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The Varco San Mauro from that side (which I wasn't aware of) would be a perfectly good week 3 mountain stage though 
Stage 3: Navalmoral de la Mata - Ciudad Rodrigo, 214km
GPM:
Puerto de Rabanillo (cat.3) 14,2km @ 3,0%
Alto de Cabezabellosa (cat.2) 11,0km @ 5,0%
Alto de Lagunillas (cat.2) 4,5km @ 8,6%
Portillo de las Batuecas (cat.1) 14,9km @ 5,4%
Puerto del Lobo (cat.2) 10,0km @ 5,1%
Alto de Monsagro (cat.3) 4,0km @ 5,5%
Stage 3 is another intermediate stage, although compared to stage 2 the GC impact is likely to be less. The most likely outcome of this stage is going to be something akin to the 2011 race when Pablo Lastras took the lead when the break was allowed to stay away. As the stage before was tougher, there should be some hard fighting to get into the break and to be part of it in a stage like this. However, the GC guys could be active. There have been two medium mountain stages to Ciudad Rodrigo like today in (comparatively) recent memory, and this is the first point to the "late 90s early 00s nature" of this race. The 1999 stage was the first GC test of the race, coming on stage 5, and splintered the group up and the majority of the big guns came in in the first group of 23, led home by stage winner and eventual GC victor Jan Ullrich, but the group was over 3 minutes ahead of the next bunch on the road, and former Vuelta winners Laurent Jalabert, recovering from injury, and Alex Zülle, exhausted from the Tour, lost over 5 minutes. A year later, an almost identical stage came in the middle of week 3, and was won from the break by future Vuelta winner Aleksandr Vinokourov, which you can see here. It was a fast and aggressive stage with Txente García from the early break, Roberto Laiseka from the counterattack and Vino from the later move being the strongest and coming in a minute ahead together.
This multiple-climb intermediate stage is much longer than those Béjar-Ciudad Rodrigo stages from '99-'00, and while Mogarraz, which they climbed in those stages prior to the last three from mine, is tougher than my early climbs, I add in three for the cumulative effect. The first is basically a few bits of false flat and some uphill ramps around the base of the Sierra de Béjar. I have called it the Alto de Barrado in error because of going through the village of Barrado, which I had forgotten is actually only partway up that climb. This is actually the Puerto de Rabanillo. We then descend into the Valle del Jerte and climb a more significant ascent, the Alto de Cabezabellosa. The overall gradient is fairly benign, but a couple of kilometres around 8% early on make it noteworthy.
After this, we have the steepest test of the day. The Alto de Lagunillas averages 8,6% and has a maximum gradient of 17%; so while it's short, it comes halfway through the stage and should be where the chaff starts to be shelled. From here we descend down into the Parque Natural Sierra de Francía, and the helicam footage will get better.
Now, however, the climbs get serious. The toughest climb of the day - and the only cat.1 - is the Portillo de las Batuecas. This has a first ramp before four kilometres of false flat. After this we have 10km at around 6,5% which crests with 59km to go. Maybe 2014 Tour Tony Martin will dare go here (it does resemble that stage in profile a little, actually, now that I come to think about it), but generally I wouldn't expect too much activity from the big names here; more an upping of the pace in the bunch to shell as many domestiques as possible on these scenic lacets.
This climb doubles up into the Puerto del Lobo aka Paso de los Lobos, a stop off point on the way to the Santuário de Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francía. The climb also follows the same format as Las Batuecas; the profile shows a first hilly km, a short period of false flat, then around 6km at 6,5% with a max of 11%. Cresting with 42km remaining, this might be when the moves start, especially if it seems like the break is going. Especially as the majority of the rest of the stage is downhill (you can see it in that footage from the 1999 stage) - there's only a couple of uphill breaks within the descent, the first of which is the 4km long, 3rd category Alto de Monsagro 27km from home; the second is not categorization-worthy but is a couple of kilometres long, cresting around 16km from the line, where we finish after a rolling finale outside the fortified town of Ciudad Rodrigo. GC men will have to be alert but not in panic mode just yet.
Stage 3: Navalmoral de la Mata - Ciudad Rodrigo, 214km
GPM:
Puerto de Rabanillo (cat.3) 14,2km @ 3,0%
Alto de Cabezabellosa (cat.2) 11,0km @ 5,0%
Alto de Lagunillas (cat.2) 4,5km @ 8,6%
Portillo de las Batuecas (cat.1) 14,9km @ 5,4%
Puerto del Lobo (cat.2) 10,0km @ 5,1%
Alto de Monsagro (cat.3) 4,0km @ 5,5%
Stage 3 is another intermediate stage, although compared to stage 2 the GC impact is likely to be less. The most likely outcome of this stage is going to be something akin to the 2011 race when Pablo Lastras took the lead when the break was allowed to stay away. As the stage before was tougher, there should be some hard fighting to get into the break and to be part of it in a stage like this. However, the GC guys could be active. There have been two medium mountain stages to Ciudad Rodrigo like today in (comparatively) recent memory, and this is the first point to the "late 90s early 00s nature" of this race. The 1999 stage was the first GC test of the race, coming on stage 5, and splintered the group up and the majority of the big guns came in in the first group of 23, led home by stage winner and eventual GC victor Jan Ullrich, but the group was over 3 minutes ahead of the next bunch on the road, and former Vuelta winners Laurent Jalabert, recovering from injury, and Alex Zülle, exhausted from the Tour, lost over 5 minutes. A year later, an almost identical stage came in the middle of week 3, and was won from the break by future Vuelta winner Aleksandr Vinokourov, which you can see here. It was a fast and aggressive stage with Txente García from the early break, Roberto Laiseka from the counterattack and Vino from the later move being the strongest and coming in a minute ahead together.
This multiple-climb intermediate stage is much longer than those Béjar-Ciudad Rodrigo stages from '99-'00, and while Mogarraz, which they climbed in those stages prior to the last three from mine, is tougher than my early climbs, I add in three for the cumulative effect. The first is basically a few bits of false flat and some uphill ramps around the base of the Sierra de Béjar. I have called it the Alto de Barrado in error because of going through the village of Barrado, which I had forgotten is actually only partway up that climb. This is actually the Puerto de Rabanillo. We then descend into the Valle del Jerte and climb a more significant ascent, the Alto de Cabezabellosa. The overall gradient is fairly benign, but a couple of kilometres around 8% early on make it noteworthy.
After this, we have the steepest test of the day. The Alto de Lagunillas averages 8,6% and has a maximum gradient of 17%; so while it's short, it comes halfway through the stage and should be where the chaff starts to be shelled. From here we descend down into the Parque Natural Sierra de Francía, and the helicam footage will get better.
Now, however, the climbs get serious. The toughest climb of the day - and the only cat.1 - is the Portillo de las Batuecas. This has a first ramp before four kilometres of false flat. After this we have 10km at around 6,5% which crests with 59km to go. Maybe 2014 Tour Tony Martin will dare go here (it does resemble that stage in profile a little, actually, now that I come to think about it), but generally I wouldn't expect too much activity from the big names here; more an upping of the pace in the bunch to shell as many domestiques as possible on these scenic lacets.
