2021 Tour de France
We've had six stages so far of the 2021 Tour de France. The route started in Copenhagen and for four days it resembled the Four Days of De Panne rather than the opening week of the Tour de France. The stages hugged the coastline and echelons would be possible on every single day. But after a very stressful Grand Depart it was back into the comforts of France for the finish of the sixth stage. The next three stages take the riders down the eastern side of France towards the Alps.
Stage 7 - Metz - Gerardmer 184.1km
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.05.57 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.06.17 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
The first tough climbing day of the Tour. The Col du Martimpre could be a a springboard for an attack by the GC contenders but it will most likely be used to take out the pure sprinters before the finish in Gerardmer. The early part of the stage is custom built to suit a breakaway so after all the work they've done in the early part of the race this might be a good opportunity for the sprint and GC teams to take a break. Especially with the TT coming up tomorrow.
Stage 8 - Basel 40km TT
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.08.47 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.09.03 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
The first individual time trial of the race and one built to suit the pure time triallers. The rest of the race is designed to be difficult to control but this is a small concession to the Team Skys of the world who want to retain some element of control. We're yet to have our first mountain stage, that comes tomorrow, so the pure climbers will head into the rest of the race with a deficit which they'll look to overturn in the very tough final 13 stages.
Stage 9 - Lucerne - Saas Fee 173.4km
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.09.29 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.09.51 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
The second half of the Swiss based second weekend sees the peloton tackle one of the stages of the Tour. The opening 60km from Lucerne are rolling with four categorised climbs. Anyone who is feeling weak here will know that the worst is still to come with the double of the Grimselpass and the final climb to Saas Fee. At the top of the hors categorie climb there's still almost 90km left to ride but the majority of it is downhill to the foot of the final climb. The ascent to Saas Fee isn't all that difficult but after all that's come before the sections of 8% will really sting and this is where we'll see the first battleground for the GC contenders.
We've had six stages so far of the 2021 Tour de France. The route started in Copenhagen and for four days it resembled the Four Days of De Panne rather than the opening week of the Tour de France. The stages hugged the coastline and echelons would be possible on every single day. But after a very stressful Grand Depart it was back into the comforts of France for the finish of the sixth stage. The next three stages take the riders down the eastern side of France towards the Alps.
Stage 7 - Metz - Gerardmer 184.1km
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.05.57 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.06.17 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrThe first tough climbing day of the Tour. The Col du Martimpre could be a a springboard for an attack by the GC contenders but it will most likely be used to take out the pure sprinters before the finish in Gerardmer. The early part of the stage is custom built to suit a breakaway so after all the work they've done in the early part of the race this might be a good opportunity for the sprint and GC teams to take a break. Especially with the TT coming up tomorrow.
Stage 8 - Basel 40km TT
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.08.47 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.09.03 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrThe first individual time trial of the race and one built to suit the pure time triallers. The rest of the race is designed to be difficult to control but this is a small concession to the Team Skys of the world who want to retain some element of control. We're yet to have our first mountain stage, that comes tomorrow, so the pure climbers will head into the rest of the race with a deficit which they'll look to overturn in the very tough final 13 stages.
Stage 9 - Lucerne - Saas Fee 173.4km
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.09.29 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-01 at 2.09.51 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrThe second half of the Swiss based second weekend sees the peloton tackle one of the stages of the Tour. The opening 60km from Lucerne are rolling with four categorised climbs. Anyone who is feeling weak here will know that the worst is still to come with the double of the Grimselpass and the final climb to Saas Fee. At the top of the hors categorie climb there's still almost 90km left to ride but the majority of it is downhill to the foot of the final climb. The ascent to Saas Fee isn't all that difficult but after all that's come before the sections of 8% will really sting and this is where we'll see the first battleground for the GC contenders.
- Sep 28, 2014
- 3,639
- 1,608
- 16,680
I agree with Gigs here, too much racing outside france.Gigs_98 said:
Another possibility for this route, is that on stage 2, KOM is as the riders get to the peak of the Suspension bridge between the two islands. Or start in somewhere like Slagelse and take the stage to Vejle where their are a couple of tough climbs.Libertine Seguros said:Carrefour will not be happy with you, nobody to give the maillot à pois to for several days. At least categorize one of those little bumps in stage 3 (there are definitely some cat.4-able pseudo-climbs around Aabenraa) as cat.4 so somebody can get the jersey and wear it until we get to some actual climbs like in the Giro. Would also have the benefit of increasing people's desire to get into the break if they're guaranteed a couple of days in a classification leader's jersey and can go onto the podium at the end of a couple more flat days
2021 Tour de France
The riders will spend the first rest day in Sion, Switzerland in the middle of a spell of racing in the Alps. They will face four stages in the region, including the Saas Fee stage, although only three will be considered as mountain stages. The average distance of these three stages is just 133km and there's plenty of punchy climbing facing the riders. By the finish of stage 12 there should be only ten riders who still have a chance at victory.
