Race Design Thread

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 12: Barcelona - Girona, 221 km

The last of the hilly stages along the Mediterranean coast. The route zig-zags between the coast and the more hilly inland. The first 40 km of the stage is along the coastline going north. Then the route makes a left turn and the first climb to Coll Sacreu starts. The riders are back at the coast after about 100 km. Here they follow the coast for about 10 km before the next (uncategorized) climb starts, at Lloret del Mar. This is followed by a flatter section before descending back to the coast at Tossa del Mar after about 140 km.

Here the toughest climb of the stage starts, to St. Grau d'Argenya. After descending, there is an about 8 km long flat section before the third categorized climb of the day, to Saint Pellaia. With about 25 km left, the riders turns east and quickly starts the last climb to the stage, to Mare de Deu dels Angels. The climb should be difficult enough for aggressive riders to try an attack and hopefully stay clear of the peloton. From the top of the climb there is about 10 km downhill and 5 km flat to the stage finish in Girona.

Climbs:
49 km: Coll Sacreu: 7,2 km, 4,5 %
156 km: St.Grau d'Argenya: 6,6 km, 6 %
179 km: Saint Pellaia: 4,6 km, 4,2 %
205 km: Mare de Deu dels Angels: 4,6 km, 6,3 %

Profile:

Map:

 

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 13: Girona - La Molina , 179 km

Finally, the Vuelta has reached the Pyrenees.

From Girona, the riders first head west, then turn north towards the mountains. The first 70 km are fairly easy without any categorized climbs. After 50 km the route passes through the town of Olot, the continues northeast to the small village Castellfollit de la Roca. Here the riders turn off the main road, and for the remaining 110 km there is barely a flat km.

The top of the first climb, Coll de Buca, is reached after 75 km. Short, but steep. After descending, the quickly start the second climb to Coll de la Boxeida. The area they ride through is pretty sparsely populated, and not much visited by the Vuelta. For many riders it may almost be considered unchartered territory. From Boxeida, there is a gentle descent, then a few km along main road C-38 before turning west into even smaller roads and even less populated areas,

Here the next climb starts. It could almost be described as a two-step climb only with a short descent between, first to Pla d'en Plata, then to Coll de Jou. The roads are narrow and the descents technical and difficult. After the descent, they come onto the main road towards ski reports in La Molina and Andorra, and it's like a highway in comparison. The climb to the highest point of the stage, Collada de Tosses, is long but not very steep. It's not likely that the GC contenders will try anything here. From the top, there is a 10 km descent before the last 5 km climb to the ski resort of La Molina. This should mainly be a stage for strong climbers who are chasing stage victories and perhaps a climbers jersey. There are a lot of points to be distributed at the six categorized climbs on the stage.


Scenic, but not very wide roads to Coll de Jou.

Climbs
75 km: Coll de Buca: 4,2 km, 8,8 %
98 km: Coll de la Boxeida: 10,6 km, 5,1 %
112 km: Pla d'en Plata: 5,6 km, 7,5 %
126 km: Coll de Jou: 8,5 km, 6,3 %
162 km: Collada de Tosses: 24,3 km, 3,6 %
179 km: La Molina: 4,7 km, 5 %

Profile:

Map:

 

[TromleTromle]

Re:

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 13: Girona - La Molina , 179 km

Finally, the Vuelta has reached the Pyrenees.

From Girona, the riders first head west, then turn north towards the mountains. The first 70 km are fairly easy without any categorized climbs. After 50 km the route passes through the town of Olot, the continues northeast to the small village Castellfollit de la Roca. Here the riders turn off the main road, and for the remaining 110 km there is barely a flat km.

The top of the first climb, Coll de Buca, is reached after 75 km. Short, but steep. After descending, the quickly start the second climb to Coll de la Boxeida. The area they ride through is pretty sparsely populated, and not much visited by the Vuelta. For many riders it may almost be considered unchartered territory. From Boxeida, there is a gentle descent, then a few km along main road C-38 before turning west into even smaller roads and even less populated areas,

Here the next climb starts. It could almost be described as a two-step climb only with a short descent between, first to Pla d'en Plata, then to Coll de Jou. The roads are narrow and the descents technical and difficult. After the descent, they come onto the main road towards ski reports in La Molina and Andorra, and it's like a highway in comparison. The climb to the highest point of the stage, Collada de Tosses, is long but not very steep. It's not likely that the GC contenders will try anything here. From the top, there is a 10 km descent before the last 5 km climb to the ski resort of La Molina. This should mainly be a stage for strong climbers who are chasing stage victories and perhaps a climbers jersey. There are a lot of points to be distributed at the six categorized climbs on the stage.


Scenic, but not very wide roads to Coll de Jou.

