Race Design Thread

[Libertine Seguros]

...the finish IS Montjuïc, just not the harder version. There are many roads up and around Montjuïc, I've just picked one of the easier sides and only going up as far as the stadium, to give the sprinters a bit of a chance to stick with it whilst also providing something that might be tough enough for a puncheur or an attacker.

Stage 7: Valencia - El Preventori d'Alcoi, 147km

Climbs:
Mirador del Xap (cat.2) 3,4km @ 9,7%
El Preventori d'Alcoi (cat.3) 2,4km @ 7,5%
El Preventori d'Alcoi (cat.3) 2,4km @ 7,5%

After a fairly lengthy transfer along the coast from Barcelona to Valencia, it's time for our next stage, which, to counter the long transfer, is a nice and short but sharp stage through the mountains of Comunidad Valenciana. No super-sized climbs here (apart from Aitana, there aren't really any - they're all either long but gradual like Tudons, or steep but short like Xorret del Catí). The first half of the stage is dead flat along the coast, but even if the wind blows it's far enough from the finish to come back together and just be a bit of a nuisance to the riders that can't deal with wind, rather than the hazard it could be closer to the finish.

There's only one real obstacle in the stage, a nice new climb for the Vuelta; the twisty, punishing ascent of the Mirador del Xap. This is short but exceedingly steep; it's a bit of a Montée Laurent Jalabert/Croix-Neuve styled climb, with a maximum gradient of 20% and most of its length over 10%. However, it's 50km from the finish, so really it's about burning people off the back here and positioning. Then, it's all rolling terrain until we hit the city of Alcoy. After this we have a short, puncheur-styled climb up to the Preventori d'Alcoi, which is 2,4km long and while averaging 7,5%, does reach a maximum of 19% so is not to be sniffed at. The riders crest it - and therefore pass the finishing line for the first time - with 12km to go; after this it is just a gradual descent back into Alcoi, and then a second climb up the narrow road to the Preventori to finish. This is definitely one for the puncheurs preparing themselves for the Worlds; while it can also double as the first proper Murito stage of the Vuelta, and god knows Guillén loves a Murito stage.

Valencia:

El Preventori d'Alcoi:

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Stage 8: Murcía - Murcía (Contrarreloj Individual), 37,7km

Climbs:
Alto del Cresto del Gallo (Cruce Teatinos)(cat.3) 4,0km @ 7,0%

When I first showed Javier Guillén this stage, following on from the Team Time Trial to open, he nearly cried with joy, feeling that I truly understood his vision for the Vuelta. "Not so fast", said I, however, for I explained that as a trade-off for including my detested Team Time Trial, I was going to insist on TWO Individual Time Trials. A bit of disagreement ensued, but this was the result: a 35-40km ITT with a notable hill in the middle, in true Unipublic style.

Murcía is a common stop-off for the Vuelta, and is of course the hometown of Alejandro Valverde, somebody who might well see this stage as well suited to himself. The first half of the stage is a maze of doubling back on oneself on wide open, flat roads on the outskirts of Murcía itself, but the second half is a much more complicated matter, skirting the northern edge of the Sierra del Cresto del Gallo, which produces stage after stage in the Vuelta a Murcía as well as the Vuelta. It's also very, very twisty on this route up, which may prove a problem for the less technically adept if there is bad weather, especially on the way down. Not that I'd expect too much rain in early September in Murcía, but you never know. For the most part, however, the descent is sweeping curves rather than nailbiting hairpins, but nevertheless cornering speed could help make some time up on this route. It does get fairly steep at times - it's the first 4km of this profile on the way up, and then down the first 5km of this one. The last 5km are almost ram-rod straight, with only two corners, neither of which are particularly taxing, on the way back into the city centre, where we finish outside the bullring.

And there we have it: a traditional Unipublic Contarreloj.

Murcía:

Cresto del Gallo:

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Stage 9: Baza - Granada, 189km

Climbs:
Puerto de los Blancares (cat.3) 9,4km @ 3,4%
Alto de Monachíl (cat.1) 12,2km @ 6,2%
Alto de la Sierra Nevada (Collado de las Sabinas)(cat.ESP) 27,4km @ 6,4%

"So, Javier," I said, "I've had a couple of goes at designing a Vuelta already, but it seems you're completely oblivious to the mountains south of the Sierra Nevada. When are you going to use Haza del Lino already?!" "Well, maybe someday. For now it's good to keep doing La Pandera and Valdepeñas de Jaén and give us a regular Sierra Nevada fix." I wasn't sure I was buying his argument, but I gave him what he wanted: a Sierra Nevada mountain stage. And quite a nasty one too.

Remembering 2011's very dull stage that took the easiest route up Sierra Nevada, I sought to produce something different. The 2009 stage that climbed to Sierra Nevada via El Purche was better (see also the 2004 CRI via El Purche/Alto del Monachíl). "I was thinking more along the lines of the 2006 stage, which is much better than it looks thanks to the crappy profiles on pre-2008 Vuelta stages", I said. "Hmmm," said Guillén. Look, the 2013 stage is much more like it, I just think we can combine the two!