Stage 10 - Sion - Beaufort 150km
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.03.24 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.03.53 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
There's only slightly fewer climbing metres here than the peloton faced on the stage to Saas Fee. The opening 30km of the race is the only flat section on the whole stage but it should be raced hard as the riders go full gas into the first climb of the day. The Forclaz will split the race up but, if no one pushes on, it might all come back together in the mid part of the stage. The last 70km are grippy and could be a perfect opportunity to ambush the yellow jersey.
Stage 11 - Albertville - Bourg d'Oisan 136.8km
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.04.20 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.04.36 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
We're still in the Alps but this is a perfect opportunity for a pure sprinter to take a stage win at the foot of Alpe d'Huez. The final 40km will be a test for the sprinters as the climb isn't steep from Grenoble to Bourg d'Oisan but it is relentless and if someone decides to push the pace we could see a much smaller group contest the finish. Despite the backdrop, this should be a relaxing day for the GC contenders.
Stage 12 - Embrun - Les Orres 112.5km
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.05.24 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.05.37 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
The first 45km take the peloton on a loop back to Embrun after facing the second category Col de la Serre. The final 70km are all building to the mountain top finish in Les Orres. It's not a particularly hard finishing climb but after such a short stage all the GC riders should have enough in the tank to light up the stage. We're almost entering the final week and with just two flat stages between this stage and the finale in Paris there won't be much time for the GC riders to relax.
The riders will spend the first rest day in Sion, Switzerland in the middle of a spell of racing in the Alps. They will face four stages in the region, including the Saas Fee stage, although only three will be considered as mountain stages. The average distance of these three stages is just 133km and there's plenty of punchy climbing facing the riders. By the finish of stage 12 there should be only ten riders who still have a chance at victory.
Stage 10 - Sion - Beaufort 150km
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.03.24 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.03.53 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrThere's only slightly fewer climbing metres here than the peloton faced on the stage to Saas Fee. The opening 30km of the race is the only flat section on the whole stage but it should be raced hard as the riders go full gas into the first climb of the day. The Forclaz will split the race up but, if no one pushes on, it might all come back together in the mid part of the stage. The last 70km are grippy and could be a perfect opportunity to ambush the yellow jersey.
Stage 11 - Albertville - Bourg d'Oisan 136.8km
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.04.20 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.04.36 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrWe're still in the Alps but this is a perfect opportunity for a pure sprinter to take a stage win at the foot of Alpe d'Huez. The final 40km will be a test for the sprinters as the climb isn't steep from Grenoble to Bourg d'Oisan but it is relentless and if someone decides to push the pace we could see a much smaller group contest the finish. Despite the backdrop, this should be a relaxing day for the GC contenders.
Stage 12 - Embrun - Les Orres 112.5km
Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.05.24 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-01 at 3.05.37 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrThe first 45km take the peloton on a loop back to Embrun after facing the second category Col de la Serre. The final 70km are all building to the mountain top finish in Les Orres. It's not a particularly hard finishing climb but after such a short stage all the GC riders should have enough in the tank to light up the stage. We're almost entering the final week and with just two flat stages between this stage and the finale in Paris there won't be much time for the GC riders to relax.
lemon cheese cake said:I agree with Gigs here, too much racing outside france.Gigs_98 said:
Another possibility for this route, is that on stage 2, KOM is as the riders get to the peak of the Suspension bridge between the two islands. Or start in somewhere like Slagelse and take the stage to Vejle where their are a couple of tough climbs.Libertine Seguros said:Carrefour will not be happy with you, nobody to give the maillot à pois to for several days. At least categorize one of those little bumps in stage 3 (there are definitely some cat.4-able pseudo-climbs around Aabenraa) as cat.4 so somebody can get the jersey and wear it until we get to some actual climbs like in the Giro. Would also have the benefit of increasing people's desire to get into the break if they're guaranteed a couple of days in a classification leader's jersey and can go onto the podium at the end of a couple more flat days
All good points I think. There's also two more stages entirely outside of France so it's quite a multi-national Tour but I think you're right that it's better to get straight, or as quickly as possible, into France. I'm a big fan of those opening stages and I don't really think they can be replicated in France but possibly it's a good opportunity to cut them down a bit.