Climbs
75 km: Coll de Buca: 4,2 km, 8,8 %
98 km: Coll de la Boxeida: 10,6 km, 5,1 %
112 km: Pla d'en Plata: 5,6 km, 7,5 %
126 km: Coll de Jou: 8,5 km, 6,3 %
162 km: Collada de Tosses: 24,3 km, 3,6 %
179 km: La Molina: 4,7 km, 5 %

Profile:

Map:

Great vuelta so far. Really a medium slope bonanza. Lots of classics. Valdelinares and my favourite murito: The Xorret. And going against the clock, which is the best of utillizing the terrain of Spain. Just sucking the energy out of the riders everyday.

I did a similar stage in the area. Just with Creutet and Como Oriola as finish. You might have had a tough finish on this stage - unless of course you are doing an andorra madness stage as the next one...

 

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 14: Puigcerda- Port Aine, 212 km

Perhaps the toughest stage of this Vuelta. 212 km, 5000 meters of altitude gain and probably more than 6 hours of cycling. The start is in Puigcerda, just northwest of the stage finish of previous day. The riders actually passes La Molina again, on their way to the first climb of the day, Coll de la Creuta. After a long descent and a false (downhill) flat, after 62 km, one of the real highlights of this Vuelta stars, the climb to Coll de Pradell via Coll de Fumanya. It's categorized as one climb, but really consists of an almost 11 km climb to Fumanya, followed by 2 km downhill before the last 3,5 km to Pradell. The first 11 km part is about 8,5 %. The last 3,5 km is over 10 % average gradient with a maximum of 23 % on concrete surfcace!

It feels almost sacrilegious to use these climbs on this part of the stage, but the stage is still so long and demanding, that more action is expected. After Pradell, there is a couple of easier climbs in the same mountain range, Sierra del Cadi, before descending to La Seu d'Urgell, just south of the border to Andorra. From here the climb to Port de Canto starts. The first few kms are tough, but the last three quarters of the climb has much gentler gradients and several 1-2 km sections are almost flat.

After a 20 km long descent and a 5 km flat section, the last climb the stage to the MTF at Port-Aine starts. The climb is long and has a fairly even gradients of 5 to 8 %. After almost 200 km this should really be a challenging climb. Tires riders will probably lose minutes here. After a race time of probably close to 6 and a half hours, this should be an action-packed finale.

Climbs:
27 km: Coll de la Creuta: 20,2 km, 4 %
78 km: Coll de Pradell: 16,3 km, 6,7 %
94 km: Coll de Josa: 8,7 km, 3,6 %
123 km: Coll de Galinier: 15,8 km, 2,6 %
169 km: Port de Canto: 23,3 km, 4,6 %
212 km: Port Aine: 18,3 km, 6,7 %

Profile:

Map:

 

[OlavEH]

Re: Re:

I did a similar stage in the area. Just with Creutet and Como Oriola as finish. You might have had a tough finish on this stage - unless of course you are doing an andorra madness stage as the next one...

I actually created an Andorran stage first, but changed my mind and are saving that for a later version of the Vuelta. Can't use all the best climbs and stage designs in one single version....

 

[anonymous_1]

Giro d'Italia stage 10: Bassano del Grappa - Castelfranco Emilia (195 km)

After the queen stage, the riders head into the Po valley for another flat stage. It starts in Bassano del Grappa, where the previous stage went through. As expected, the stage is 100% flat, so it's almost guaranteed a sprint.

The first town that the riders will pass through is Castelfranco Veneto. At 54 km, the riders are in the city of Padova for the first intermediate sprint. They also pass through Monselice, but they won't go through the Colli Euganei, a hill range west of it.

The second intermediate sprint is in Rovigo. The next city is Ferrara, where the feed zone is located. In the last 30 km of the race, the riders go through Cento and San Giovanni in Persiceto (no picture), before the finish in Castelfranco Emilia. Castelfranco Emilia is a town on the straight line between Modena and Bologna, close to the former. It has about 33000 inhabitants, according to the Italian Wikipedia.

Climbs:
none

Giro d'Italia stage 11: Bologna - Bologna (ITT)

Today is a more important stage for the maglia rosa contenders. It's an individual time trial, the second one of the race, after the prologue in Luxembourg. Start and finish are in Bologna, the capital of Emilia-Romagna. The time trial is completely flat, so the real ITT specialists should be the contenders for this one.

The start is in the centre, on the Piazza Cavour. From there, the route heads to the southeast, going through the neighborhoods of Murri and Foscherara. The first time check is at almost 10 km, in Pulce, a very small village just outside Bologna. From now on, the riders will mainly go to the northeast, with a long straight road to Castenaso, the place of the second time check.

At Vigorso, the riders take a left turn and go to the west, until Granarolo dell'Emilia where the final intermediate time check is. The riders take another left turn and take a mostly straight road back to Bologna, where they'll finish on the Via delle Liberazione.

