2 (Bad Homburg) and U3 (Oberursel) turn into suburban overgrounds on the city's outskirts. Oberursel-Hohemark, the end of the latter, is right at the foot of our first category 1 climb of the race, the long but gradual ascent of the highest peak in the Taunus mountains, the mighty Großer Feldberg.
Towering over Frankfurt and its surrounding area, the Großer Feldberg from this side is 13km of grind, with the wick slowly being turned up to a maximum gradient of 11%. There are no truly steep sections, so my anticipation here is that the pace will be turned up by the climbing leaders' teams to try to drop the puncheurs without the endurance for a longer climb and also the Classics style riders who may have time in hand from the ITT and the cobbled stages; the summit is only 19km from the finish, so riders may well push hard here, and second-tier challengers may even consider a flyer if they can descend well, with a fast descent into the finishing town of Königstein before turning left past Opel-Zoo and into Kronberg. From here things take a turn for the familiar; the Großer Feldberg, it may not have escaped you, is the first major climb of the day (Riedberg is barely a climb) in the Rund um Frankfurt, which I coo about owing to its' balanced parcours that has led to races where with 1km to go both Domenico Pozzovivo and André Greipel are still in the mix for victory, and its role in establishing my cycling fandom. It's now time for the race's trademark climb, the shorter, steeper puncheur's favourite that is the Mammolshainer Berg.
The actual profile of Mammolshain is quite hard to come by; what is known is the climb is between 2 and 3km long and averaging between 6,5 and 8,5% depending on where you draw the start and finish points. From where I've taken it for the purposes of this race, it's 2km @ 8%. Its most notorious section is the painfully steep Mammolshainer Stich, purported to get up to 26%, though other estimates have 19%, 21% and 23% as the maximum. To complicate matters, Quäl dich don't include it as a separate entry, only as part of the many southwestern faces of the Großer Feldberg, however their profile including it suggests 21% as the maximum, along with a tough 500m averaging over 14% in the middle.
My TV screen was sadly without the Mammolshainer Berg in 2015 thanks to the Rund um Frankfurt having to be cancelled following a terrorist scare. Therefore I'm bringing it back for this - and with the stage finishing back in Königstein, the crest of the climb comes a mere 1km from the finish, so while the climb is longer and steeper than the Cauberg, the finish will be a little like the current version of Amstel Gold. I would be mighty impressed if we saw the likes of Michael Matthews up there in this one (or local boy John Degenkolb, who lives in Mainhattan and has won the Maitagrennen twice), however the 1km run-in may lead to some interesting cat and mouse following the steep puncheur's special that is the climb. After a short stage and with the climbers hoping to put the pressure on early this could also be interesting to see the composition of the group fighting out the final climb as week 1 rolls towards an end.
Frankenberg an der Eder:
Königstein im Taunus:
Stage 1 - Alghero (L'Alguer) > Capo Figari (Golfo Aranci), 230 km.
After over 10 days of projecting i have the Grand Depart of my Giro, as i said previously the area of the first stage is the northern Sardinia and, since i don't like TTT and prologues and we need something to define the GC, it's an hilly stage (7 KOM of category 3/4) and, having found in the area a lot of sterrato road, i add five sector (+ the finish).
For all sectors i add a category like the climb based on:
*State of the road
*Presence of climb
*Presence of descent
*Lenght of the sector
These are the sectors:
1)Rio Barca, 8.2 km long with 6.5 km of climb at 2.5% and 1.4 km of descent.
2)Putifugari, 11.7 km long with 7.1 km of climb at 3.7% and 2.1 km of descent.
3)Ittiri, 0.6 km long with no climb.
4)Strada Silvaru, 6.1 km long with 5.1 of climb at 4.3%.
5)Coghinas, 7.4 km long with 4.3 km of climb at 15.3% (the Coghinas climb, exept last km that is only 3.2%, is 6.2 km at 17.9% with some peak over 25%) and 1.7 km of descent.
The finish, 5.2 km long with 3.3 km of climb at 9.9%.
These are the KOM:
1)Ossi, 3.6 km at 2.6%.
2)Sassari, 4.6 km at 4.7%.
3)Osilo, 5.3 km at 4.8%.
4)Chiaromonti, 2.8 km at 2.9%.
5)Learu, 3.4 km at 1.4%.
6)Tempio Pausania, 5.7 km at 4.6%.
7)Calangianus, 4.4 km at 2.7%.
I think could be an hard stage but not excessively because the most of sterrato and climbs are concentrated in the first 100 km, someone could argue that a reverse route would be better but it's only the beginning and the sterrato it's an unexpected extra (the sterrato stage will be in southern Tuscany) that i add because the second stage will be easier than i originally planned because i don't find a climb for a MTF in the island.
After over 10 days of projecting i have the Grand Depart of my Giro, as i said previously the area of the first stage is the northern Sardinia and, since i don't like TTT and prologues and we need something to define the GC, it's an hilly stage (7 KOM of category 3/4) and, having found in the area a lot of sterrato road, i add five sector (+ the finish).
For all sectors i add a category like the climb based on:
*State of the road
*Presence of climb
*Presence of descent
*Lenght of the sector
These are the sectors:
1)Rio Barca, 8.2 km long with 6.5 km of climb at 2.5% and 1.4 km of descent.
2)Putifugari, 11.7 km long with 7.1 km of climb at 3.7% and 2.1 km of descent.
3)Ittiri, 0.6 km long with no climb.
4)Strada Silvaru, 6.1 km long with 5.1 of climb at 4.3%.