As for the KoM, I should've put at least a couple of short category four climbs on the opening stages to give Carrefour some visibility.
- Feb 20, 2010
- 33,053
- 15,231
- 28,180
Bearing in mind I did a version of the Tour which took inspiration from some poor designs in order to show that those routes didn't have to be so odd, and that one of those was 1992, I wondered if you were taking inspiration from it in a different way; my idea was to show that the Basque start and early, minimal use of the Pyrenees didn't have to lead to a woefully biased parcours, and the Swiss stages made me think you might be similarly going for the "every country that borders France (bar Brazil and Suriname of course)" approach, similar to 1992 where they used I think seven or eight different countries (France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy - one of these might be wrong as seven springs to mind, but all of those are possible), although I suppose then the stages from Willemshaven back to France would probably have gone via the Benelux instead of where they did.
The amount of time taken to get back to France is probably the longest since 1987? Then I think they had the stages around West Berlin, then a couple of more interesting hillier stages back in the main body of the Bundesrepublik after a rest day; at the same time that edition had 25 stages. While I think it's usually better to not produce the early rest day that either results in three rest days (which strikes me as artificial) like the Giro in Belfast and Nijmegen or a humongous uninterrupted stretch of racing that can mean tamer racing as riders' fear of fatigue followed by actual fatigue kicking in like the Vuelta in 2009 (although the 2010 Giro proves that this can result in greatness, of course), I think to realistically incorporate such a route for ASO you'd probably be asked to reroute stage 3 either northwards to Århus or towards Hamburg and then have a transfer back to France, with stages 4-5 probably being from somewhere north of Paris acrosswards to rejoin your route at stage 6.
Stick the puncheur finish to La Mauselaine on the end of the Gérardmer stage and we're golden.
The amount of time taken to get back to France is probably the longest since 1987? Then I think they had the stages around West Berlin, then a couple of more interesting hillier stages back in the main body of the Bundesrepublik after a rest day; at the same time that edition had 25 stages. While I think it's usually better to not produce the early rest day that either results in three rest days (which strikes me as artificial) like the Giro in Belfast and Nijmegen or a humongous uninterrupted stretch of racing that can mean tamer racing as riders' fear of fatigue followed by actual fatigue kicking in like the Vuelta in 2009 (although the 2010 Giro proves that this can result in greatness, of course), I think to realistically incorporate such a route for ASO you'd probably be asked to reroute stage 3 either northwards to Århus or towards Hamburg and then have a transfer back to France, with stages 4-5 probably being from somewhere north of Paris acrosswards to rejoin your route at stage 6.
Stick the puncheur finish to La Mauselaine on the end of the Gérardmer stage and we're golden.
- Jun 7, 2010
- 19,196
- 3,092
- 28,180
I think Switzerland may have just about been avoided in 1992.
http://bikeraceinfo.com/images-all/tdf-images/images/1992-tdf-map.jpg
http://bikeraceinfo.com/images-all/tdf-images/images/1992-tdf-map.jpg
- Jan 15, 2013
- 1,130
- 0
- 10,480
I was inspired to create this race after watching the RideLondon classic yesterday and being disappointed it came down to a bunch sprint after a featureless run-in. This Dublin City Classic could be a one day Ardenenes-style race somewhere in the calendar. We don't have high mountains, but we have an abundance of old, lumpy roads.
I've tried to fit in some of the classic climbs and combos in the Dublin/Wicklow area I , as well as go past well known tourist areas and areas of beauty so it looks nice on TV. I left out some famous ones like Kippure and Three Rock because I didn't want a MTF. I also left out famous short climbs in the suburbs like Howth Hill and Killiney Hill. I stayed away from a convoluted Amstel-style route.
I traced the route in Strava's route designer and imported it to Velo Viewer, where the climb profiles come from. Climb categories and statistics come from Strava. Strava says we have 4,247m of total climbing.