Eventually, I settled for this. No early major climb like Filabres, though it could be used and lengthen the stage to 220-230km if really needed. The early part of the stage is fairly typical, with the gradual and un-fussy Puerto de los Blancares, before we hit the outskirts of Granada (the suburb of Genil, to be precise). Then the route takes a complicated Ampersand shape between Granada and Sierra Nevada, beginning by going through the village of Monachíl, and heading up the climb to El Purche, which the Vuelta for some reason has always traditionally called the Alto del Monachíl. Its overall statistics don't seem that bad thanks to the two periods of minor descent; there's 6,5km averaging 9% in the middle of it as the road twists up the mountainside. Shortly after El Purche there's a minor descent and then we meet up with the main road from Granada to Pradollano and from there to IRAM and Pico Veleta; in 2009 of course they took this turning and headed up to Pradollano (where most Sierra Nevada stages finish). Today, we head back down that road towards Granada, before turning right into a technical descent in to Pinos Genil. From here a brief ascent takes us to Embalse de Canales, before we head towards Güéjar Sierra, and that means one of the all time most brutal climbs, not just in La Vuelta, but in ANY Grand Tour. I mean that - the Vuelta has often lagged behind the Tour and Giro in terms of mythical climbs, with only really Angliru having the same kind of mystique as the classic climbs of the Alps and Dolomites (sure, there's Lagos de Covadonga, but the fact it's nigh on impossible to link it to anything especially difficult makes it harder to buy into), but right here we have something to compete with everything the other two can throw at the riders: the Haza Llana side of the Collado de las Sabinas/Alto de la Sierra Nevada.

The good news, of course, is that Unipublic have discovered this climb. The bad news is that as the steepest stuff is in the middle, they decided to just stick the finish 2/3 the way up and ignore that on top of that brutal stuff there's another 12km. Here's the full profile. Note the 7km of gradual climbing before a slight descent... then 5km averaging 11% - yet when that is done, unlike this year where they'll be 2km from the top, here they will still have another 12 kilometres of climbing to go!!! These average 6,9% as well, so it's hardly easy. This also doubles as the Cima Alberto Fernández, as the ceiling of the race, finishing at the 2384m station above the resort town of Pradollano. The summit of this brutal monster comes with 35km remaining, so the field will have been shredded down to individuals hopefully with around 50km remaining, on that toughest section of climb. Agonising stuff, as they sweep through exposed roads, picturesque scenery and endless, endless ascent.

And then, as swiftly as it begun, it's over. The riders descend into Pradollano and back down again via this, the easiest side of the climb. This does mean that we double back on ourselves and do a small stretch of descent between El Purche and Pinos Genil that we already did earlier, however we do not follow all the way down to Pinos Genil, instead remaining on the main road all the way to Granada. The descent is very long - nearly 30km - reminiscent perhaps of the Monte Grappa stage in the 2010 Giro - before the final sting in the tail, to appease Javier as he was unconvinced by my descending finish - a steep final kilometre (about 7%, so not THAT steep, but definitely enough for riders to feel it after the brutality of Haza Llana) to the scenic Alhambra overlooking the old city, rather like a Briançon finish.

So much as Carrazedo's a proper climb but is dwarfed by Torre, El Purche looks like nothing next to Haza Llana; and here we have a mountain stage worthy of any Grand Tour, and with the rest day to follow no excuse for conservative riding. I'd expect most domestiques to be blown away long before the end of Haza Llana, so it's all out mano a mano action here. Factor in the possibility of 40º heat and you have one destructive day in the saddle.

Baza:

Alhambra de Granada:

 

[togo95]

Belfast - Belfast; 185 km

Leadbelly's post encouraged me to check what are the options of a challenging stage near Belfast and I must say that I was a bit surprised. This stage I mapped without any planning beforehand and therefore it's hardly more than just a display of capabilities this region offers.
I took a look on the street view to see whether the roads are suitable and I think that apart from the last hill, they're all reasonably wide and in good condition. The road on the last hill before finish is quite narrow, but maybe with the race being shattered into pieces it wouldn't be huge issue.
Apart from that I have also noticed breathtaking scenery of this coast with cliffs and mainly beautiful green meadows.

Hill details:
Whitehead - 4,4 km; 1,7% av.; 4% max.
Dickeystown Road - 2,7 km; 6,8%; 19% (this is probably the hardest ascent in the stage with the main climb being 1,3 km with 11,5% average)
Camlough Road - 5 km; 3,6%; 10%
Lisles Hill - 2,8 km; 3,6%; 7%
Dickeystown Road (from the other side) - 2,5 km; 7,6%; 16% (this ascent includes hard section as well, which is 0,9 km with 10,9% average)
Feystown Road - 2,8 km; 7%; 11%
Loughdoo Road - 1,2 km; 4,3%; 7%
Mullaghsandall Road - 1,6 km; 4,8%; 9%
Carrickfergus Road - 1,9 km; 5,9%; 13%
Ballypollard Road - 3,1 km; 4,6%; 11%
Paisley Road - 7,4 km; 3,5%; 12%
Knockagh road - 3,4 km; 5,2 %; 13%
Ballyduff Road - 1,2 km; 6,8%; 14%
Upper Hightown Road (Cavehill) - 3,8 km; 3,8%; 8%
Ballyuotag Road - 2,4 km; 4,3%; 8%
Ligionel Road - 1,3 km; 5,5%; 7%
Ballygomartin Road - 2,2 km; 7,2%; 18% (but the main ascent is really hard - 1,1 km with 12% average and the other side (Whiterock Road), which they'll be descending is even steeper - 0,8 km; 15,5% average and approximately 30% maximum)