Climbs:
none

 

[anonymous_1]

Giro d'Italia stage 12: Imola - Porto Sant'Elpidio (252 km)

The longest stage of this Giro awaits. It starts in Imola, known for its racing circuit that hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix until 2006. The riders won't start on the circuit, however. A long, straight road takes the riders through Faenza and Forlì. A Giro isn't complete without a Marco Pantani tribute, so the first intermediate sprint is in his birthplace, Cesena.

The riders will see the coast for the first time in Rimini. From there, they will follow the coast, going through Riccione, Cattolica and Pesaro, where the feed zone is. Only 12 km later, the second intermediate sprint takes place, in Fano. There could be crosswinds, but in a very long stage, forming echelons could cost the riders much energy.

The next towns on the route are Senigallia and Falconara Marittima, but after that, a bigger city is visited, Ancona. In Ancona the first real hills of the day start. The first three hills are uncategorised and follow shortly after each other. They are in the climbs overview. The fourth climb is the only categorized one of those in the Conero hills, because they are very close to each other. It's called Poggio, but of course it's not that Poggio. It's 2,2 km at 4,8%, very similar to the second of the four Conero climbs.

After a descent, the riders are back on flat roads and pass through Porto Recanati. The riders follow the coastline until Fontespina, where they turn to the right and enter the second categorized climb of the day. The climb to Civitanova Alta isn't steep, but after almost 230 km of racing, it will hurt. Someone could already place an attack here. After going through the town of Civitanova Alta, there is only a very short descent, followed by a 700 m-long wall (uncategorized) to Fonte Girone. It's 11,9% steep, so it will be hard for the riders. The descent is also steep, but again very short (<1 km).

A flat section of 7,5 km takes the riders to Casette d'Ete, where the final climb of the day starts. It's the climb to Sant'Elpidio a Mare, but very luckily it's not the extremely steep wall that featured in the 2013 Tirreno-Adriatico (for those wondering: that climb is on the Strada Cocciari. This stage takes the Via 8 Marzo). However, the climb is still steep, being almost 10% average at a length of 1,8 km. Basically the Mur de Huy, but 500 m longer. A descent that's basically false flat (2,6%) takes the riders to Porto Sant'Elpidio, where the finish line is located.

Climbs:
nc, Ancona #1 (2,0 km @ 3,8%)
nc, Ancona #2 (2,4 km @ 4,8%)
nc, Trave (1,3 km @ 5,3%)
cat. 4, Poggio (2,2 km @ 4,8%)
cat. 4, Civitanova Alta (2,8 km @ 4,7%)
nc, Muro di Fonte Girone (0,7 km @ 11,9%)
cat. 3, Sant'Elpidio a Mare (1,8 km @ 9,8%)
note: the climb to Sant'Elpidio a Mare is labelled cat. 4 on the profile. I now think, after creating the profile, that cat. 3 suits better.

 

[anonymous_1]

By the way you might ask how I managed to add more than 10 towns to the profile of stage 12. I do this by creating the profile in Cronoescalada twice, but the first time with only the annotations of the first half of the stage and the second time with the annotations of the second half of the stage. (The two halves don't need to be the same size.) Then I combine the two profiles using MS Paint, however this requires pixel-perfect editing (tip: zoom in to at least 600%).

 

[anonymous_1]

Giro d'Italia stage 13: San Benedetto del Tronto - Gran Sasso d'Italia/Campo Imperatore (173 km)

Stage 13 starts at the Adriatic Sea, which stage 12 went alongside for a big part. The riders have a transfer by car of about 30 minutes before the stage starts, in San Benedetto del Tronto. But the riders will leave the coast after a short while, and head to the west. The first climb of the day is the hill to Torano Nuovo, it's kinda steep at over 8% average. If there isn't a breakaway yet, this is the place where it will be formed.

The route goes over easy, but rolling terrain towards Teramo, where the first intermediate sprint is located. After going through a short tunnel, the riders visit Montorio al Vomano for the feed zone. From here, things start to get serious, with the first big climb in the Apennines of this Giro. The Passo delle Capannelle is a very gentle climb, but it's also very long at 27 km. It was used from the other side in the 2013 Tirreno-Adriatico stage to Prati di Tivo.

The descent takes the riders to L'Aquila, where the second intermediate sprint is located. It's a special one, because it's on a short uphill stretch of 3,8%. After leaving L'Aquila, the riders go to Paganica, where the final climb of the day starts. It's the famous climb to Gran Sasso d'Italia. The last winner there was no one less than Marco Pantani, in 1999, when he won with a small margin on two Banesto riders, José Maria Jiménez and Alex Zülle. RIP Pantani and Jiménez . The climb actually consists of two climbs, the Valico di Monte Cristo and the Gran Sasso d'Italia. I don't categorize them separately, because that would make the Cima Coppi a short climb, following very shortly after a cat. 1 climb. The final 4 km are the hardest part of the climb, averaging 8%.