The race starts on O'Connell Street outside the GPO and goes past Trinity College and Dublin castle before heading for the suburbs and the foothills of the Dublin Mountains. The road starts to tilt up going through Dundrum, birthplace of Stephen Roche, before hitting the first legbreaker on the way to Glencullen:
Cat 3: 3.0km @ 6.4%, max 21.6%
Stepaside Lane should immediately put riders in the red, but more climbing awaits at the top with a twisty descent incorporating the infamous Devil's Elbow may help a break go clear.
Heading into dense forest round the back of Powerscourt, we get an infamous double wall - simply called The Wall locally, with Old Long Hill as extra punishment on top. This is one climb where you can believe the max percentage - there are no insides of hairpins, just straight up a valley wall.
Cat 3: 2.6km @ 8.5%, max 28.6%
After more lumpy back roads we swing onto the Luggala side of the climb to Sally Gap, past the beautiful Lough Tay, sometimes compared to a pint of Guinness.
Cat 3: 3.0km @ 7.4%, max 18.0%
One more lump and we reach the Sally Gap, the spiritual home of cycling in this part of Ireland (image (c) @irishpeloton). That's Kippure in the background - that would take us to 750m, but not today.
Cat 4: 1.8km @ 5.4%, max 11.6%
We descend past Glenmacnass Waterfall into Laragh and turn onto part of the route of the Wicklow 200 sportive through the beautiful Vale of Clara and Vale of Avoca to Avoca village.
After Aughrim the serious stuff begins in the form of the classic Slieve Mann-Shay Elliott one-two combo across Glenmalure, again from the Wicklow 200. Shay Elliott was the first Irishman to win a stage of the Tour de France, and his memorial is at the top of the climb. The Shay Elliott Memorial Race passes here every year.
Cat 3: 3.2km @ 7.8%, max 14.5%
Cat 3: 3.0km @ 8.1%, max 20.0%
Dropping into Laragh we go past Glendalough up the Wicklow Gap, used in stage 1 of the 1998 Tour de France:
Cat 2: 6.7km @ 5.1%, max 16.0%
After a descent that's frequently foggy and exposed to strong winds we go along the shore of the scenic but very lumpy Blessington lakes.
A rise used as a local club league finish takes us onto the western approach to the Sally Gap but we turn back towards Dublin.
Cat 4: 2.3km @ 3.9%, max 10.5%
Cat 3: 2.7km @ 6.4%, max 14.0%
From hereon in, 41km out, there's almost no flat until the finish as we head down Ballinascorney (used as an inter-club league hill climb), and up the little known, and extremely lumpy Bohernabreena Road to the amazingly named Glassamucky Brakes in the Featherbeds.
Cat 2: 6.0lm @ 5.6%, max 20.6%
We go down the Military Road, built by the British to flush rebels out of the Wicklow mountains but come straight back up Cruagh Road as soon as we get to the bottom. The first half of the climb is almost false flat, but the second half is painful, with bend after bend so if someone goes off the front now, they're out of sight.
Cat 3: 5.8km @ 5.3%, max unknown because the mapping data seems off here.
We go down into Glencullen and further down the fast descent into Kilt(i)ernan onto a gentler descent through the steep sided valley of The Scalp into picturesque local mecca of weekend cyclists Enniskerry.
There's time for one more Belgian style climb out of the village:
No cat: 0.5km @ 8.5%, max 15.7%
and then we turn right to finish with a few hundred metres of flat on the grounds of Powerscourt estate. There better not be a bunch sprint.
I've tried to fit in some of the classic climbs and combos in the Dublin/Wicklow area I , as well as go past well known tourist areas and areas of beauty so it looks nice on TV. I left out some famous ones like Kippure and Three Rock because I didn't want a MTF. I also left out famous short climbs in the suburbs like Howth Hill and Killiney Hill. I stayed away from a convoluted Amstel-style route.
I traced the route in Strava's route designer and imported it to Velo Viewer, where the climb profiles come from. Climb categories and statistics come from Strava. Strava says we have 4,247m of total climbing.
The race starts on O'Connell Street outside the GPO and goes past Trinity College and Dublin castle before heading for the suburbs and the foothills of the Dublin Mountains. The road starts to tilt up going through Dundrum, birthplace of Stephen Roche, before hitting the first legbreaker on the way to Glencullen:
Cat 3: 3.0km @ 6.4%, max 21.6%
Stepaside Lane should immediately put riders in the red, but more climbing awaits at the top with a twisty descent incorporating the infamous Devil's Elbow may help a break go clear.