This climb doubles up into the Puerto del Lobo aka Paso de los Lobos, a stop off point on the way to the Santuário de Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francía. The climb also follows the same format as Las Batuecas; the profile shows a first hilly km, a short period of false flat, then around 6km at 6,5% with a max of 11%. Cresting with 42km remaining, this might be when the moves start, especially if it seems like the break is going. Especially as the majority of the rest of the stage is downhill (you can see it in that footage from the 1999 stage) - there's only a couple of uphill breaks within the descent, the first of which is the 4km long, 3rd category Alto de Monsagro 27km from home; the second is not categorization-worthy but is a couple of kilometres long, cresting around 16km from the line, where we finish after a rolling finale outside the fortified town of Ciudad Rodrigo. GC men will have to be alert but not in panic mode just yet.
Stage 4: Coría - Mérida, 164km
GPM:
Alto de Montánchez (cat.3) 4,0km @ 5,5%
After the hilly circuit race in Toledo and the two intermediate stages, the GC guys will be happy to see that they have a bit of a break... it's a flat stage through the sparsely populated area of Extremadura. As mentioned in my last Vuelta, the region doesn't get to see the Vuelta often, save for the occasional stage passing through the area.
We start in Coría, a small city known for its cathedral, and proceed south through Cáceres to the city of Mérida with its awe-inspiring Roman ruins, in particular the theatre which has largely survived.
For the most part this will be one of "those" stages; the jersey rojo is likely to be on the shoulders of a breakaway rider who is likely to be tired from yesterday's efforts. The sprinters' teams are not going to be close enough to the GC lead to be able to take it in the bonus seconds, and so the status quo will likely be maintained. A comparatively unthreatening break will likely get away, and be given a lot of time to bake in the Extremaduran heat before being reeled back in by the sprinters' teams, thankful for the chance to finally make their own mark on the Vuelta. There's only the one climb to the day, and it amounts to kilometres 3 to 7 on this profile. A few steeper ramps, but being the only ascent of the day and nearly 50km from the line I don't see it affecting the outcome of the day's racing. The scenery is a bit more green than in those typical Andalucian or Manchego stages, but otherwise this is all about that aspect of Vuelta racing.
GPM:
Alto de Montánchez (cat.3) 4,0km @ 5,5%
After the hilly circuit race in Toledo and the two intermediate stages, the GC guys will be happy to see that they have a bit of a break... it's a flat stage through the sparsely populated area of Extremadura. As mentioned in my last Vuelta, the region doesn't get to see the Vuelta often, save for the occasional stage passing through the area.
We start in Coría, a small city known for its cathedral, and proceed south through Cáceres to the city of Mérida with its awe-inspiring Roman ruins, in particular the theatre which has largely survived.
For the most part this will be one of "those" stages; the jersey rojo is likely to be on the shoulders of a breakaway rider who is likely to be tired from yesterday's efforts. The sprinters' teams are not going to be close enough to the GC lead to be able to take it in the bonus seconds, and so the status quo will likely be maintained. A comparatively unthreatening break will likely get away, and be given a lot of time to bake in the Extremaduran heat before being reeled back in by the sprinters' teams, thankful for the chance to finally make their own mark on the Vuelta. There's only the one climb to the day, and it amounts to kilometres 3 to 7 on this profile. A few steeper ramps, but being the only ascent of the day and nearly 50km from the line I don't see it affecting the outcome of the day's racing. The scenery is a bit more green than in those typical Andalucian or Manchego stages, but otherwise this is all about that aspect of Vuelta racing.
Stag 7: Disentis/Mustér - Andermatt; 192km
This is the 2nd hard stage in the high mountans and just like the first one this one should create big gaps.
The stage starts in Disentis/Mustér and we already have the fist climb of the day, the Oberalppass. The first 10km are more of a false flat and a nice warm-up, but then we have a decent cat. 1 climb.
On the following descent the riders will pss the famous Teufelsbrücke and ends in Wassen, a smll village that is mostly known because of the Gotthard railway, 2 railway spirals form a double loop around the village.
Right after the descent we already have the next climb, the fist HC climb of the day, the stunning Sustenpass.
Then we have a very long descent, the first part of the descent features a few nice hairpins, that will bring the rides to the small village Innertkirchen, then the next climb starts, the long Grimselpass.
It's a stunning climb and the following descent features a few tricky hairpins.
After the descent we have 6km of false flat, then the hardest climb of the day, the mighty Nufenpass starts.
After a long descent th final cimb o the day starts, the iconic St. Gotthard Pass. Th riders will climb the cobbled Tremola road, 14km a 7,.1%.
The following descent will bring the riders down to the town Andermatt, a famous winter sports resort, the final 2km are false flat.
Andermatt:
This should be a really hard stage, before the Nufenpass we already have 3 consecutive hard climbs with no flat between then and only 6km of false flat before the Nufenpass, the race could explode on such a hard climb.
Even if the racing on the Nufenpass is conservative, such a hard climb in such a hard stage will wear the riders down, the race will explode on the Tremola and we could see huge gaps. This is the last chance for the climbers to gain some time before the final ITT, if they don't attack on this stae they'l regret it on stage 9.
This is the 2nd hard stage in the high mountans and just like the first one this one should create big gaps.
The stage starts in Disentis/Mustér and we already have the fist climb of the day, the Oberalppass. The first 10km are more of a false flat and a nice warm-up, but then we have a decent cat. 1 climb.
On the following descent the riders will pss the famous Teufelsbrücke and ends in Wassen, a smll village that is mostly known because of the Gotthard railway, 2 railway spirals form a double loop around the village.
Right after the descent we already have the next climb, the fist HC climb of the day, the stunning Sustenpass.
Then we have a very long descent, the first part of the descent features a few nice hairpins, that will bring the rides to the small village Innertkirchen, then the next climb starts, the long Grimselpass.
It's a stunning climb and the following descent features a few tricky hairpins.
After the descent we have 6km of false flat, then the hardest climb of the day, the mighty Nufenpass starts.
After a long descent th final cimb o the day starts, the iconic St. Gotthard Pass. Th riders will climb the cobbled Tremola road, 14km a 7,.1%.
The following descent will bring the riders down to the town Andermatt, a famous winter sports resort, the final 2km are false flat.
Andermatt:
This should be a really hard stage, before the Nufenpass we already have 3 consecutive hard climbs with no flat between then and only 6km of false flat before the Nufenpass, the race could explode on such a hard climb.
Even if the racing on the Nufenpass is conservative, such a hard climb in such a hard stage will wear the riders down, the race will explode on the Tremola and we could see huge gaps. This is the last chance for the climbers to gain some time before the final ITT, if they don't attack on this stae they'l regret it on stage 9.
Stage 5: Zafra - Isla Cristina, 209km
GPM:
Alto de las Cumbres de Enmedio (cat.3) 3,7km @ 5,2%
We're still heading southwards, with another long flat stage which will subject the riders to some baking heat on the way to the Andalucian coast.
As with most towns in this part of the country, Zafra has a long history, with initial Roman settlement then, more immediately noticeably, a long period of Moorish rule. The city served as a frontier town between the rule of Seville and Badajoz and has a major Alcázar and fortifications as a result (the word Alcázar, meaning fortress, is of course derived from the Arabic القصر "al-qaSr" meaning "the castle", as seen in Spanish translations of cities in Arabic-speaking countries, for example Ksar-el-Kebir in Morocco is rendered "Alcazarquivír" in Spanish).
We are travelling through some unusual Vuelta terrain today; the last time this part of Extremadura saw racing in the Vuelta was 1997, when Mariano Piccoli won a stage from Córdoba to Almendralejo. In fact, that highly unusual 1997 route was the last time any part of this route featured in the Vuelta; the Provincia de Huelva, the westernmost part of Andalucia, has not seen the Vuelta since stage 5 of that race departed from it. That was, of course, the first Vuelta to ever start outside Spain, with the first three stages in Portugal before stage 4, from Loulé in the Algarve to Huelva in southwestern Spain, was won in a sprint by Marcel Wüst.