5)Coghinas, 7.4 km long with 4.3 km of climb at 15.3% (the Coghinas climb, exept last km that is only 3.2%, is 6.2 km at 17.9% with some peak over 25%) and 1.7 km of descent.
The finish, 5.2 km long with 3.3 km of climb at 9.9%.
These are the KOM:
1)Ossi, 3.6 km at 2.6%.
2)Sassari, 4.6 km at 4.7%.
3)Osilo, 5.3 km at 4.8%.
4)Chiaromonti, 2.8 km at 2.9%.
5)Learu, 3.4 km at 1.4%.
6)Tempio Pausania, 5.7 km at 4.6%.
7)Calangianus, 4.4 km at 2.7%.
I think could be an hard stage but not excessively because the most of sterrato and climbs are concentrated in the first 100 km, someone could argue that a reverse route would be better but it's only the beginning and the sterrato it's an unexpected extra (the sterrato stage will be in southern Tuscany) that i add because the second stage will be easier than i originally planned because i don't find a climb for a MTF in the island.
Libertine, your stage looks great. When it comes to Laibach I really enjoy Nova Akropola, it's probably my favourite Laibach album.
I also like the first 2 Current 93 albums Nature Unveiled an Dogs Blood Rising, maybe you could classify them as industrial.
I also like the first 2 Current 93 albums Nature Unveiled an Dogs Blood Rising, maybe you could classify them as industrial.
for those who are interested in older vueltas here are roadbooks from 1960 - 2014
http://www.avueltasconlavuelta.com/search/label/Libros Ruta
http://www.avueltasconlavuelta.com/search/label/Libros Ruta
Londres Paris Stage 5a: 93km Compiègne - Paris
Climbs:
None
Primes:
Saint Witz
Paris Stade France
Feed Zone:
None
For the first part of stage 5 we a have a 93km romp into Paris, with no climbs or feed zones (no feed zones as its so short). This is a stage to get us into the capital of France from where the real racing will take place in the early evening. We have a prime in Saint Witz and another outside the Stade France on the outskirts of Paris. We then have a short ride south to the finish on the Boulevard Barbès below the Montmartre hill.
Compiègne:
Boulavard Barbes:
Londres Paris Stage 5b: 3.2km Paris - Paris
Climbs:
Montmartre
Primes:
None (TT)
Time Split:
Rue Martyrs @ 1.7km
We start on the finish of stage 5b and head north before looping round and heading onto the Boulevard de la Chapelle. They will shortly urn off onto the narrower Rue Martyrs and cross the time split. They will then head up the hill and onto the Rue des abbesses. The road narro narrows again as they head onto the Rue Lepic before they hit the Rue Norvins. They will then head onto the Rue Saint-Eleuthere to finish infront of the Sacré-Cœur.
Sacre Coeur:
The Overall route:
Figures:
TT's: 2
Road Stages: 5
Stages in France: Four
Stages in England: Three
Longest stage: Stage 4 (214.8km)
Shortest Stage: Stage 5b (3.2km)
Shortest Road Stage: Stage 5a (93km)
Stage with most elevation gain: Stage 3 (1523m)
Stage with least amount of elevation gain: Prologue (0m)
Climbs:
None
Primes:
Saint Witz
Paris Stade France
Feed Zone:
None
For the first part of stage 5 we a have a 93km romp into Paris, with no climbs or feed zones (no feed zones as its so short). This is a stage to get us into the capital of France from where the real racing will take place in the early evening. We have a prime in Saint Witz and another outside the Stade France on the outskirts of Paris. We then have a short ride south to the finish on the Boulevard Barbès below the Montmartre hill.
Compiègne:
Boulavard Barbes:
Londres Paris Stage 5b: 3.2km Paris - Paris
Climbs:
Montmartre
Primes:
None (TT)
Time Split:
Rue Martyrs @ 1.7km
We start on the finish of stage 5b and head north before looping round and heading onto the Boulevard de la Chapelle. They will shortly urn off onto the narrower Rue Martyrs and cross the time split. They will then head up the hill and onto the Rue des abbesses. The road narro narrows again as they head onto the Rue Lepic before they hit the Rue Norvins. They will then head onto the Rue Saint-Eleuthere to finish infront of the Sacré-Cœur.
Sacre Coeur:
The Overall route:
Figures:
TT's: 2
Road Stages: 5
Stages in France: Four
Stages in England: Three
Longest stage: Stage 4 (214.8km)
Shortest Stage: Stage 5b (3.2km)
Shortest Road Stage: Stage 5a (93km)
Stage with most elevation gain: Stage 3 (1523m)
Stage with least amount of elevation gain: Prologue (0m)
Climbing Montmartre is a great idea. I like it this way...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwjy0qED2Lo
Maybe this is interesting for the race design mafia...
Libros de Ruta Vuelta Ciclista a España 1960 - 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwjy0qED2Lo
Maybe this is interesting for the race design mafia...
Libros de Ruta Vuelta Ciclista a España 1960 - 2014
Is there one of those for the Giro?
By the way, when drawing a Giro route, it is nearly impossible to resist the many hills that pepper Italy.
How the organisers managed to draw a course that allowed Ale-Jet to win 9 stages is unbelievable.
By the way, when drawing a Giro route, it is nearly impossible to resist the many hills that pepper Italy.
How the organisers managed to draw a course that allowed Ale-Jet to win 9 stages is unbelievable.
That is basically what I put for climbing it.Max Rockatansky said:Climbing Montmartre is a great idea. I like it this way...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwjy0qED2Lo
Maybe this is interesting for the race design mafia...
Libros de Ruta Vuelta Ciclista a España 1960 - 2014
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