Race Design Thread

[karlboss]

It is a little painful watching a parcours being neutered in the name of who knows what when you know there is good terrain nearby.

 

[rgmerk]

Are these walls rideable?

Craig, some of these little ramps appear to have quite vicious gradients. I know ridewithGPS isn't always accurate, though. Are they actually rideable on a road bike?

 

[togo95]

Craig, some of these little ramps appear to have quite vicious gradients. I know ridewithGPS isn't always accurate, though. Are they actually rideable on a road bike?

I looked closely at the map and I'm quite sure that it's inaccurate. At some point there is for example a river climbing around 300 m and right after that going down 300 m. Therefore I think the roads and other objects are shifted compared to the height information.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Meanwhile, in another part of Asia, the Kazakhs see this climbing going on and get a bit of 'keeping up with the Joneses' syndrome...

Stage 4: Baiterek - Shymbulak Ski Resort, 182km

A long circuit featuring the challenging climb of Beskaynar starts this fourth stage, undoubtedly the queen stage of the Almaty Tour. We then have a long flat section as the riders bypass Almaty and head up to the town of Baiserke before looping back to their starting town. However, this time after descending from Beskaynar, we will turn into the outskirts of the former capital, ready to unleash hell on the riders. The climb to the ski resort of Shymbulak, with the roads and infrastructure improved and made state of the art to host the Asian Winter Games in 2011, is by this route 23,8km at an average of 6,1%. It flattens out a little a few kilometres from the top before a final 3km at nearly 10% wipes out what is left of the riders' resolve. Gaps will be created by this one, no doubt.

Climbs:
Beskaynar (cat.1) 10,5km @ 5,4%
Beskaynar (cat.1) 10,5km @ 5,4%
Shymbulak (HC) 23,8km @ 6,1%

After this one the riders will be able to enjoy spectacular views down from the Tian Shan Mountains down onto the city... if they have the strength left.

Shymbulak road:

 

[roundabout]

Something a bit different. Tour of Czech Republic. I know there's one already but I'll bump it up to 7 stages.

Stage 1

http://www.tracks4bikers.com/tracks/show/75955

3 climbs in the last 30k, nothing particularly difficult

Stage 2

http://www.tracks4bikers.com/tracks/show/75956

Cervenohorske Sedlo with 30 to go the big difficulty

Stage 3

A "flat" stage with the final little hill at 2.4km to go. It's only about 1800 meters at less than 4% so it's not impossible for a sprinter to win.

Stage 4

http://www.tracks4bikers.com/tracks/show/75966

Ardennes-like stage up and down all day with the finish next to Krivoklat castle

http://www.stopin-praha.cz/images/articles/krivoklat1.jpg

Stage 5

http://www.tracks4bikers.com/tracks/show/75992

A short and sharp junior-length mountain stage to Klinovec

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Klinovec_im_Januar_2008.jpg

Stage 6

http://www.tracks4bikers.com/tracks/show/75993

A medium length longish TT for the stronger riders to gain time

Stage 7

http://www.tracks4bikers.com/tracks/show/75994

The final parade

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Library post

Fictional Stage Races (Asia)

Almaty Tour (Libertine Seguros) Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6

Tour of Bengal Sikkim (ramjambunath): Stage 1 Stages 2 & 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6

Tour of China (Progsprach): 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

Tour of Japan (Lupetto): 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

Tour of Java (SafeBet): Prologue 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

Tour of Northern Thailand (togo95): Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Stage 7 Stage 8 Stage 9

More will be added here as they are posted. All library posts are linked from the original post in the thread.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Something a bit different. Tour of Czech Republic. I know there's one already but I'll bump it up to 7 stages.

First thing I expected was a Cerna Horá MTF! I really like the Ardennes stage to the castle.

 

[karlboss]

I looked closely at the map and I'm quite sure that it's inaccurate. At some point there is for example a river climbing around 300 m and right after that going down 300 m. Therefore I think the roads and other objects are shifted compared to the height information.

Most of these programs have their bugs. I was doing a GT of SE australia, I'll release it soon, and you'll notice on one stage after a cat one climb...there appears to be a near instantaneous drop and reaccent or over 1000m, I know the road and can assure you there isn't. I generally use map my ride for this stuff as it generally smooths out some things, false flats are annoying and there are the odd glitches like this one.

 

[craig1985]

Most of these programs have their bugs. I was doing a GT of SE australia, I'll release it soon, and you'll notice on one stage after a cat one climb...there appears to be a near instantaneous drop and reaccent or over 1000m, I know the road and can assure you there isn't. I generally use map my ride for this stuff as it generally smooths out some things, false flats are annoying and there are the odd glitches like this one.