Climbs:
cat. 3, Torano Nuovo (2,7 km @ 8,2%)
cat. 2, Passo delle Capannelle (27,4 km @ 3,3%)
Cima Coppi, Gran Sasso d'Italia (37,4 km @ 3,9%)

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

By the way you might ask how I managed to add more than 10 towns to the profile of stage 12. I do this by creating the profile in Cronoescalada twice, but the first time with only the annotations of the first half of the stage and the second time with the annotations of the second half of the stage. (The two halves don't need to be the same size.) Then I combine the two profiles using MS Paint, however this requires pixel-perfect editing (tip: zoom in to at least 600%).

I've done that myself a few times. For example you can use this to mark gravel or cobbled roads on your profile. Just create two cronoescalada profiles, recolor one of the profiles, cut out the parts of the other profile which should be marked as dirt roads/cobbled roads, put the two profiles on top of each other and the parts of your profile which should be marked as a specific section are in a different color. And now someone will probably tell me that there is an option in the program to do exactly the same in cronoescalada, which I have overlooked so far.

Anyway, I really like Gran Sasso. I originally wanted to use it as stage 19 of my last giro, don't really know why but I swapped the stage with a medium mountain stage finishing near Avezzano. It might not be the steepest climb but it has a great scenery and the last few kilometers are actually pretty hard.

 

[anonymous_1]

Giro d'Italia stage 14: L'Aquila - Lanciano (218 km)

After the MTF at Gran Sasso d'Italia on Saturday, the riders will also have a hard stage on Sunday. The start is in L'Aquila, in which an intermediate sprint of the previous stage was held. After leaving the city, the riders have to face the first climb after 15 km. The climb to San Nicandro is an easy one, being less than 5% steep average, but the break of the day could be formed here. The descent starts after a section on a plateau of 20 km. The first intermediate sprint is in Sulmona, after 66 km.

After 75 km, the biggest climb of the day (but not the hardest) starts, it's about 14 km long at 5%. I don't know the name of this climb and if it's been used in cycling, so I named it Rocca Pia after a village near the top. The riders enter a plateau, on which the second intermediate sprint is located in Roccaraso. During winter it's a ski resort. The descent starts shortly after leaving Roccaraso and is about 7 km long. After that, it's false flat. At km 121 the feed zone is placed, in Sant'Angelo del Pesco. The false flat downhill continues for a long time, until the final 50 km of the stage. Things now get serious.

The riders take a road from Selva Piana to Casoli, and it's one steep road. The sign doesn't lie. Overall, it's just 750 meter, but it's 16,4% average. This will shake things up. Next is a short descent, followed by the climb to Colli. It's under 6% average, but the steepest part is in the beginning: a whole kilometer at 11%. This is what it looks like. The descent is steep, at 7,7% average with parts over 10%, but it should be doable. If the Pramartino descent is possible, this one surely is.

Directly from the end of the descent the next climb starts. It starts easy with 4,4 km of climbing at exactly 5% average, followed by a very short downhill section. But then, the hardest 600 m ever to feature in road cycling start. Yes, it's the Muro di Guardiagrele. This map shows the percentages, and they're leg-breaking. 30%, some riders may have to walk. At the top, the riders go around the town of Guardiagrele, but not through the centre like in the 2014 Tirreno-Adriatico. What also makes this stage different to the 2014 one is that there are no high mountains preceding the Muro di Guardiagrele, but only small climbs (that are also very steep).

The descent from Guardiagrele is slightly technical, but not really hard. However, the sixth(!) climb of the day is. As if it hasn't been enough, another extremely steep wall awaits. The Muro di Filetto is 1 km long, but 17% average, and the road is very narrow. There won't be team cars on this climb, only neutral motorcycles. The winner just has to be at the front here. There's also a short part on cobbles...

At the village of Filetto the top isn't reached yet. After a short downhill section, the second part of the climb to Orsogna starts. It's 1,8 km at 4,8%, with the last part actually being false flat. But they're not there yet. It's still 18 km to the finish line. After passing through the village of Orsogna, an easy descent of 5,6 km starts. Then the final categorized climb of the day follows, it's only 2,2 km @ 5,4% but we might see an Aprica effect (albeit on a smaller scale). There are two more hills to go, both not counting for the KOM classification. The first one is less than 5% steep and 1,5 km long. After just 500 m of descent, the final 'hill' to the finish starts. It's more like false flat, at just 3,4% average. The finish is in Lanciano near the Stadio Guido Biondi, a velodrome and football/soccer stadium that hosted the team SS Virtus Lanciano, which got defunct in 2016.