 

[Zam_Olyas]

I want a race in the caucasus mountains.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Stage 10: Jaén - Córdoba, 153km

Climbs:
Alto del San Jerónimo (cat.2) 7,0km @ 5,5%

"Libertine," said Javier, "I think I can sense where this is headed, and I'm not sure it's going to be totally in line with what Unipublic's vision is about. We're going to need a bit more loyalty to our regular host towns to offset this, because ultimately the Vuelta needs to make money!" "Javier, I understand your problem, but if you follow my plans the Vuelta ought to produce better racing which will entice more fans and make more money. However I do see the need to continue to utilise supportive towns and cities in order to keep the race afloat and to ensure crowds and spectator interest. How's about a classic Jaén to Córdoba stage with San Gerónimo or the Alto del 14%?" "Deal"

This is the fruits of that conversation - nigh on a dead carbon copy of the 2009 stage between the same two cities, from the beautiful cathedral of Jaén to what remains of the even more beautiful and ridiculously dramatic Córdoba mosque. I've taken a slightly longer route to Córdoba before the final mountain circuit, but in a concession to Unipublic's preference for shorter stages and also to give the riders an easier day in the saddle in recognition of the difficulty of some of the stages gone and to come, they only go over San Jerónimo once, with the end of the climb 18km out, but rolling terrain meaning the final uphill section ends with 10,6km remaining, most of which is downhill. That 2009 stage ended with Lars Boom showing hitherto unseen - and definitely unseen since - climbing skills to solo in ahead of the fragmented remainder of the breakaway, while the péloton took the day off and came in together over 20 minutes down.

To tell you the truth, I could see the same happening here. Otherwise, it looks like one for Peter Sagan, no?

Jaén:

Córdoba:

 

[Netserk]

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Stage 11: Azuaga - Badajoz, 150km

This is a short and flat stage in Extremadura. The heat is most likely to be the challenge here, as it frequently gets over 40º at this time of year in this region. The scenery for much of the stage will make it into one of "those" Vuelta stages, therefore I've truncated the length, so this is our second short stage in a row. Most of the stage is pretty straightforward, so I'd expect a solitary breakaway from a Spanish Pro-Continental team (guess that'll be Caja Rural then), maybe if they're lucky along with a neo-pro or domestique from a Classics based team trying to get noticed for next year's contract or somebody from whichever bonus team gets invited alongside the WT teams, the Spanish ProContinentals and Cofidis, and since the latter stages may not offer too much to the sprinters, they will no doubt want to make their mark here.

This stage is all about the final kilometre, which may be one of the most dramatic in terms of scenery ever concocted, as the riders pass through historic Badajoz. The red kite is passed as the riders reach the city walls and turn onto the cobbled Calle Joaquin Rojas Gallardo, which is also an uphill drag. It's around 400m long and averages 6%, so while it may look scenic it won't exactly destroy the sprinters. A sweeping bend and the riders pass through an archway into the extremely impressive Plaza Alta. This was clearly a former mosque, from its patterned designs and arches. Here it would make a pretty nice finish, but we'll let the riders pass through with 500m to go, and leave the admiring of the scenery to the fans. But really, look at it. It's incredible. The path into Plaza Alta is pretty narrow, however, so positioning will be paramount.

With 300m to go, the cobbles give way to tarmac once more, just after we pass the cathedral of Badajoz, properly known as the Convento de las Adoratrices. Then, at 175m from the finish we turn right, and pass through the walls of the Alcazaba, which then bear right before a straightish final 125m at an uphill drag of around 3-4%. The pure sprinters may need to be careful with positioning in the last kilometre and smarter Classics riders may be able to hold the field off with a late push, but don't count on it, as sprinters looking for the points jersey will be fighting it out here. After all, this could be their last chance for a while.

Azuaga:

Badajoz (Alcazaba de Badajoz - you can see the finishing road on the right of the image):

 

[Another_Dutch_Guy]

Giro d'Italia

While watching the latest edition of the Giro, I realized something. I've already made a Tour and a Vuelta, but so far no Giro! Now it's time to fill up that gap.

Normally, I'm basing my fantasy grand tours on a certain theme. My Tour was based on the 2012 host cities, and a reaction at the awfully badly designed course that year. The Vuelta I made with a comparable goal; I wanted to show that there are many possibilities to create back-to-back mountain stages. To be fair, both versions ended up being way to mountainous. So this time I decided to do things differently: instead of showing as much climbing options as possible, I would just draw a course I like.