When I did my Tour of the Gold Coast, one of the climbs I marked had it at 32%, and again I've ridden it and I can tell you it's not 32%. It's a 2.1km climb at 13%, and about halfway through it flattens out for 100m, and then it kicks up again, but it's certainly not 32%.

 

[rgmerk]

The tour of Khazakhstan looks pretty good - and with Astana's seemingly long-term presence in the World Tour it would kinda make sense for them to have a home race of some kind.

Feasible as part of the Asia Tour, perhaps?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Time to give the rouleurs a chance to claw back the time they lost on the way to Shymbulak yesterday, with a medium-length chrono taking in the sights of the Apple City.

Stage 5: Almaty Central Stadium - Almaty Central Stadium, 26,5km (ITT)

This medium-length time trial through the heart of the city will confirm who the players are in the race, with its rolling nature favouring the specialists. A good all-rounder should be able to take control of the race here; one that doesn't lose too much time to the climbers uphill but is very solid against the clock. The route takes in many of Almaty's attractions, starting and finishing at the national stadium, and taking in the Students' Palace, national University, Botanical Gardens, the Kazakh Medical Institute and the Ascension Cathedral. This should put the GC in order ahead of tomorrow's finale.

Almaty Central Stadium:

Almaty:

 

[craig1985]

No doubt there is some coin to be made being a window cleaner in Almaty. Isn't Almaty the former capital of Kazakhstan?

 

[craig1985]

Tour of Beijing stages 4 and 5

Time to finish the Tour of Beijing off:

Stage 4: Tian'anmen Square - Sanchakoucun - 197.8km:

Map and profile

Starting from Tian'anmen Square, the first 106km are flat we leave Beijing and enter Hebei Province once again for the MTF at the small town of Sanchakoucun. The race is littered with lots of up and down climbing with small sharp hills that will really test the legs as there is plenty of attacks with one last bid to get a stage win or gain time and win the race overall as tomorrow's stage is a flat one designed for whatever sprinters bothered to turn up. The last 6km has plenty of opportunities to attack and would probably suit somebody like Purito in the end with one last little kick up towards the finish line. Too-bad Purito can't TT.

Stage 5 - Pinggu - Tian'anmen Square - 168.3km:

Map and profile

Starting from Pinggu and as we make our way back into Beijing Province, we have some more climbing, but it won't change much, just final KOM points as the race will end in Tian'anmen Square and finish in a bunch sprint. The last of the climbing ends at 60km, so the peloton has over 100km to bring the breakaway back. The peloton has a detour around the Forbidden City, but the result will still be the same though.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Lol, poor Purito. All of a sudden the race looks like it could fulfil its aim of being good preparation for Lombardia! Shame Lombardia has moved into September now so it can't.

I'm currently working on a Vuelta, since we've had some Tours and some Giri, but the one GT that gets the most stick for not making the most of its possibilities has been overlooked thus far. When I finish posting up Almaty we'll be raring to go.

 

[craig1985]

I've thought about doing a revival of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana but my main fear is that I don't actually know all the good climbs there, and any unknown climbs that could be used in the race to make things more exciting. I might give it a go and through trial and error see what I can come up with.

 

[craig1985]

BTW, for 2.2, 1.1, and .1HC races, is there limit on how long a stage can be in a stage race or do the same rules apply for a WT race?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I don't actually know, but I've seen 200km+ stages in all three. I've certainly included some 200km+ stages in my non-WT races.

 

[craig1985]

Cool, because I'm doing a Tour of Algeria at the moment and it's got some really selective hills.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Anyhow, it is time for us to finish off our trip around Almaty Province, and wave goodbye to Kazakhstan. And what better way to do it than to finish overlooking the city?

Stage 6: Kaskelen - Alma-Ata Tower, 175km

The final stage of the Almaty Tour is our only trek to the West of the city, starting in the market town of Kaskelen. We start with a northward loop, before turning West and South on a rolling course towards Fabrichniy, in the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains. After this we slowly roll back to Kaskelen before heading into the city.

The closing circuit climbs from KIMER up to the base of Kök Tübe twice, before, on the third circuit, rather than continue the gradual ascent we turn left at the Malaysian Embassy and handle the short and steep ascent up the the Alma Ata TV Tower. Alma-Ata is the former name of Almaty, hence the name. This climb is not especially imposing in statistics (3,8km @ 5,2%), but the final kilometre of that is at 8,9%, with steepest ramps of between 15 and 20%. If the GC battle is still close we could see some real fighting going on on these circuits, especially the last time around; the climb is otherwise not too difficult to handle. The riders can then either do the race ending presentations at the top of Kök Tübe, looking out over the city, or can take the cable car down and enjoy a presentation in the centre of the city.