Climbs:
cat. 3, San Nicandro (5,0 km @ 4,6%)
cat. 2, Rocca Pia (14,3 km @ 5,2%)
cat. 4, Muro di Casoli (0,75 km @ 16,4%)
cat. 3, Colli (6,3 km @ 5,6%)
cat. 3, Muro di Guardiagrele (5,6 km @ 5,9%) (last 600 m 22%)
cat. 3, Orsogna (3,6 km @ 6,4 km) (first 1,0 km 17%)
cat. 4, Contrada Sant'Amato (2,2 km @ 5,4%)
nc, Lanciano #1 (1,5 km @ 4,7%)
nc, Lanciano #2 (2,4 km @ 3,4%)

 

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 15: Pamplona - Pamplona, 57 km ITT

The second and last ITT of this Vuelta takes place in and around Pamplona in Basque country. Since the only other ITT in this GT, is the first stage in Gibraltar, this TT is create to favourize the more typical time trialists of the GC contenders, and therefore has a limited amount of height meters. The most difficult climb is a 2 km, 4 % hill between 44 and 46 km, and the profile of the route should make it possible for top TT riders to gain at least 3-4 minutes on the very typical and lightweight climbers.

Profile:

Map:

 

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 16: Pamplona - San Sebastian, 159 km

The race continues on through the Basque country with another hilly stage, similar to the stages on the Mediterranean coast. This Vuelta should provide many chances for offensive and punchy riders. The stage starts in Pamplona and heads north over the climbs of Alto de Erro and Puerto Artesiaga. After climbs Otxondo after about 80 kms, the riders descend towards St. Jean de Lux where they the coast along the Bay of Biscay after 100 km.

Here they turn west towards the stage finish in San Sebastian. The stage has a finish similar to the Clasica San Sebastian later in the summer. The most decisive climb is probably Alto Jaizkibel, where the top is reached after 138 km, with 21 km left of the stage. Jaizkibel is climbed from the other side than in the Clasica, and is therefore closer to the finish. After descending there is a few flat kms before a last uncategorized climb which gains about 120 m in 3 kms. From the top of this hill, there is 6 km to the stage finish in San Sebastian.

Climbs:
28 km: Alto de Erro: 3,5 km, 6,4 %
47 km: Puerto de Artesiaga: 2,7 km, 7,1 %
80 km: Puerto de Otxondo: 4,8 km, 5 %
138 km: Alto de Jaixkibel: 7,7 km, 5,4 %

Profile:

Map:

 

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 17: San Sebastian - Puerto de Urkiola, 181 km

The second queen stage of this Vuelta, and that with a stage which never at an altitude higher than 800 m. The landscape between Bilbao and San Sebastian is known for it's numerous steep climbs, and this a an attempt to create a brutal Basque country stage which could be decisive in the GC in the Vuelta. The stage starts in San Sebastian and then heads west along the coast. The first climb to Igeldo starts almost immediately, and is just an appetizer on what's about to come.

After 20 km, the route leaves the coast after passing the small town of Orio. First the riders will have to climb to the small village of Aia, known for the extremely steep climb used several times in Tour of Basque Country. However, this time they are using the ordinary road to Aia and this is a more standard climb. But the next climb isn't exactly on standard roads. After passing through Aia and going south, the riders turn west to climb to Erdoizta. First there is a few km of downhill on narrow roads with poor surface. Then the climb to Erdoizta starts on equally narrow roads. This should be a real challenge!

After descending northwestwards on more normal roads, the short but steep climb to Endoia starts. This is followed almost immediately by Alto de Azurki. From Azurki there is a 10 km downhill before the longest climb of the stage to Elsua. The top of this is reached just before halfway on the stage. The descent is followed by rare, shorter section of flat/false flat and then the climb to Asentzio/Karebiata, and then a descent to Eibar, a very central town in the hilly Basque country, surrounded by green and steep hills. No time for rest though as the riders go straight to Eibar to start the climb to Ixua. Now they are just in the vicinity of Arrate, which is a frequently used stage finish in Tour of Basque Country.

8 climbs finished, 3 to go in just over 55 km. The third last climb to Lekoitzgane is probably the easiest of the stage and merely a transfer to the last two difficulties. After 148 km, the climb to Monte Oiz starts. The first part of the climb has more standard gradients, but the last 3 km averages about 13 %. And since this is climb number 10 of this stage, this will surely hurt the riders legs. The descent to Durango is technical, but not of the worst. Through Urkiola, there is an about 5 km flat section before the last climb to Puerto de Urkiola, and the stage finish at the Sanctuary of Urkiola. Another typical and steep Basque climb with an 9 % gradient over 5,5 km. And with 10 climbs and 4000 height meters in their legs before this, it's could be possible to gain quite some time if the other riders are tired.