The first half of the stage is quite undulating, so the breakaway will have a bit more of their work cut out. This could therefore mean a slightly stronger break composition than yesterday, especially bearing in mind the longer stage today. There are many ups and downs through this sparsely populated area at first, although the only part I've deemed worthy of categorization is the grind up to the village of Cumbres de Enmedio, which is generally fine but has a couple of steeper ramps.
The second half of this stage, however, is very flat. But it is also very exposed. The hills of the Algarve protect the riders for much of it, but if the wind is coming in from the prevailing direction, i.e. the south-west, the last 30-40km will be into either a cross- or head-wind, and this could be very potentially dangerous in a stage such as this; sure, it's flat. But it's also over 200km long, and even if the wind doesn't blow, the exposed nature of it could cause some problems in the form of heat. It isn't too bad the closer to the sea the riders get as the cooling effect comes into it, but towards the end there's the risk of 40º heat; earlier on the stage it could get to 45º if the riders are really unlucky (as they were at the start of the 2012 race, when a freak heatwave struck northern Spain). Even if those temperatures are unlikely, we are certainly likely to be dealing with 35º+ here and riders' endurance will become a factor.
The finishing town today is Isla Cristina, a medium-sized town famous for its beaches (it is very popular for day trips for the Sevillano population in the summer as a beach resort and also for its watersport activities, but the extranjero tourist population is rather limited compared to the pull of the Portuguese resort towns nearby) and the Marismas de Isla Cristina, a protected conservation area of marshland. The race concludes with a loop around the south of the town covering those scenic seafront promenades and ending along the corniche. Again, a sprinter should win, but attrition could lead to riders less durable in the heat (hello Scarponi, hello Antón) suffering and if the weather plays a factor this could be really tough as over 200km at a hard pace in this kind of heat could shred the bunch.
GPM:
Alto de las Cumbres de Enmedio (cat.3) 3,7km @ 5,2%
We're still heading southwards, with another long flat stage which will subject the riders to some baking heat on the way to the Andalucian coast.
As with most towns in this part of the country, Zafra has a long history, with initial Roman settlement then, more immediately noticeably, a long period of Moorish rule. The city served as a frontier town between the rule of Seville and Badajoz and has a major Alcázar and fortifications as a result (the word Alcázar, meaning fortress, is of course derived from the Arabic القصر "al-qaSr" meaning "the castle", as seen in Spanish translations of cities in Arabic-speaking countries, for example Ksar-el-Kebir in Morocco is rendered "Alcazarquivír" in Spanish).
We are travelling through some unusual Vuelta terrain today; the last time this part of Extremadura saw racing in the Vuelta was 1997, when Mariano Piccoli won a stage from Córdoba to Almendralejo. In fact, that highly unusual 1997 route was the last time any part of this route featured in the Vuelta; the Provincia de Huelva, the westernmost part of Andalucia, has not seen the Vuelta since stage 5 of that race departed from it. That was, of course, the first Vuelta to ever start outside Spain, with the first three stages in Portugal before stage 4, from Loulé in the Algarve to Huelva in southwestern Spain, was won in a sprint by Marcel Wüst.
The first half of the stage is quite undulating, so the breakaway will have a bit more of their work cut out. This could therefore mean a slightly stronger break composition than yesterday, especially bearing in mind the longer stage today. There are many ups and downs through this sparsely populated area at first, although the only part I've deemed worthy of categorization is the grind up to the village of Cumbres de Enmedio, which is generally fine but has a couple of steeper ramps.
The second half of this stage, however, is very flat. But it is also very exposed. The hills of the Algarve protect the riders for much of it, but if the wind is coming in from the prevailing direction, i.e. the south-west, the last 30-40km will be into either a cross- or head-wind, and this could be very potentially dangerous in a stage such as this; sure, it's flat. But it's also over 200km long, and even if the wind doesn't blow, the exposed nature of it could cause some problems in the form of heat. It isn't too bad the closer to the sea the riders get as the cooling effect comes into it, but towards the end there's the risk of 40º heat; earlier on the stage it could get to 45º if the riders are really unlucky (as they were at the start of the 2012 race, when a freak heatwave struck northern Spain). Even if those temperatures are unlikely, we are certainly likely to be dealing with 35º+ here and riders' endurance will become a factor.
The finishing town today is Isla Cristina, a medium-sized town famous for its beaches (it is very popular for day trips for the Sevillano population in the summer as a beach resort and also for its watersport activities, but the extranjero tourist population is rather limited compared to the pull of the Portuguese resort towns nearby) and the Marismas de Isla Cristina, a protected conservation area of marshland. The race concludes with a loop around the south of the town covering those scenic seafront promenades and ending along the corniche. Again, a sprinter should win, but attrition could lead to riders less durable in the heat (hello Scarponi, hello Antón) suffering and if the weather plays a factor this could be really tough as over 200km at a hard pace in this kind of heat could shred the bunch.
Re:
There was a stage in 1973 with Nufenen, Furka, Grimsel & Gotthard. El Tarangu went solo and put 6 minutes into everyone, even without taking any risks in the descends.
Libertine Seguros said:
There was a stage in 1973 with Nufenen, Furka, Grimsel & Gotthard. El Tarangu went solo and put 6 minutes into everyone, even without taking any risks in the descends.
Re:
Some people disliked stage 5 because I used welll known Italian climbs in the TdS, after posting stage 8 and 9 I'll post an aternative version of that stage without Monte Padrio and Mortirolo.
I was a little bit tired, so I wasn't in the mood to really hype this stage, but it should be an awesome stage an could create huge gaps.Libertine Seguros said:
Some people disliked stage 5 because I used welll known Italian climbs in the TdS, after posting stage 8 and 9 I'll post an aternative version of that stage without Monte Padrio and Mortirolo.
@LS : When you say "Unlike France or Germany, where the important climbs are generally tied together in a relatively geographically clustered area."
I have to say that even if its technically true, we also have to say that ASO is doing an historically bad job to exploit the areas to their best when they're not named Alps or Pyrenees (Even that is incorrect, Mercantour and Basque climbs are there to testify). Which is another issue than simply having a geographical problem. They're finally trying, but this is taking such a long time...its just awful.
If they were really using what they got, i could be lighter on them, but when you consider this...
Jura : Grand Colombier : First seen in 2012 badly placed, Mont du Chat : Unseen since 1974, Mont d'Or since 1976.
Vosges : Petit Ballon : First seen in 2014, badly placed. Yet to ride on Brabant, Vierge, Champ du Feu...
Massif Central : No Signal d'Uchon, No Béal (even though it is a hugely popular one in the french community), No rollercoaster around Clermont-Ferrand since 1988 i believe...
We have yet to have a stage in the Causses since 1990...lets not even talk about the Cévennes : La Lusette is still a virgin, which is astonishing.
Those are PERFECTLY fine, and close, if not very close to a city large enough to host the Tour and be a part of a very difficult stage.
Even when you leave that kind of prospect aside, you still have serious mono-climbs untouched (Montagne de Lure, Pic de Nore, Col de Montalet...) and several other types of challenges never considered (where are the ribins ? Where are the white roads ? Its just out there...).
I'll follow your Vuelta with attention as its a country i dont know very well.
-That is really a massive stage for a Tour de Suisse, mayomaniac. We are sure that Cancellara wont win this one, at least.