So, let's start!

Stage 1: Chieti - Chieti (145 KM)

I really like Pruedhomme's invention of starting with a hilly stage instead of a prologue. So therefore I've brought it to the Giro as well. And isn't Chieti the perfect host for such a stage? We all know from the Tirreno Adriatico that it is!

Directly from the start at the main square of Chieti, the peloton heads to Pescara for a nice ride at the Boulevard to Francavilla Al Mare. From there on the peloton starts heading back to Chieti. On the way they come across several punchy climbs, like the Villamagna, and the well known double climb up to Chieti. From then on, the peloton will arrive at another circuit, which is shorter but also features more climbing! In total, this circuit needs to be tackled twice. This means this day will end after 145 KM and 16 times climbing! As a reminder, this is the final climb.

Climbs:

2X: Santa Maria de Criptis (4,6 KM, 5,2%) & Ripa Taetina (3,2 KM, 5,6%)

3X: Villamagna (1,6 KM, 10,7%), Maria Casoria (1,6 KM, 5,3%), Chieti Pietragrossa (2,6 KM, 8,4%) & Chieti Salomone (1 KM, 11,4%)

 

[Another_Dutch_Guy]

Giro d'Italia

Stage 2: Pescara - Spoltore (24 KM ITT)

Since I don't like transitions, I've tried to reduce them as much as possible. This means this stage starts in a place already visited in the first stage: Pescara.

I also don't like it when the battle for the GC keeps being closed for a long time. Therefore this stage is probably the earliest time trial in the Giro history. The route between Pescara and the scenic village Spoltore is short, but still very demanding.

Together with the first stage, this is probably one of the hardest opening weekend's of a grand tour. And that's something I do like!

Climbs:

San Giovanni (1,8 KM, 7,4%)
Spoltore (2,5 KM, 4,5%)

 

[Another_Dutch_Guy]

Giro d'Italia

Stage 3: Ortona - Manfredonia (199 KM)

Based on my previous attempts you would probably think that I don't like bunch sprints. Well, that's not true; bunch sprints are exciting and definetely needs to be included in a Grand Tour. However, I don't like it when there is no action before the last kilometre. Therefore I've included some hills on the way between Ortona and Manfredonia.

Hills:

San Marco in Lamis (8 KM, 5,8%)
Monte Saint Angelo (5,5 KM, 5%)

 

[Another_Dutch_Guy]

Giro d'Italia

Foggia - Potenza (153 KM)

I absolutely love uphill sprints. So at the moment I noticed that my proposed finishing place was situated on a hill, I decided to look for the most steep way up. I didn't just find one way, I found two! The route between Foggia and Potenza is not really demanding, but a spicy finale will be guaranteed!

Climbs:

Melfi (6,1 KM, 4,2%)
San Giorgio (3,4 KM, 5%)
Potenza East (2,6 KM, 5%)
Potenza West (1,3 KM, 8,5%)

 

[rghysens]

... My Tour was based on the 2012 host cities, and a reaction at the awfully badly designed course that year...

Compared with this year, the 2012 course was a real gem

... Therefore this stage is probably the earliest time trial in the Giro history...

In 1995 there was also an itt on the second day, on a similar course. (to Assisi)

Just nitpicking

 

[Libertine Seguros]

You may have guessed this was coming from the direction the Badajoz stage was headed, but this is a very rare thing indeed.

Stage 12: Castelo Branco (POR) - Seia (Alto da Torre)(POR), 165km

Climbs:
Alto de Teixeira (cat.3) 4,6km @ 7,7%
Alto do Carrazedo (cat.2) 9,7km @ 6,9%
Alto da Torre (cat.ESP) 28,5km @ 5,1%

Yes, it's an all-too-rare trip from the Vuelta into the local neighbours to the West. In fact, it would be only the second time that Portugal has hosted Vuelta stages, after 1997, when the race began with a stage from Lisboa to the racing circuit in Estoril, followed by a second stage from Évora to Vilamoura, and then stage 3 started in Loulé and entered Spain. This time, we have a more decisive stage, as the Vuelta takes on what is the Portuguese climb par excellence, the endless, tortuous grind of the Alto da Torre.

This is not an atypical Volta stage, although they typically don't approach Torre from the Castelo Branco side - from here they are more likely to do Penhas Douradas and then the Gouveia circuits, parallel to Torre to the north. This is a simple stage, straight flat and more likely than not painfully hot as far as Fundão, then the hills start; most of it will be rolling and uncategorised, however there is a nasty little rise up to the Alto de Teixeira familiar to Volta enthusiasts (although we're not tackling the usual Unhais da Serra side of it). From there it's a fairly gradual descent into Vide, before the warmup climb for the big finish - the Alto do Carrazedo is widely seen as THE tune-up for Torre, as seen in stages like this one from 2008. It's fallen out of favour in recent years but its final kilometres being quite steep, especially from the Casal do Rei side, as well as its being quite close to the foot of Torre, make it a better option for La Vuelta (as well as helping sate Guillén's insatiable desire for effective one-climb stages).