Climbs:
10 km: Puerto Igeldo: 6,4 km, 5 %
29 km: Alto de Aia: 5,1 km, 5,5 %
43 km: Alto de Erdoizta: 2,3 km, 10,9 %
58 km: Endoia: 2,8 km, 10,6 %
70 km: Alto de Azurki: 4,4 km, 8,5 %
89 km: Alto de Elosua: 8,8 km, 5,9 %
108 km: Alto de Asentzio: 6,9 km, 5,2 %
124 km: Alto de Ixua: 3,9 km, 8,8 %
139 km: Alto de Lekoitzgane: 3,4 km, 6,6 %
155 km: Monte Oiz: 6,3 km, 9,4 %
181 km: Puerto Urkiola: 5,5 km, 8,9 %

Profile;

Map:

 

[Forever The Best]

These nasty climbs in stage 14 of Giro will hurt... Also Rocca Pia is nice for the teams to set a hard tempo and only leave 50-60 riders for the final 50 km. Great stage.
And the Urkiola stage is one of those rollercoaster stages. Always climbing and descending. Oiz-Urkiola is a great combo to finish, great stage.

 

[anonymous_1]

Giro d'Italia stage 15: Termoli - Benevento (156 km)

After the monstrous hill stage, the riders get the third and final rest day of this Giro. This means that all three rest days will be on Mondays, but that shouldn't be a big problem. There is a short transfer (1 hour by car) to Termoli, a city at the Adriatic Sea. The route heads away from the coast directly after the start. From there, the altitude gradually rises to over 800 m with some short downhill sections within. There are three small climbs categorized, all about 4% steep.

After the climb to Taverna Cerrosecco, the terrain is still rolling but the altitude stays more or less the same, being between 600 and 800 meters. The feed zone is in Pesco Farese, in the outskirts of Campobasso. The city is the capital of the province of the same name, within Molise, the second smallest region of Italy (behind Valle d'Aosta). It also hosts the first intermediate sprint of today. The second one is not much further, in Vinchiaturo (I forgot to mark it on the profile).

The roads are mostly flat from here, with one exception, the small climb to Iadanza. The descent is longer than the climb and has some bends, but nothing hard. There seems to be a hill at 11 km to go, but in fact it's only false flat, being less than 3% steep. The finish is in Benevento. This stage can end in a bunch sprint, but there is a chance the sprinters' teams will let a breakaway go.

Climbs:
cat. 3, Larino (4,4 km @ 4,1%)
nc, SS87 #1 (3,0 km @ 4,1%) (at km 32)
nc, SS87 #2 (2,2 km @ 4,0%) (at km 35)
cat. 3, Casacalenda (4,0 km @ 4,0%)
cat. 3, Taverna Cerrosecco (5,7 km @ 4,4%)
cat. 4, Casino Barone (3,1 km @ 5,2%)
nc, Pesco Farese (1,4 km @ 5,3%) (at feed zone)
nc, Sassinoro (1,9 km @ 3,9%) (at km 114)
cat. 4, Iadanza (2,5 km @ 5,2%)
other uphill sections are false flat (<3%)

 

[Forever The Best]

Some preview photos for my first Il Giro:
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0264791,11.493129,3a,61.8y,189.47h,95.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgQNFCSdGYAUaizaflEfx-w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.1236523,10.7781337,3a,61.8y,183.25h,96.64t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVzNDknaf9GUCsQqM5diP0Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.6421957,7.9885348,0a,61.8y,156.43h,101.22t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1slBOFU5ZPbsd1u_PwVu-MdQ!2e0?source=apiv3
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.757057,7.7554296,0a,61.8y,155h,92.87t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sWaEa8IiTYzorKJ6SDy-5Zw!2e0?source=apiv3
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.5612755,10.2822783,0a,61.8y,245.72h,104.54t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1smvrKN4U4ri11Xwe5e9bXkA!2e0?source=apiv3

 

[anonymous_1]

Giro d'Italia stage 16: Benevento - Montecassino (212 km)

After a transitional stage to Benevento, the riders stay there for the start of the next stage. Again, it's a hard one, and they are going back to the North. Yes, the southernmost point of this Giro is further up north than Naples.

There are many climbs today, all of them being cat. 2, but I don't have profiles. The first one comes early, after just about 10 km of racing. It's the climb to Piano di Prata, 12 km long but not steep. It will be the perfect place to form a breakaway, however. (I made a small mistake when tracking the route on this climb, so the stage length on the profile is 1 or 2 km too low.) There is a short hill that could have been cat. 4, but isn't. Right after that, there is an intermediate sprint in Piana di Monte Verna (there is a typo on the profile).

The descent and a flat section take the riders to the third climb of the day. It's a very shallow climb, being only about 4% steep, but it's 14,5 km long. It's the climb of the extinct Roccamonfina volcano. The descent takes them to Presenzano, where the feed zone is located. The next climb is the steepest one of the day, the Colle Traverso. A profile generated with GPSVisualizer gives that the third km (2,0-3,0) is 10% and the fourth km is even 12%, so this climb should shake things up. The final part of the climb is false flat, so the average slope of 6,6% doesn't tell the full story.