-The Cosenza-Paola stage : Just great. That's really my type.
STAGE 7 : Karaj - Teheran, 221km.
We had our break, its time to put some pressure again
Today, we have a tricky stage in the foothills of the Alborz. The mountain range that separates Tehran, the iranian capital, from the Caspian Sea, basically.
Karaj is a very old city, west of Tehran (about 20km), but very close, and almost in the big metropolitan area of the capital.
As it is older than most cities in that area, you'll have more cultural elements to see there, including one of the latest Pahlavi palaces.
Karaj, and the Pearl Palace
The road between those two is much shorter than those kms, but in fact, we'll make a trip in the Alborz, with the Dizin Pass, going north.
Amir Kebir Lake. We're going to race next to it.
After 50km or so of flat, or rather false flat, we start with a proper mountain pass as Dizin is a ski station. At over 3.200m high, you got snow easily up there.
But for us in our perfect world, its not a problem, it just helps to make better pictures.
And good pictures we will have as the race will be dynamited by the pass.
Its gets very slowly up, and then, kaboom, the last 5km are absolutely atrocious. 12.2% average, with the last one being probably not respecting Geneva's convention, at 17.5% average.
Race is starting now. The last 120km are going to be very difficult, no rest whatsoever, a lot of smaller climbs as we're moving down to Tehran around the Latyan Dam. That climb is surely going to offer opportunities. It is just to difficult.
If a favourite is not on a good day, that stage is going to be long. Even though there is no big pass after that one, there is still a lot of potential trouble ahead.
The climbs are shorter as we go on, though. The road to Ammameh is 12km long, then, its 8km to Afjeh.
We're then on the other side of the dam, next to Tehran, and its rather long hills than proper climbs.
Saidabad and Tello, next to the eastern industrial area of Tehran are following, about 5km long for 5% gradient, not that hard, but tiring and offering chances to shake things up.
You really have to work to find a flat road in the area.
We're finally on Tehran after Lashgarak which the start of the final trilogy.
Once again, its shorter, 3.4km, but the steepness is back (7.1% average).
Those three ramps will offer perfect opportunities for a solo breakaway or for finally making the difference in a group of contenders.
The climb to the Jamshidieh Park is next, less difficult.
But it's probably the right time if you dont want to wait until the short but mighty road to Velenjak (11.5% over 1.5km)
The finish will be done in front of the Mellat Park after the descent.
Its hard to know what can happen today, but everything is there to have a great race.
Teammates can be thrown at the front of the race early on, the first climb is just too difficult to not cause damage, and any chase will be very tough to organize on a true rollercoaster which should be exhausting.
For weaker, relatively speaking, riders, this stage might be very useful as controlling opponents will be tougher than usual, and there is room to create havoc. For the eyes, it should be fun, and we're riding on several great areas of Tehran, not to mention that Iran is an underrated place for obvious political reasons.
(Dizin/Shemshak Pass : 3.5 - 1.5 - 2.5 - 1.5 - 5.5 - 1 - 2.5 - 2 - 3 - 3.5 - 5.5 - 5.5 - 9 - 7.5 - 13.5 - 13 - 17.5)
I have to say that even if its technically true, we also have to say that ASO is doing an historically bad job to exploit the areas to their best when they're not named Alps or Pyrenees (Even that is incorrect, Mercantour and Basque climbs are there to testify). Which is another issue than simply having a geographical problem. They're finally trying, but this is taking such a long time...its just awful.
If they were really using what they got, i could be lighter on them, but when you consider this...
Jura : Grand Colombier : First seen in 2012 badly placed, Mont du Chat : Unseen since 1974, Mont d'Or since 1976.
Vosges : Petit Ballon : First seen in 2014, badly placed. Yet to ride on Brabant, Vierge, Champ du Feu...
Massif Central : No Signal d'Uchon, No Béal (even though it is a hugely popular one in the french community), No rollercoaster around Clermont-Ferrand since 1988 i believe...
We have yet to have a stage in the Causses since 1990...lets not even talk about the Cévennes : La Lusette is still a virgin, which is astonishing.
Those are PERFECTLY fine, and close, if not very close to a city large enough to host the Tour and be a part of a very difficult stage.
Even when you leave that kind of prospect aside, you still have serious mono-climbs untouched (Montagne de Lure, Pic de Nore, Col de Montalet...) and several other types of challenges never considered (where are the ribins ? Where are the white roads ? Its just out there...).
I'll follow your Vuelta with attention as its a country i dont know very well.
-That is really a massive stage for a Tour de Suisse, mayomaniac. We are sure that Cancellara wont win this one, at least.
-The Cosenza-Paola stage : Just great. That's really my type.
STAGE 7 : Karaj - Teheran, 221km.
We had our break, its time to put some pressure again
Today, we have a tricky stage in the foothills of the Alborz. The mountain range that separates Tehran, the iranian capital, from the Caspian Sea, basically.
Karaj is a very old city, west of Tehran (about 20km), but very close, and almost in the big metropolitan area of the capital.
As it is older than most cities in that area, you'll have more cultural elements to see there, including one of the latest Pahlavi palaces.
Karaj, and the Pearl Palace
The road between those two is much shorter than those kms, but in fact, we'll make a trip in the Alborz, with the Dizin Pass, going north.
Amir Kebir Lake. We're going to race next to it.
After 50km or so of flat, or rather false flat, we start with a proper mountain pass as Dizin is a ski station. At over 3.200m high, you got snow easily up there.
But for us in our perfect world, its not a problem, it just helps to make better pictures.
And good pictures we will have as the race will be dynamited by the pass.
Its gets very slowly up, and then, kaboom, the last 5km are absolutely atrocious. 12.2% average, with the last one being probably not respecting Geneva's convention, at 17.5% average.
Race is starting now. The last 120km are going to be very difficult, no rest whatsoever, a lot of smaller climbs as we're moving down to Tehran around the Latyan Dam. That climb is surely going to offer opportunities. It is just to difficult.
If a favourite is not on a good day, that stage is going to be long. Even though there is no big pass after that one, there is still a lot of potential trouble ahead.
The climbs are shorter as we go on, though. The road to Ammameh is 12km long, then, its 8km to Afjeh.
We're then on the other side of the dam, next to Tehran, and its rather long hills than proper climbs.
Saidabad and Tello, next to the eastern industrial area of Tehran are following, about 5km long for 5% gradient, not that hard, but tiring and offering chances to shake things up.
You really have to work to find a flat road in the area.
We're finally on Tehran after Lashgarak which the start of the final trilogy.
Once again, its shorter, 3.4km, but the steepness is back (7.1% average).
Those three ramps will offer perfect opportunities for a solo breakaway or for finally making the difference in a group of contenders.
The climb to the Jamshidieh Park is next, less difficult.
But it's probably the right time if you dont want to wait until the short but mighty road to Velenjak (11.5% over 1.5km)
The finish will be done in front of the Mellat Park after the descent.
Its hard to know what can happen today, but everything is there to have a great race.
Teammates can be thrown at the front of the race early on, the first climb is just too difficult to not cause damage, and any chase will be very tough to organize on a true rollercoaster which should be exhausting.
For weaker, relatively speaking, riders, this stage might be very useful as controlling opponents will be tougher than usual, and there is room to create havoc. For the eyes, it should be fun, and we're riding on several great areas of Tehran, not to mention that Iran is an underrated place for obvious political reasons.