And then we're in Seia, the beating heart at the base of the Serra da Estrela, ready for the near-30km slog up to the Alto da Torre, so named for the 7m tower that was built at the summit for no reason other than a comparatively silly one: The highest point in Iberian Portugal, here on the Serra da Estrela, is 1993m above sea level, so they built a tower to make it a round 2000m. This is a truly monolithic climb, as can be seen from the classic 2007 stage, when Jiménez and Tondó crushed the field, and Héctor Guerra stopped about 817 times in the final 3km to pull 80kg sprinter Cândido Barbosa back up toward them; the punishing 2009 stage when Nuno Ribeiro in the camisola amarela led the Liberty Seguros charge, and, well, any approach to the summit in recent years save for 2010 when forest fires meant the stage had to be abridged and rerouted to the much easier Manteigas side of the climb. Despite the extreme length, the lowish average gradient places it fairly low on the list of extreme climbs, but don't let yourself be fooled by that. The Volta's official profile helps demonstrate the difficulties; though other sources say the highest gradient is 17%, and this profile is a bit more helpful, albeit a bit inaccurate with the calculation of average gradient at the bottom! Either way, it starts off tough, with 8km at close to 8% up to Sabugueiro, then there's a descent which helps reduce the gradient; then comes the hardest part, with 5km at nearly 9% before it starts to ease up on the edges of Lagoa Comprida, one of its famous sights. Then follows a few kilometres of glorious inconsistency, veering from false flat to 8% and back again, before some genuine flat, long after the race should have been opened up, but any group still together could make some time on this stretch before the final dig up to the summit, which, although not severe in terms of gradient, seem agonizing and endless after the climb they've had, as they arrive at Portugal's only fully-fledged ski resort.

The roads are comfortable and wide, but the heat and the relentless nature of the climb - I guess in its having a mid-to-low average gradient that masks its difficulty due to its inconsistency and including stretches of false flat and descent I would make the comparison to the Col de la Croix de Fer, though I would make a case for Torre being harder (however Croix de Fer is much better linkable to other challenges, whereas Torre pretty much has to be the final challenge and has few climbs of similar magnitude nearby). A punishing finish, and one I've wanted to see in the Vuelta for a long time.

Castelo Branco:

Alto da Torre:

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Stage 13: Viseu (POR) - Porto (POR), 167km

Climbs:
Alto da Ronda do Cabo (cat.3) 3,9km @ 4,9%
Alto de Currais (cat.2) 14,8km @ 4,0%
Monte da Virgem (cat.3) 3,1km @ 6,4%

Our second day in Portugal is probably tailor-made for the breakaway, but depending on the Worlds parcours in the year of my race it could be an ideal tune-up stage for the one-day specialists. We start in Viseu, a city with a long history of support for cycling, and which hosts a stage start, finish or both in the Volta pretty much every year; and then head northwest to finish in Portugal's second city, Porto. The route we take between the two cities is one of the easiest possible without using autoestradas, in fact. As a case in point, early in the stage we pass through São Pedro do Sul - from here we could take the 9,2km @ 9,1% Alto de São Macário, but that would be unnecessary and a waste of a great climb; instead we will take mostly rolling routes through the mountainous terrain, with gradients mostly gradual. There is a longer climb, but this is an almost military precise 4% all the way up, and the key decisive moments of the stage will all be over much shorter terrain.

The climb of Monte da Virgem was mentioned in my Circuito do Porto, and we take this on once more - from the banks of the Douro this time, which makes it a bit longer but a lower average gradient. Nevertheless with a maximum of 19% and a number of switchbacks, this could be a key moment for the break, coming 32km from home. From here the riders descend to the banks of the Douro and cross into Porto, where they undertake two and a half laps of a 12km circuit featuring an uphill drag on cobbles (about 1,8km at between 5 and 6%) over Rua Mouzinhos da Silveira and Rua Almada before a finish on Avenida dos Aliados. The circuit loops back around itself taking in Estação de São Bento, loops back around Aliados to Avenida da Boavista, then down to the estuary again to start the climb again. This circuit, featuring small hills and cobbles, will ensure that if the break goes there will be action in the fight for the stage win, and if it doesn't then small gaps are there for the making, a bit like a Montjuïc circuit or Ávila stage.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Stage 14: Vigo - Ourense (Costiña de Canedo), 155km

Climbs:
Alto de O Campiño (cat.3) 5,0km @ 4,9%
Puerto de A Franqueira (cat.2) 9,5km @ 5,0%
O Bidueiro (cat.2) 7,0km @ 5,8%
Costiña de Canedo (cat.2) 2,1km @ 13,0%

"Libertine, I like a lot of your ideas, but you've got to remember that this race is for Unipublic!" advised Javier. "How are we meant to sell the public on stages with 200+ kilometres, or where the final climb might not be decisive? I mean, you've got mountain stages here that Joaquím Rodríguez might not even win!!!"

"Fear not, Javier. I've got something for you. In fact, I'm amazed you haven't picked up this finish yourself yet, especially bearing in mind we've had multiple Galician stages for a few years now. It'd suit you down to the ground. You'll love it. How does a 150km stage with a final 2km averaging 13% sound to you?"