After the descent, the riders have a short flat section, including an intermediate sprint in Venafro. In that city the penultimate climb starts, and it's a very irregular one. It's 24 km long at 3,1%, but again, those numbers don't tell everything. The first part is 8,7 km at 5,4%, followed by a brief flat section and a short uphill stretch (about 700 m @ 4%). Then the steepest part follows, being about 7,7% for 2,1 km. Then it's some false flat, followed by an uphill section of 1,8 km at 5,0%. The final uphill stretch is 2,4 km at 5,0%. Note that all of these numbers are roughly estimated, based on a GPSVisualizer profile (except the 24 km @ 3,1% for the whole climb). Overall it's not a hard climb, but the length and irregularity make it quite a challenge.

A descent of about 18 km takes the riders to Cassino, where the final climb of the day starts. It's the only climb used today already known to the Giro: the Montecassino (the only climb today with a profile somewhere on the Internet...). It's not a hard climb (Matthews won the last time it was climbed), but it's the final one. Overall, the thing that most makes this stage hard is the number of climbs.

Climbs:
cat. 2, Piano di Prata (12,4 km @ 4,5%)
cat. 2, Rocchetta (6,9 km @ 6,0%)
cat. 2, Roccamonfina (14,5 km @ 3,8%)
cat. 2, Colle Traverso (5,5 km @ 8,9%)
cat. 2, Acquafondata/Santuario Madonna del Carmine (23,6 km @ 3,3%)
cat. 2, Montecassino (8,5 km @ 5,3%)

 

[Sandisfan]

I would like to ask if there are regulars on this thread who have the skills to take an idea for a stage (maybe two) for the Tour of California which I have saved as a route on MapMyRide under my name and set to "public" under the name Donald Homen. I have a just under 100 mile/165km route for the T.O.C. .... Could add some length if needed.

But as I thought about it route could be extended to make a top shelf UCI World Championship Elite Mens Road race and could be altered to be used for the Women's and under 23 and other Road Races. Also there would also be possible a very scenic and challenging ITT for Elite Mens and Womens ITT and the youth races.

I am able to make the route and added some variants where just the additions are made as a route that would be added to the overall route later. In total I have about 7 or 8 routes with other ideas in my head if the feedback is good.

But the artistic side and computer skills to make a nice route map, profiles and pretty pictures that could be scraped legally from the internet are my weakness.

I have PM-ed the prolific and skilled at this L.S. but have not received any feedback.. may well be to busy and/or uninterested or whatever reason (there is no obligation from anyone to respond to me) but if someone wouldn't mind being a co-author of such an enterprise I would appreciate a PM and any feed back of my Routes.

P.S. I could copy and paste my PM for L.S. to get started.
P.S. The T.O.C route's first few letters for the name are "Pet".

 

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 18: Vitoria-Gasteix - Soria, 204 km

Time to finish my Vuelta. It's four stages left, and the race are now leaving Basque country after three stages in that region. The riders head south from Vitoria, and almost immediately starts an uncategorized climb where a breakway is likely to be formed. After a short descent and some "bumpy" terrain, the first categorized climb to Puerto de Herrera starts after 25 km.

This is followed by an long flat section of about 60 km before the riders have reached the Burgos region and the mountain range Sierra de la Demanda. Climbs like Alto Cruz de la Demanda has been used as a MTF several times in the Vuelta, while Lagunas de Neila is used every year in the Vuelta a Burgos. However, this time the are just crossing the eastern part of the Demanda mountains, with the climbs to Hincada after 105 km and Santa Ines after 146 km. After descending from Santa Ines, there is still 50 km flat to the stage finish in Soria, which should give the spinter's teams a certain chance to catch breakaways, but the profile and time of the stage still makes it probably that this will end in a victory for a breakaway rider.

Climbs:
31 km: Puerto de Herrera: 6,7 km, 5,3 %
105 km: Pena Hincada: 9 km, 6,6 %
146 km: Puerto de Santa Ines: 9,6 km, 5,6 %

Profile:

Map:

 

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 19: Soria - Segovia, 198 km

It "classic" transfer stage along the Meseta Central. Quite similar to stage 6 to Albacete with no categorized climbs and endless kms along the dull and brown high plains. The biggest difference is the finish in Segovia. From about 1,5 to 0,5 km from stage finish, there is a 6 % climb. This should make this stage perfect for the sprinter types like Sagan, Matthews, etc. The GC contenders will just sit back and save energy for the next and last mountain stage in the Vuelta.

Profile:

Climb:

 

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 20: Segovia - Bola del Mundo, 176 km

The second last stage of the Vuelta, and the last chance for the GC contenders. The stage takes place in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains just northwest of Madrid. The riders will have to climb the well-known pass to Puerto de Navacerrada two times, the latter time they will continue to the top of the mountain of Bola Del Mundo just above the Navacerranda pass.