(Dizin/Shemshak Pass : 3.5 - 1.5 - 2.5 - 1.5 - 5.5 - 1 - 2.5 - 2 - 3 - 3.5 - 5.5 - 5.5 - 9 - 7.5 - 13.5 - 13 - 17.5)
Re: Re:
Yes, but we should also remember that El Tarangu was a God amongst men in those days.Max Rockatansky said:Libertine Seguros said:
There was a stage in 1973 with Nufenen, Furka, Grimsel & Gotthard. El Tarangu went solo and put 6 minutes into everyone, even without taking any risks in the descends.
After my first attempt in one day races with Clássica do Douro, i will come back to one week races, but this one will be a completely different and exotic race. Silk Road, designed by Steve Roots, inspired me to create a completely new race that passes in different countries, extraordinary landscapes and that would also be a logistical hell for the organizers and teams. With this i presente you Tour of Macaronesia.
For the ones who don't now Macaronesia is a collection of four archipelagos in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Europe and Africa. They belong to three different countries: Portugal, Spain, and Cape Verde. Macaronesia consists of four main archipelagos: Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), Canary Islands (Spain) and Cape Verde.
Those archipelagos are very well known due to it's magnificent landscapes since the green of Azores to the almost desert look of some Canary Islands, which would make this race very interesting to the TV viewers, that also like to see the landscapes and not only the race. Climate is also very different between islands and could make damage to the riders. But the terrain would be the real deal to smash cyclists legs and lungs, like someone wrote in this forum some of these islands could be called Zomegnan Islands and you will see why
Now some data about the race:
8 stages
989.7 km
8 different islands (of 3 different countries)
2 MTF
1 ITT
1 MTT
Later today i will post the first stage
For the ones who don't now Macaronesia is a collection of four archipelagos in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Europe and Africa. They belong to three different countries: Portugal, Spain, and Cape Verde. Macaronesia consists of four main archipelagos: Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), Canary Islands (Spain) and Cape Verde.
Those archipelagos are very well known due to it's magnificent landscapes since the green of Azores to the almost desert look of some Canary Islands, which would make this race very interesting to the TV viewers, that also like to see the landscapes and not only the race. Climate is also very different between islands and could make damage to the riders. But the terrain would be the real deal to smash cyclists legs and lungs, like someone wrote in this forum some of these islands could be called Zomegnan Islands and you will see why
Now some data about the race:
8 stages
989.7 km
8 different islands (of 3 different countries)
2 MTF
1 ITT
1 MTT
Later today i will post the first stage
Tour of Macaronesia
Stage 1: Angra do Heroismo- Angra do Heroísmo (125,5km)
We start this race in the beautifull archipelago of Azores. Discovered by the portuguese in the begining of the XV century, Azores is composed by 9 different islands: Flores, Corvo, Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, Faial, São Miguel and Santa Maria. Azores is a sanctuary of nature, having some characteristic that make this archipelago unique. It’s the only european territory that produces tea, has more cows than people per square meter, has a lot of vulcanic activity that is used to cook for example and has a great variety of fauna and flora that you can’t find anywhere else.
Our race will have it’s first stage in Terceira in a 125,5 km that has Angra do Heroísmo as start and finish. Terceira is the 3rd biggest island of Azores in area and is known to host the Lajes military base. Angra do Heroísmo centre is also considered World Heritage Site by UNESCO being the oldest city of Azores.
The stage itself is short but tricky, with 3 mountain passes of 3rd category, but with a lot of non categorized climbs that can do some damage to the riders. This one could be one for the fastest riders of the peloton, but a puncheur can also have opportunities to try something.
One example of the views that Terceira roads can offer to the riders and to the public at home:
Stage 1: Angra do Heroismo- Angra do Heroísmo (125,5km)
We start this race in the beautifull archipelago of Azores. Discovered by the portuguese in the begining of the XV century, Azores is composed by 9 different islands: Flores, Corvo, Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, Faial, São Miguel and Santa Maria. Azores is a sanctuary of nature, having some characteristic that make this archipelago unique. It’s the only european territory that produces tea, has more cows than people per square meter, has a lot of vulcanic activity that is used to cook for example and has a great variety of fauna and flora that you can’t find anywhere else.
Our race will have it’s first stage in Terceira in a 125,5 km that has Angra do Heroísmo as start and finish. Terceira is the 3rd biggest island of Azores in area and is known to host the Lajes military base. Angra do Heroísmo centre is also considered World Heritage Site by UNESCO being the oldest city of Azores.
The stage itself is short but tricky, with 3 mountain passes of 3rd category, but with a lot of non categorized climbs that can do some damage to the riders. This one could be one for the fastest riders of the peloton, but a puncheur can also have opportunities to try something.
One example of the views that Terceira roads can offer to the riders and to the public at home:
That's an awesome stage.Steven Roots said:
Iran is really a greatplace to dsign races. I'll probably spend 2-3 weeks in Iran duning May and I'm really looking forward to it, the only downside is the fact that that I'll probably miss the Giro.
Having included the Canarias in one of my Vueltas and put some serious consideration into doing a Volta a Portugal that included either the Azores or Madeira (these in mid-August might be hellish to race in, though), this will be an interesting journey.
Stage 6: Huelva - Huelva, 41,4km (CRI)
Given that the race did not start with a prologue, we're going the 2008 Tour route, with an early decent length ITT. The 2008 Tour put a shorter TT, but that was after some hilly stages. As we've done medium mountain stages, it makes more sense to have a full length chrono to balance things out.
The above road is where they will begin the stage.
Huelva is at the mouth of the Rio Tinto, on the Gulf of Cadíz, and at the southwestern tip of the country. The area is absolutely pan-flat, there is marshland and with the 35º+ temperatures we are likely to see, this could be an exhausting blast around the city. The CRI follows a loop around the main tourist attractions of the city's surrounding area - the sites related to Cristóbal Colón, or as he is better known to Anglophone audiences, Christopher Columbus. The first is the most important, the Monastério de Santa María de La Rábida, the brotherhood of which introduced him to local sailors that got him in with the royal family.
The next stop is Palos de la Frontera, and following on from that, Moguer with its scenic, attractive white Arabic architecture. From here they cross back over the river and head back into town for the finish.
This will break up the field and ensure that there are some solid GC gaps. After this, however, we are having an early rest day, like in the 2008 Vuelta when the riders moved northward from Andalucía before transferring to Andorra for the weekend. Here, the riders will have the Friday off in Huelva before moving across to Sevilla for the weekend.
Stage 6: Huelva - Huelva, 41,4km (CRI)
Given that the race did not start with a prologue, we're going the 2008 Tour route, with an early decent length ITT. The 2008 Tour put a shorter TT, but that was after some hilly stages. As we've done medium mountain stages, it makes more sense to have a full length chrono to balance things out.
The above road is where they will begin the stage.
Huelva is at the mouth of the Rio Tinto, on the Gulf of Cadíz, and at the southwestern tip of the country. The area is absolutely pan-flat, there is marshland and with the 35º+ temperatures we are likely to see, this could be an exhausting blast around the city. The CRI follows a loop around the main tourist attractions of the city's surrounding area - the sites related to Cristóbal Colón, or as he is better known to Anglophone audiences, Christopher Columbus. The first is the most important, the Monastério de Santa María de La Rábida, the brotherhood of which introduced him to local sailors that got him in with the royal family.
The next stop is Palos de la Frontera, and following on from that, Moguer with its scenic, attractive white Arabic architecture. From here they cross back over the river and head back into town for the finish.