"Perfect. It's a weekend stage, after all"

"Good."

I initially wanted to descend back into Ourense for the finish there, like the Aia-Orio stage of the 2010 Vuelta al País Vasco, and because there's not much room at the summit today, however let's be clear on one thing: Javier Guillén will find a way where a finish like this is concerned.

We are back in Spain for our penultimate weekend, and we get it under way with a short medium mountain stage, however one which will no doubt impact the GC. As we head through a few Vuelta staples of recent years - Vigo, Ponteareas - there is little in the way of flat, however genuinely selective climbs are few and far between. There are three categorised climbs in the first 120km of today's stage, plus a couple of uncategorised rises as we head through the Galician countryside. It will at least be nice for the helicams. However, there are about 30kms of downhill false flat, rolling terrain and flat land between the end of the hilly/intermediate part of the stage and the final selective (and it WILL be selective) climb. This includes taking in the centre of Ourense, which will undoubtedly host the final intermediate sprint, before we head out to the northwest of town for an unknown and unheralded killer.

The Costiña de Canedo is a proper Muro, a savage, ungodly steep killer. It's mostly straight, but it's really steep. There is an ungodly annual running race climbing it from the tunnel at its base to the crossroads where we finish, and people suffer a thousand deaths. Here's the profile: yea, this one's for Murito. It ramps up immediately to 20-22% right near the start; look at the fence on this photo for reference regarding steepness. Ability to suffer: essential. Again, with the introduction of more and more insane walls to the Vuelta I'm surprised Javier Guillén hasn't jumped at this one yet, given that Galicia is regularly putting up the money to see the Vuelta. Surely it's just a matter of time.

Vigo:

Ourense:

 

[Hugo87]

Thank you Libertine, I'm really enjoying your routes and stories.

 

[Netserk]

Fixed your image LS.

Note the difference

BTW nice route

 

[Another_Dutch_Guy]

Compared with this year, the 2012 course was a real gem



In 1995 there was also an itt on the second day, on a similar course. (to Assisi)

Just nitpicking

Indeed, I saw that in 1997 there was an early time trial as well. I need to inform my self better before making such statements

By the way, I kinda like the parcours of this years Tour.

 

[Another_Dutch_Guy]

Giro d'Italia

Stage 5: Brienza - Agripoli (199 KM)

The latest editions of both the Tirreno Adriatico and the Giro has learned us something really important: every good stage race needs a Sky Killer. A hard stage with a lot of steep climbs on small roads, and descents on even smaller roads. Preferably combined with cold temperatures and a lot of rain. In other words, a stage which makes powermeters useless and seperates the boys from the men. Well, this is such a stage.

Directly from the start in Brienza the road starts rising. The first half of this stage already consists three climbs. However, none of these are really hard. Things will change after 120 kilometres with the steep climb to Orria (4,5 KM at 9%). Still, this is no more than a small appetizer for what has to come. First, the riders have to tackle another 'easy' climb to San Mango (10 KM at 5,8%), but with only 40 kilometres to go the real trouble starts...

Matoni Ventrali is the first of the Sky Killers included in this stage. 2,9 Kilometres long, average percentage of 10,3% and a peak of 500 of 16%. A truly awful climb! Directly after an even steeper descent right through the village the next horror climb awaits: the Vatolla (4,5 Km at 10,3%). The peloton will be already shattered after those two walls. However, there are still two climbs awaiting!

After another tricky descent through some villages, the third horror climb in a row appears; The Torchiara is 3,5 KM long and averages 9,6%. Indeed a little easier as the former two, still it will hurt like hell. Finally, after pushing themselves over the last hill of the day (the Santa Catarina, 4 KM at 7,2%), the heroes who are still at the front may battle for victory at the Boulevard in Agripoli.

After today, a lot of aspirations will be cracked...

Last 40 Kilometres:

 

[rghysens]

It's been a while since I designed a fantasy tour de France, and we're nearing the start of the real tour, so I might give it a go again.
I know I have designed alreday a few of them, so you may be thinking that I have enough of it. But no, I haven't. There are several reasons that make me like designing a tour de France, but the most important is that it's quite difficult to design a varied tour that covers a large enough area of France,
due to the dull geography in the northwestern half of France. You can design a parcours for the tour in the southern and eastern regions of France (an area almost as big as Italy) that compares with the best giros we had the last couple of years, but that would leave about 50% of the country uncovered.
And, in my opinion, a national tour should cross as many regions of a country as possible, without creating an under par course. Despite these difficulties, it is still really easy to create a tour that is more than marginally better than what ASO has thrown at us since october 2008.
So, I will give ASO a slight hint (not that they'll notice it, let alone take care of it) by continuing the work they already started: here's my fantasy 2014 tour de france.
I'll also try to meet the requirements of ASO: only paved roads, start and finish locations need to be big enough to financially support the tour caravan, most roads need to be wide enough to support the publicity caravan,...
But I'll add one peculiarity to the race.

I'll not only design the race, I will alter the way points are scored for the points jersey and mountain classification too.