Climbs:
Tau Samal (cat.2) 4,8km @ 4,2%
Tau Samal (cat.2) 4,8km @ 4,2%
Kök Tübe (Alma Ata Tower)(cat.2) 3,8km @ 5,2%

Kaskelen:

Alma-Ata Tower:

 

[craig1985]

I'm doing a Tour of Algeria ATM, and I have to admit, I had no idea how big the country is until I started mapping some routes.

 

[Netserk]

My Big Alpe Stage

ca. 6000 vertical meters and 192km long.
Ending on the plateau des saix

PS: It's a part of my fantasy-tour, but just wanted to post one of the really good stages

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Despite a few last minute alterations, I think I'm more or less happy with a race I've been trying to work out for some time. While there have been many attempts at stages for the Tour de France and the Tour itself, and many attempts at stages for the Giro d'Italia and the Giro itself, the runt of the Grand Tour litter has gone sadly untouched. This to me seems strange, since the Vuelta is perhaps the Grand Tour that has the most in the way of untouched or underused opportunities. Like the Tour, it has a tendency to play it safe with its routes, and use a lot of tried and trusted areas, as well as a worrying tendency to go with the approach of "if it worked this year it will work next year too!"

Now, naturally, given the Vuelta's tendencies, I couldn't just go absolutely all-out on a route that doesn't touch any of the Vuelta's traditional stomping grounds. I have therefore attempted to mix tradition with innovation and showcase some of the racing territory that the race leaves sadly untouched whilst still having room for some of the race's traditional homes that have supported the race through thick and thin.

So!

¡La Vuelta Libertina de España!

Stage 1/Prologue: Barcelona - Barcelona, 5,4km

The Grand Depart of my Vuelta is at Plaza España, in the heart of the Catalan capital. This is quite a difficult prologue; none of that out-and-back power test stuff I gave you in Portugal. No, this is different.

After the short flat trip from Plaza España to the Palau Nacional, the first 2km are at a gradual uphill; you may be familiar with them from the finish of stage 6 of the 2009 Tour de France, won by Thor Hushovd. The race curls uphill through the scenic Montjuïc Park until it reaches the Estadi Olímpic, whereupon a technical downhill section with a number of corners to test the riders' bike-handling skills will take them down to the flat drag of the final kilometre, in which the only corner is the left hander onto the wide, open Avinguda del Paralelo before finishing just before the return to Plaza España.

The course follows much of the route of the Montjuïc Park Formula 1 street circuit, which held the Spanish Grand Prix in the late 1960s and early 1970s before tragedy struck when Rolf Stommelen's car's wing failed and that combined with unsafe barriering led to the deaths of four spectators. When Barcelona was first granted the Olympics, there were attempts to revive the circuit, and this prologue is very similar to the modified routes presented at this point. It does mean that we will have a scenic opening to the Vuelta, and a prologue that gives a very large number of riders a chance to feel they're in for a victory, as well as giving others an opportunity to lose quite a lot of time.

Plaza España:

Montjuïc Park roads:

 

[karlboss]

Oz gt

So here it is my Grand tour of Australia, doesn't even come close to covering the nation, but at least it should be interesting.
Cat 1 climbs really only exist in the alpine region outlined by rgmerk, there are others like mount wellington, and on the great dividing range but they can't be linked.
With this in mind, I thought I'd set up a race where the first week will be characterised by a fight for the leaders jersey, a sprinter could hold it, but would have to work hard, really hard. I've used thin twisting and unsealed (passable on road bike, though may want to run roubaix rigs) sections to make positioning vital, and any mistakes could be very costly.
You'll note some start finish towns are almost in the middle of nowhere, but nearly all stages pass through somewhere worth showing off.

Really look forward to your comments, and would love to hear the suggestions from the other aussies.

 

[karlboss]

Stage 1

Grafton to Glen innes

Same race that goes with the Grafton to Inverell.
158km only one serious challenge. If any 2 climbers want to work together or a stronger climbing team want the jersey the sprinters won't have a look in, however a little hesitation and the sprinters working could see this in a sprint finish.
I cat 1 climb 17.3 km at 5.8% gain 950m, the dip near the finish doesn't exist, it's a glitch.
Map

Profile

 

[karlboss]

Stage 2

Profile looks like it's one for the sprinters. However from dorrigo is a thin twisting unsealed road, positioning will be important, once the riders hit the sealed road again, it's a fairly straight forward run into Coffs Harbour

190km
Map

Profile