This will break up the field and ensure that there are some solid GC gaps. After this, however, we are having an early rest day, like in the 2008 Vuelta when the riders moved northward from Andalucía before transferring to Andorra for the weekend. Here, the riders will have the Friday off in Huelva before moving across to Sevilla for the weekend.
Tour of Macaronesia
Stage 2: Ponta Delgada - Serra da Barrosa (191.9 km)
We start the race in Azores with the stage in Terceira and we will continue in this archipelago for the 2nd stage, but now we change the island. Stage 2 will be ride in the Island of S. Miguel. S.Miguel is the biggest island of Azores and is the island where is the biggest city of the archipelago: Ponta Delgada. S. Miguel has a lot of interesting places to visit like the lagoons present in the island (and in this stage), Furnas where you can eat a typical dish “Cozido das Furnas” that is cooked with the heat created by the vulcanic activity and visit the religious celebrations of the Santo Cristo dos Milagres.
Furnas (and the Cozido)
Talking about the stage, it will be the longest stage of the race and the first mountain finish. The route has 191.9km and it is a huge roller coaster, with 5 mountain passes (one 2nd category, two 4th categories and two 3rd categories) before the last climb to the Serra da Barrosa. There are also some walls that are not categorized, very short but also very steep. The first climb will bring the riders to one of the postcards of Azores, Lagoa das Sete Cidades.
Lagoa das Sete Cidades
After the first climb of the day, some walls start to appear in the riders way, like the one in Santana or in Furnas. I bet they would want to stop to eat a cozido instead of climb that wall .
The last climb, that will bring cyclist to the end of the day journey, is the hardest one. The climb to the Miradouro da Serra da Barrosa is quite long and very steep and will create some gaps between the GC contenders.
Azores continues to bring us some fantastic places and to prove that here is an image of the views from Miradouro da Serra Barrosa, to the Lagoa do Fogo. Nice place to finish the stage isn't it?
Stage 2: Ponta Delgada - Serra da Barrosa (191.9 km)
We start the race in Azores with the stage in Terceira and we will continue in this archipelago for the 2nd stage, but now we change the island. Stage 2 will be ride in the Island of S. Miguel. S.Miguel is the biggest island of Azores and is the island where is the biggest city of the archipelago: Ponta Delgada. S. Miguel has a lot of interesting places to visit like the lagoons present in the island (and in this stage), Furnas where you can eat a typical dish “Cozido das Furnas” that is cooked with the heat created by the vulcanic activity and visit the religious celebrations of the Santo Cristo dos Milagres.
Furnas (and the Cozido)
Talking about the stage, it will be the longest stage of the race and the first mountain finish. The route has 191.9km and it is a huge roller coaster, with 5 mountain passes (one 2nd category, two 4th categories and two 3rd categories) before the last climb to the Serra da Barrosa. There are also some walls that are not categorized, very short but also very steep. The first climb will bring the riders to one of the postcards of Azores, Lagoa das Sete Cidades.
Lagoa das Sete Cidades
After the first climb of the day, some walls start to appear in the riders way, like the one in Santana or in Furnas. I bet they would want to stop to eat a cozido instead of climb that wall
. The last climb, that will bring cyclist to the end of the day journey, is the hardest one. The climb to the Miradouro da Serra da Barrosa is quite long and very steep and will create some gaps between the GC contenders.
Azores continues to bring us some fantastic places and to prove that here is an image of the views from Miradouro da Serra Barrosa, to the Lagoa do Fogo. Nice place to finish the stage isn't it?
Been busy these past couple weeks and I do not see that changing until about mid December but I will get together the library of my stages for my Tour. I'd love to get this post linked somewhere so I don't just end up lost in the Tour shuffle here but I don't know how I want to go about it. Tempted to link this in my sig and just use this post as a library for my races but still up in the air about it.
Stage 1: viewtopic.php?p=1831068#p1831068
Stage 2: viewtopic.php?p=1831336#p1831336
Stage 3: viewtopic.php?p=1831579#p1831579
Stage 4: viewtopic.php?p=1832139#p1832139
Stage 5: viewtopic.php?p=1832646#p1832646
Stage 6: viewtopic.php?p=1833104#p1833104
Stage 7: viewtopic.php?p=1833421#p1833421
Stage 8: viewtopic.php?p=1833631#p1833631
Stage 9: viewtopic.php?p=1834158#p1834158
Rest Day
Stage 10: viewtopic.php?p=1834417#p1834417
Stage 11: viewtopic.php?p=1834666#p1834666
Stage 12: viewtopic.php?p=1835067#p1835067
Stage 13: viewtopic.php?p=1835223#p1835223
Stage 14: viewtopic.php?p=1835431#p1835431
Stage 15: viewtopic.php?p=1835562#p1835562
Rest Day
Stage 16: viewtopic.php?p=1835831#p1835831
Stage 17: viewtopic.php?p=1836153#p1836153
Stage 18: viewtopic.php?p=1836378#p1836378
Stage 19: viewtopic.php?p=1836676#p1836676
Stage 20: viewtopic.php?p=1837524#p1837524
Stage 21: viewtopic.php?p=1837797#p1837797
Stage 1: viewtopic.php?p=1831068#p1831068
Stage 2: viewtopic.php?p=1831336#p1831336
Stage 3: viewtopic.php?p=1831579#p1831579
Stage 4: viewtopic.php?p=1832139#p1832139
Stage 5: viewtopic.php?p=1832646#p1832646
Stage 6: viewtopic.php?p=1833104#p1833104
Stage 7: viewtopic.php?p=1833421#p1833421
Stage 8: viewtopic.php?p=1833631#p1833631
Stage 9: viewtopic.php?p=1834158#p1834158
Rest Day
Stage 10: viewtopic.php?p=1834417#p1834417
Stage 11: viewtopic.php?p=1834666#p1834666
Stage 12: viewtopic.php?p=1835067#p1835067
Stage 13: viewtopic.php?p=1835223#p1835223
Stage 14: viewtopic.php?p=1835431#p1835431
Stage 15: viewtopic.php?p=1835562#p1835562
Rest Day
Stage 16: viewtopic.php?p=1835831#p1835831
Stage 17: viewtopic.php?p=1836153#p1836153
Stage 18: viewtopic.php?p=1836378#p1836378
Stage 19: viewtopic.php?p=1836676#p1836676
Stage 20: viewtopic.php?p=1837524#p1837524
Stage 21: viewtopic.php?p=1837797#p1837797
Yeah, more exotic races.
Angra do Heroismo is a great place, and i've heard a lot of good things about Madeira.
@Tonton : Really ? Which makes it even worse than it is. Anyway, that doesnt change the point. If they were using what they had to the fullest, we can be cool with their decisions, but when 90% of the country is neglected and reduced to a simple expression of its possibilities, its seriously disapppointing.
@Mayomaniac : Thanks, I dont know about the extent of their interest for european cycling, but at least, you should be able to get the results of the race. Which might not be the case in some of the next cities we are going to visit...
STAGE 8 : Mashhad - Achgabat, 242km.
Mashhad, in Northeast Iran, is the second largest city of the country.
The tomb of Imam Riza was there, and it was already, back then, a major stop on the Silk Road.
After a difficult stage, we're back on a more normal design, in order to reach, Achgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan.
Only the Kopet-Dag mountain range is between those, but the road will not elevates itself that much.
Achgabat is right at the bottom of the chain, before we reach the desert. Its the capital of Turkmenistan, the fourth country on the road and also its largest city.
As turkmens were nomadic, its a relatively young city, built around a small village by Imperial Russia after their conquest of the Khwarezm (Akhal Treaty, 1881), and largely developed after the soviet standards.