Points classification:
*) at the finish:
for flat, hilly and medium mountain stages, the first 20 riders score 35, 30, 26, 23, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points
for high mountain stages and tt's, the first 15 riders score 25, 20, 16, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points.

*) intermediate sprints:
10, 7, 5, 3, 2 and 1 point

Mountain classification:
*) 4th category: 3, 2, 1 points
*) 3rd category: 5, 3, 2, 1 points
*) 2nd category: 10, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1 points
*) 1st category: 20, 16, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 points
*) hors category: 30, 24, 20, 16, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 points

If the summit of a climb of 1st or hors category is within 50km of the finish, its awarded points are multiplied by 1.5.
If the summit of any climb is within 10km of the finish, its awarded points are doubled.

I will also give some bonification seconds:
*) at the finishline of flat and hilly stages: 20, 12 and 8 seconds
*) at intermediate sprints in all stages: 6, 4 and 2 seconds
*) to riders in a breakaway in all stages.
The last one is a bit intricate.
To each rider in the first group on the road, if it counts 20 riders or less: 2 seconds, multiplied by the amount of km in the break, divided by the number of riders in the break
So imagine a breakaway of 8 men, that races together for 80km, than falls apart in two groups of 4 and the first group holds it for another 40km before it gets caught by the peloton.
The members of the first group will get then a bonification of 2*80/8 + 2*40/4 = 40 seconds, the members of the second group will get 2*80/8 = 20 seconds.
Decimal parts of this calculation are truncated. A solo attack is counted as a group of 1.
EDIT: in medium and high mountain stages, there's a bonification of 1 second/km.

Special prizes will be the Souvenir Henri Desgranges, at the highest summit of the Alps, the Souvenir Jacques Goddet, at the highest summit of the Pyrenees and the Concours Christian Prud'homme, in Paris awarded to the most boring rider in the peloton who finished the race. He gets a fine of 50000€ and his racing licence is revoked.

So, enough pre-race talking. Let's start the presentation.


Stage 1: Leeds - Harrogate, 200km, flat

The official site says it's 190km long, so I guess there will be a neutralised start of 10km to get out of Leeds.
Although it contains three 3rd category climbs, and has about as much elevation gain as the tour of Flanders, this is a flat stage. It's probably designed to help Mark Cavendish in the yellow jersey and to maximalise the interest from a wide audience (in Britain) to the tour and Yorkshire.
This stage has "mass sprint" written all over it. I can live with it. The only possible spoiler may be a small climb of 500m at around 6% just before reaching the centre of Harrogate.

climbs:
Kidstone Bank: km84, 3.6km @ 5%, 3rd cat
Buttertubs Pass: km114, 4.8km @ 5.8%, 3rd cat
Whipperdale Bank: km141, 4.5km @ 5%, 3rd cat

Intermediate sprint:
Skipton: km 51


Stage 2: York - Sheffield, 200km, hilly

OK, I admit. I like this stage. A lot. This stage has a more attractive design than any stage of the 2013 tour, so let's hope that this will set the score for the stages to come (in the real 2014 tour).
This is how a hilly stage should look like, not like the stuff we got in 2012 to Seraing, or the stages to Ajaccio, Marseille or Lyon in the 2013 tour.
This stage is like a mini version of Liege-Bastogne-Liege, with a slightly easier final. But with no less than 13 categorised climbs (all 3rd and 4th category), countless other small rises and about 3000m elevation gain, there's plenty of opportunity to shatter the peloton.

Climbs (not sure of the names):
Kex Gill: km50, 2.4km @ 5%, 4th cat
Bolton Road: km64, 3.1km @ 4.1%, 4th cat
Oxenhope: km87, 3.2km @ 6.1%, 3rd cat
Cragg Vale, km106, 7km @ 3.7%, 3rd cat
Greetland Road: km115, 1.4km @ 7%, 4th cat
Huddersfield Road: km124, 1.7km @ 6.5%, 4th cat
Holme Moss: km146, 4.8km @ 6.6%, 3rd cat (with the standards ASO is currently holding, this could be a cat 2 too)
Windleden: km157, 5.3km @ 3.5%, 4th cat
Mortimer Road: km169, 2.2km @ 6.1%, 4th cat
Penistone Road: km172, 2.1km @ 4.9%, 4th cat
Kirk Edge Road: km177, 1km @ 6.2%, 4th cat
Outbridge Lane: km 183, 1.8km @ 7.5%, 3rd cat
Wincobank Wood: km 194, 1km @ 7.4%, 4th cat

Intermediate sprint:
Keighly: km73


Stage 3: Cambridge - London, 120km, flat

The exact route or even length for this stage isn't yet known, but it's supposed to be around 170km. I just took a short road that generally heads in the right direction, resulting in a much shorter stage. If the organisation of the tour is as much concerned about the riders' health and safety as they pretend to be, this stage seems a legitime option.
It's a short stage, yes. And I plan to let it arrive quite early too (let's say, around 3pm). That way the riders and team staff can hop on the eurostar/catch a ferry from Dover in the afternoon, to arrive at a decent time in their hotels in France. They'll need their sleep.