The stage starts in Segovia, and from here it's possible to start the climb to Navacerrada almost immediately. But instead, the race heads northeast to the small town of Navafria where the climb to Puerto de Navafria starts after about 35 km. After descending there is an 15 km fairly flat section before the climbs to Canencia, Morcuera and Cotos in rapid succession. From the top of Cotos there is a few flat kms to the Navacerrada pass where they start the descent south towards the village of Navacerrada.

From there the riders continues south, almost to Collada Villaba, before looping back north towards Navacerrada and this time climbing the mountain from the south side. The climb becomes gradually steeper the entire way. The categorized part of the climb is 15 km, but there is also several kms of false flat before the categorized part starts. First only 2-3 %, then 4-5 % the first couple of kms after passing the village of Navacerrada, before the last 7 km to the pass is 7-9 %. But that's just the warm-up. The last 3,5 km to Bola del Mundo averages over 12 %.
If a rider implodes here, it's quite possible to lose a minute in just a couple of kms.

Climbs:
46 km: Puerto de Navafria: 10,1 km, 5,5 %
79 km: Puerto de Canencia: 4,5 km, 5,8 %
96 km: Puerto de la Morcuere: 9,3 km, 6,8 %
126 km: Puerto de Cotos: 12,9 km, 5,1 %
176 km: Bola del Mundo: 16 km, 7,1 %

Profile:

Map:

 

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 21: Avila - Madrid, 139 km

The last stage of the Vuelta, and it's a traditional sprinter's stage with several finishing laps in Madrid. The stage starts in Avila and the route heads over the uncategorized climb of Alto de Valdelavia after 18 km. The only categorized climb starts after 47 km, and after that the last two thirds of the stage is downhill and flat. The riders reach Madrid just before 120 km, and do three laps in the city centre before the final sprint.

Climbs:
53 km: Puerto de la Paradilla: 6,1 km, 5,5 %

Profile:

Map:

 

[OlavEH]

Vuelta a Espana: Summary

Stage 1: Gibraltar, 14 km ITT
Stage 2: Gibraltar - Marbella, 145 km
Stage 3: Marbella - Antequera, 145 km
Stage 4: Marbella - Granada, 199 km
Stage 5: Granada - Jaen, 187 km
Stage 6: Ubeda - Albacete, 206 km
Stage 7: Albacete - Xorret di Cati, 217 km
Stage 8: Castellon de la Plana - Valdelinares, 169 km
Stage 9: Teruel - Tortosa, 218 km
Stage 10: Tortosa - Reus, 163 km
Stage 11: Tarragona - Barcelona, 175 km
Stage 12: Barcelona - Girona, 221 km
Stage 13: Girona - La Molina , 179 km
Stage 14: Puigcerda- Port Aine, 212 km
Stage 15: Pamplona - Pamplona, 57 km ITT
Stage 16: Pamplona - San Sebastian, 159 km
Stage 17: San Sebastian - Puerto de Urkiola, 181 km
Stage 18: Vitoria-Gasteix - Soria, 204 km
Stage 19: Soria - Segovia, 198 km
Stage 20: Segovia - Bola del Mundo, 176 km
Stage 21: Avila - Madrid, 139 km

Total: 3565 km incl. 71 km ITT
Highest point: Bola del Mundo: 2257m

4 High MTF (Valdelinares, La-Molina, Port de Aine, Bola del Mundo)
2 medium MTF (Xorret di Cati, Puerto de Urkiola
1 descent finish (Granada from Hazallanas)
2 ITTs
7 hilly/medium mountain stages
5 flat/mostly flat stages

 

[anonymous_1]

Giro d'Italia stage 17: Cassino - Rieti (187 km)

After a difficult multi-climb stage, the riders have an easier day. The start is in Cassino, at the foot of the Montecassino where the previous stage finished. The first climb of the day comes very early, it's the cat. 2 Capo di China. From there, it's flat for a long time, with an intermediate sprint in Sora. The road remains flat until a short hill on the slopes of the Monte Salviano. Right after the descent, there is another intermediate sprint, in Avezzano.

The road remains flat, despite going through an area surrounded by mountains. There is a short cat. 4 hill to Santa Lucia. After the descent, the riders will ride alongside the Lago del Salto. From there, the roads remain completely flat until the finish in Rieti.

This stage should end in a mass sprint, unless something really strange happens. It's the penultimate chance for the sprinters to get a stage win, so they'll probably go for it.

Climbs:
cat. 2, Capo di China (8,0 km @ 5,4%)
cat. 4, Monte Salviano (3,5 km @ 4,2%)
cat. 4, Santa Lucia (3,3 km @ 4,0%)