The Khwarezm, being, obviously, the native region to Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, famous mathematician and astronomer.
On a soviet stamp.
In fact, we dont even have a referenced climb today, as the Bagjiran Pass is more of the 5th category climb, its there, but its not hard enough to count.
Sure, the second part of the stage will be hilly, as we're riding through the Kopet-Dag, but there is no major trouble in front of the riders, and sprinters should have their part of fun today.
Angra do Heroismo is a great place, and i've heard a lot of good things about Madeira.
@Tonton : Really ? Which makes it even worse than it is. Anyway, that doesnt change the point. If they were using what they had to the fullest, we can be cool with their decisions, but when 90% of the country is neglected and reduced to a simple expression of its possibilities, its seriously disapppointing.
@Mayomaniac : Thanks, I dont know about the extent of their interest for european cycling, but at least, you should be able to get the results of the race. Which might not be the case in some of the next cities we are going to visit...
STAGE 8 : Mashhad - Achgabat, 242km.
Mashhad, in Northeast Iran, is the second largest city of the country.
The tomb of Imam Riza was there, and it was already, back then, a major stop on the Silk Road.
After a difficult stage, we're back on a more normal design, in order to reach, Achgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan.
Only the Kopet-Dag mountain range is between those, but the road will not elevates itself that much.
Achgabat is right at the bottom of the chain, before we reach the desert. Its the capital of Turkmenistan, the fourth country on the road and also its largest city.
As turkmens were nomadic, its a relatively young city, built around a small village by Imperial Russia after their conquest of the Khwarezm (Akhal Treaty, 1881), and largely developed after the soviet standards.
The Khwarezm, being, obviously, the native region to Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, famous mathematician and astronomer.
On a soviet stamp.
In fact, we dont even have a referenced climb today, as the Bagjiran Pass is more of the 5th category climb, its there, but its not hard enough to count.
Sure, the second part of the stage will be hilly, as we're riding through the Kopet-Dag, but there is no major trouble in front of the riders, and sprinters should have their part of fun today.
I really understand Libertine's problem with designing races in Austria because there are so many possibilities, but I have a great solution: Simply designing many races in Austria . However this still is only my 2nd Österreichrundfahrt I ever designed because there are really many races in this country I didnt finish and also many races in Austria which weren't an Österreich Rundfahrt. Whatever here is my second Österreich Rundfahrt on this Forum
Österreichrundfahrt stage 1: Linz - Linz (15 km ITT)
First of all this is a very very hard race, so lets say its a design for a world tour race.
The first stage is the only ITT of the race, located in Linz and only 15 kilometers long so TT skills aren't that important for this Österreichrundfahrt. The route is almost completely flat so it should go to a TT specialist, and pure climber will at least loose some time.
. However this still is only my 2nd Österreichrundfahrt I ever designed because there are really many races in this country I didnt finish and also many races in Austria which weren't an Österreich Rundfahrt. Whatever here is my second Österreich Rundfahrt on this Forum Österreichrundfahrt stage 1: Linz - Linz (15 km ITT)
First of all this is a very very hard race, so lets say its a design for a world tour race.
The first stage is the only ITT of the race, located in Linz and only 15 kilometers long so TT skills aren't that important for this Österreichrundfahrt. The route is almost completely flat so it should go to a TT specialist, and pure climber will at least loose some time.
Österreichrundfahrt stage 2: Linz - Liezen (163 km)
After the opening ITT the second stage is the first road stage. It isnt a high mountain stage yet but there are two climbs and all in all the stage is at least hilly. However the first about 120 kilometers are almost completely flat with two intermediate sprints as the only little highlights. The first pass of the day is the Hengstpass a 3rd category climb, and the second one the Phyrnpass, also 3rd category. There is only a short flat section between those ascents so this should be a very hard finale for the sprinters if they want to win the stage. This should cause a very interesting fight for the stage between sprinters and the break, and maybe there will even be an attack on the Phyrnpass.
I also have to mention that I absolutely love the region in the north of the Phyrnpass. I used to spend my holidays in Hinterstoder, hiking in the summer, and skiing in the winter. The mountain on this picture is the Großer Phyrgas, a mountain which is the reason for the name of the Phyrnpass. Not the most spectacular mountiain of this area but I choose it because its the only mountain the riders drive by which I have already climbed .
After the opening ITT the second stage is the first road stage. It isnt a high mountain stage yet but there are two climbs and all in all the stage is at least hilly. However the first about 120 kilometers are almost completely flat with two intermediate sprints as the only little highlights. The first pass of the day is the Hengstpass a 3rd category climb, and the second one the Phyrnpass, also 3rd category. There is only a short flat section between those ascents so this should be a very hard finale for the sprinters if they want to win the stage. This should cause a very interesting fight for the stage between sprinters and the break, and maybe there will even be an attack on the Phyrnpass.
I also have to mention that I absolutely love the region in the north of the Phyrnpass. I used to spend my holidays in Hinterstoder, hiking in the summer, and skiing in the winter. The mountain on this picture is the Großer Phyrgas, a mountain which is the reason for the name of the Phyrnpass. Not the most spectacular mountiain of this area but I choose it because its the only mountain the riders drive by which I have already climbed
.
Österreichrundfahrt stage 3: Liefen - Deutschlandsberg (212 km)
After the two "warm up" stages on day one and two, stage 3 is the first really big challenge. The stage starts in yesterdays finishing area Liezen. After a short flat section, the climbing starts with the 2nd category climb to Hohentauern, followed by the first 1st category climb of the race, the steep Langseitenweg. After the ascent there is a very long descent into Spielberg where the first and only intermediate sprint of the stage will take place. After the rider passed the town the riders face the second most difficult climb of the stage, the Gaberl, which is also a 1st cat. climb. The descent is once again very long.
The next climb, is the Packsattel, a pass which was also used in this years Österreichrundfahrt, but in that year it was very early in the stage to the Dobratsch, so it wasnt very important. The next climb is definitely more interesting. I'm talking about the Weinebene, the first HC climb of the whole race. Considering how great you can use this pass, its very sad how unknown it is. You can make a mtf on it, its hard from both sides, you can make downhill finishes on both sides, and if you come from the east you can make a mtf on the Koralpe, which makes an extremely hard combo of two HC climbs. In my route its used before a downhill finish into Deutschlandsberg.
This stage should sort the gc. I don't think there will be many big attacks because the last kilometers of the Weinebene are rather flat, so I wouldnt expect the time gaps to be extremely big. However the fight for the stage should still be very interesting, and normally there should at least be a few interesting attacks (and maybe there would even be a lot of action. this is all only my personal prediction)
After the two "warm up" stages on day one and two, stage 3 is the first really big challenge. The stage starts in yesterdays finishing area Liezen. After a short flat section, the climbing starts with the 2nd category climb to Hohentauern, followed by the first 1st category climb of the race, the steep Langseitenweg. After the ascent there is a very long descent into Spielberg where the first and only intermediate sprint of the stage will take place. After the rider passed the town the riders face the second most difficult climb of the stage, the Gaberl, which is also a 1st cat. climb. The descent is once again very long.
The next climb, is the Packsattel, a pass which was also used in this years Österreichrundfahrt, but in that year it was very early in the stage to the Dobratsch, so it wasnt very important. The next climb is definitely more interesting. I'm talking about the Weinebene, the first HC climb of the whole race. Considering how great you can use this pass, its very sad how unknown it is. You can make a mtf on it, its hard from both sides, you can make downhill finishes on both sides, and if you come from the east you can make a mtf on the Koralpe, which makes an extremely hard combo of two HC climbs. In my route its used before a downhill finish into Deutschlandsberg.