Intermediate sprint:
Harlow: km72

 

[rghysens]

Stage 4: Calais - Bouvines, 197km, flat

There have been some rumours about the first stages on the continent after the start in Yorkshire. The city of Ypres (Belgium) wants to host a stage, there were rumours about the little town Bouvines, about Arras and more.
It seems logic that the first stage in France will start in Calais, it has good ferry connections with Great Britain and the Eurostar highspeed train under the Channel passes here. Bouvines seems a viable option as finish location, as 2014 will be the 800th anniversary of the battle of Bouvines, a defining moment in French history (I wonder if the 2015 tour will host Waterloo and Azincourt, though). So Calais - Bouvines it will be.
Let's take a deeper look at the stage itself. After the start the roads heads south, to take some scenic but hilly roads in the Parc Naturel Regional des Caps et Marais d'Opale, most famous for Cap Griz Nez and Cap Blanc Nez. In these early stage of the race, two 4th category climbs have to be tackled.
The stage then slowly turns east, passing Saint-Omer and heading for Cassel, where the famous Monts des Récollets awaits the peloton. The stage continue its way through French-Flanders passing villages like Steenvoorde and Boeschepe and climbing the Mont Noir/Rodeberg before crossing the French-Belgian border.
The goal of this detour is a passage to Ypres, as a tribute to the suffering of the first World War. In Ypres there will be the intermediate sprint at the Menen gate. Leaving Ypres the peloton heads south again and enters France again after 126km in Armentières, one of these severely hit towns on the frontline of 1914-'18.
Despite being in France, the appearance of the villages the race goes through, looks more Flemish than French, and it will stay so for the next 70km.
The first 24km back in France are quite featureless, one just needs to take some care when passing through town centers. That all comes to an abrupt halt when the peloton (and the very likely breakaway group) leaves the center of Gondecourt and heads for a road that characterises this region: cobblestones. Although this sector doesn't feature in Paris-Roubaix, it's a nasty one. And a long one too, divided in two parts of 2500m and 1100m, interspaced by only 100m of good tarmac. After this first shocking experience, the peloton has 12km to reform in good order,
or to increase the gaps that will have occurred on this first sector. The next cobblestone sector is a more famous one: the 3000m boneshaking and teethrattling hell of Mons-en-Pévèle. It would be easy to follow the route of Paris-Roubaix from this point on, but that would probably be too much. The stage will bypass the cobbles of Mérignies, Pont-Thibaut and Templeuve
and will head directly for the sector of Cysoing, followed by the one of Bourghelles, Camphin-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l'Arbre with only 6km to go and finally Gruson. In the last 16km of this stage, there will be 7.4km of cobbles.

Climbs:
Côte d'Ecottes: km18.5, 1.6km @ 5.5%, 4th cat
Côte de Neuville: km28.5, 1.7km @ 5.7%, 4th cat
Mont des Récollets: km68, 1.1km @ 8%, 4th cat
Mont Noir: km92, 2.4km @ 4.4%, 4th cat

Cobblestone sectors:
Gondecourt: km 150, 3.6km, ****
Mons-en-Pévèle: km165, 3.0km, *****
Cysoing: km182, 1.3km, ****
Bourghelles: km184.5, 1.1km, ****
Camphin-en-Pévèle: km189, 1.8km, ****
Carrefour de l'Arbre: km 191.5, 2.1km, *****
Gruson: km193, 1.1km, **


Intermediate sprint:
Ieper: km108

 

[rghysens]

Stage 5: Valenciennes - Verdun, 248km, hilly

(the first 48km are not shown on the profile or map, but are flat)

If the second stage was a mini Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the fourth stage a mini Paris-Roubaix, this stage can be considered a mini Milano-San Remo. Although, mini may not be the right description for a 248km long stage.
Just like Milano - San Remo this stage starts pretty straightforward. It follows a southeastern course for more than 200km, often on wide, rolling roads, through tiny hamlets and more or less following the frontline of a century ago.
Just as Milan - San Remo is decided by some incursions towards the hills from the coastal road, this stage will be decided by some loops on the steep right bank of the Meuse river, a bit north of Verdun, passing some iconic places like the tranchée des baionettes and the fort of Douaumont. Places where hundreds of thousands young French and Germans got deprived of their future, their limbs and often their lives.
Verdun has been a finish town in 1993 and 2001, and in both occasions a late attacker on the côte de Douaumont rode to victory. That's something I want to achieve with this stage too: a close battle between escapees and the sprinters who survived the last two climbs.


Climbs:
Côte de Poix-Terron: km131, 1.6km @ 5.5%, 4th cat
Côte de Consenvoye: km209, 3.7km @ 5%, 3rd cat
Côte de Flabas: km222, 1.5km @ 5.6%, 4th cat
Côte de Douaumont: km239, 1.8km @ 5.4%, 4th cat

 

[Parrulo]

Seems like Libertine finally picked up my idea for worlds circuit in Porto finishing on the Aliados

Using some tighter streets you could make it harder and with much more cobbles but your version is also very good.