This stage should sort the gc. I don't think there will be many big attacks because the last kilometers of the Weinebene are rather flat, so I wouldnt expect the time gaps to be extremely big. However the fight for the stage should still be very interesting, and normally there should at least be a few interesting attacks (and maybe there would even be a lot of action. this is all only my personal prediction)
I'm posting another one-day race, this time in Switzerland.
The Jura mountains are littered with short climbs, perfect for designing medium mountain stages. The swiss part of the massif, however, has some brutal walls, particularly in the southeastern edge, near Solothurn.
With that in mind, I present to you the Tour du Jura (not sure if this has been done before, but w/e).
TOUR DU JURA (Délémont - Délémont, 229km)
Climbs: Grenchenberg (8,7km @ 8%), Plagne (9,7km @ 3,7%), Chasseral (17,9km @ 5,9%), Pierre-Pertuis (3,5km @ 5,5%), Grenchenberg (8,7km @ 8%), Weissenstein (6km @ 11,5%), Balmberg (2,6km @ 14,5%), Weissenstein (7,4km @ 10,4%).
A 229km race, designed for climbers, and featuring some leg-shattering walls at the end.
The race starts and ends in Délémont, capital of the Canton du Jura, and starts off the climbing quickly, with an ascent up the Grenchenberg. Its overall average gradient is brought down by the very easy final section, and doesn't show the brutal 3km section averaging 11,5% early in the ascent.
Just before reaching the town of Grenchen the riders turn west, and take on the climb to Plagne. Much easier than Grenchenberg, this climb is divided in two parts, separated by a couple downhill kms.
The descent leads the peloton into the city of Bienne, after which we ride for a while along the north shore of the Bielersee. Then we reach Twann, where the calm ends as we take on the climb to Col du Chasseral, the longest (and highest) climb of the race (the profile is accurate between km 11 and km 2,8, although the first half of the climb isn't too different from the Cyclingcols profile)
Then comes the longest period of calm of the entire race, with a 30km flat section interrupted by the short and shallow climb to Col de Pierre Pertuis.
The calm is interrupted abruptly by a second ascent up the Grenchenberg, which then leads us into the extremely difficult home stretch, featuring two of Switzerland's steepest cycling ascents.
The first of these climbs, Weissenstein, is simply brutal. The approach taken for this ascent the first time avoids the first shallow 6,5km section (it's replaced by a more irregular road), then leaves us right at the business part of the climb: 6km averaging 11,5%, with a steepest km at 15,6%.
MURDERDEATHKILL indeed.
The other climb, Balmberg, is even steeper. 2,6km at 14,5%, with a steepest km averaging 17,5%. More brutal slopes, but for a shorter stretch.
Then the riders take on Weissenstein again, this time using the whole climb (and with almost 200km on the legs, this should be more than enough to blow apart the peloton... if it isn't gone already for some reason), finishing with an irregular final 25km before arriving back to Délémont.
The race should be defined in Weissenstein's inclement slopes; poor flat sprinters should use this climb to try and make a gap they can keep for the last 30kms so strategy will be crucial for them too. The descent may come into play too, particularly if there's still a small group after Weissenstein.
The Jura mountains are littered with short climbs, perfect for designing medium mountain stages. The swiss part of the massif, however, has some brutal walls, particularly in the southeastern edge, near Solothurn.
With that in mind, I present to you the Tour du Jura (not sure if this has been done before, but w/e).
TOUR DU JURA (Délémont - Délémont, 229km)
Climbs: Grenchenberg (8,7km @ 8%), Plagne (9,7km @ 3,7%), Chasseral (17,9km @ 5,9%), Pierre-Pertuis (3,5km @ 5,5%), Grenchenberg (8,7km @ 8%), Weissenstein (6km @ 11,5%), Balmberg (2,6km @ 14,5%), Weissenstein (7,4km @ 10,4%).
A 229km race, designed for climbers, and featuring some leg-shattering walls at the end.
The race starts and ends in Délémont, capital of the Canton du Jura, and starts off the climbing quickly, with an ascent up the Grenchenberg. Its overall average gradient is brought down by the very easy final section, and doesn't show the brutal 3km section averaging 11,5% early in the ascent.
Just before reaching the town of Grenchen the riders turn west, and take on the climb to Plagne. Much easier than Grenchenberg, this climb is divided in two parts, separated by a couple downhill kms.
The descent leads the peloton into the city of Bienne, after which we ride for a while along the north shore of the Bielersee. Then we reach Twann, where the calm ends as we take on the climb to Col du Chasseral, the longest (and highest) climb of the race (the profile is accurate between km 11 and km 2,8, although the first half of the climb isn't too different from the Cyclingcols profile)
Then comes the longest period of calm of the entire race, with a 30km flat section interrupted by the short and shallow climb to Col de Pierre Pertuis.
The calm is interrupted abruptly by a second ascent up the Grenchenberg, which then leads us into the extremely difficult home stretch, featuring two of Switzerland's steepest cycling ascents.
The first of these climbs, Weissenstein, is simply brutal. The approach taken for this ascent the first time avoids the first shallow 6,5km section (it's replaced by a more irregular road), then leaves us right at the business part of the climb: 6km averaging 11,5%, with a steepest km at 15,6%.
MURDERDEATHKILL indeed.
The other climb, Balmberg, is even steeper. 2,6km at 14,5%, with a steepest km averaging 17,5%. More brutal slopes, but for a shorter stretch.
Then the riders take on Weissenstein again, this time using the whole climb (and with almost 200km on the legs, this should be more than enough to blow apart the peloton... if it isn't gone already for some reason), finishing with an irregular final 25km before arriving back to Délémont.
The race should be defined in Weissenstein's inclement slopes; poor flat sprinters should use this climb to try and make a gap they can keep for the last 30kms so strategy will be crucial for them too. The descent may come into play too, particularly if there's still a small group after Weissenstein.
Österreichrundfahrt stage 4: Wolfsberg - Lienz (213 km)
After stage 1 from Linz to linz, 2 from Linz to Liezen, 3 from Liezen to Deutschlandsberg, stage 4 goes from Wolfsberg to Lienz. Believe it or not but I didnt choose these cities on purpose, but at least after today there are no more cities left which sound like this. This stage is pretty similar to stage 2 with the two differences that stage 2 was shorter and it had two 3rd category climbs at the end.
Besides that there isnt much more to say about this route. The start is in Wolfsberg, the riders drive through some pretty famous cities, like Klagenfurt and Villach. The final climb, the Iselsbergpass is also pretty known, because its used almost every year before the Großglockner (it was also used in the Giro 2011)
Wolfsberg:
Lienz:
After stage 1 from Linz to linz, 2 from Linz to Liezen, 3 from Liezen to Deutschlandsberg, stage 4 goes from Wolfsberg to Lienz. Believe it or not but I didnt choose these cities on purpose, but at least after today there are no more cities left which sound like this. This stage is pretty similar to stage 2 with the two differences that stage 2 was shorter and it had two 3rd category climbs at the end.
Besides that there isnt much more to say about this route. The start is in Wolfsberg, the riders drive through some pretty famous cities, like Klagenfurt and Villach. The final climb, the Iselsbergpass is also pretty known, because its used almost every year before the Großglockner (it was also used in the Giro 2011)
Wolfsberg:
Lienz:
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