Heading into dense forest round the back of Powerscourt, we get an infamous double wall - simply called The Wall locally, with Old Long Hill as extra punishment on top. This is one climb where you can believe the max percentage - there are no insides of hairpins, just straight up a valley wall.
Cat 3: 2.6km @ 8.5%, max 28.6%
After more lumpy back roads we swing onto the Luggala side of the climb to Sally Gap, past the beautiful Lough Tay, sometimes compared to a pint of Guinness.
Cat 3: 3.0km @ 7.4%, max 18.0%
One more lump and we reach the Sally Gap, the spiritual home of cycling in this part of Ireland (image (c) @irishpeloton). That's Kippure in the background - that would take us to 750m, but not today.
Cat 4: 1.8km @ 5.4%, max 11.6%
We descend past Glenmacnass Waterfall into Laragh and turn onto part of the route of the Wicklow 200 sportive through the beautiful Vale of Clara and Vale of Avoca to Avoca village.
After Aughrim the serious stuff begins in the form of the classic Slieve Mann-Shay Elliott one-two combo across Glenmalure, again from the Wicklow 200. Shay Elliott was the first Irishman to win a stage of the Tour de France, and his memorial is at the top of the climb. The Shay Elliott Memorial Race passes here every year.
Cat 3: 3.2km @ 7.8%, max 14.5%
Cat 3: 3.0km @ 8.1%, max 20.0%
Dropping into Laragh we go past Glendalough up the Wicklow Gap, used in stage 1 of the 1998 Tour de France:
Cat 2: 6.7km @ 5.1%, max 16.0%
After a descent that's frequently foggy and exposed to strong winds we go along the shore of the scenic but very lumpy Blessington lakes.
A rise used as a local club league finish takes us onto the western approach to the Sally Gap but we turn back towards Dublin.
Cat 4: 2.3km @ 3.9%, max 10.5%
Cat 3: 2.7km @ 6.4%, max 14.0%
From hereon in, 41km out, there's almost no flat until the finish as we head down Ballinascorney (used as an inter-club league hill climb), and up the little known, and extremely lumpy Bohernabreena Road to the amazingly named Glassamucky Brakes in the Featherbeds.
Cat 2: 6.0lm @ 5.6%, max 20.6%
We go down the Military Road, built by the British to flush rebels out of the Wicklow mountains but come straight back up Cruagh Road as soon as we get to the bottom. The first half of the climb is almost false flat, but the second half is painful, with bend after bend so if someone goes off the front now, they're out of sight.
Cat 3: 5.8km @ 5.3%, max unknown because the mapping data seems off here.
We go down into Glencullen and further down the fast descent into Kilt(i)ernan onto a gentler descent through the steep sided valley of The Scalp into picturesque local mecca of weekend cyclists Enniskerry.
There's time for one more Belgian style climb out of the village:
No cat: 0.5km @ 8.5%, max 15.7%
and then we turn right to finish with a few hundred metres of flat on the grounds of Powerscourt estate. There better not be a bunch sprint.
Re: Another Vuelta - Against the clock I (0/21)
Spain offers some of interesting terrain across Europe - perhaps second only to Italy
While France suffers from having its mountain clustered into two main groups - Spain (&Italy) has them grouped across the country. While Spain, opposite FRA/ITA, cannot offer the same heights & grindings climbs, it instead can offer daily challenges to the peleton.
Therefore I will do two Vueltas without having their terrain overlapping
I: Counter clockwise starting southwest of Madrid racing towards Murcia & Valencia provinces before swinging up against La Rioja province and further to the mountains of norther Spain
II: Starting in Andalusia, before transfering to area around Teruel, continuing to Catalonia, Pyrenees & the Basque Country while finishing in the area north of Madrid like the 2015 Vuelta
Common for both is that we will keep the current murito DNA - while still challenging the use of ________/ stages while Galicia, Baeleric & Canaric Islands will be ignored
What is also common for both is that they will offers a variety of terrain to all types of riders
Stages are also designing to make an interesting TV product regarding timing
So the overall scheme looks like this:
21 stages (plus a TT presentation on the Friday evening before the race)
One third SPRINT stages -
One third BREAKAWAY stages
One third MOUNTAIN stages
0. 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz
We kick off a Friday with a micro Team Time Trial (?!)
Stage description: I personally think that in order to maximize host city + TV exposure, a great to to kick off a GT, would be to do a symbolic TTT with one team only on the course at all time - a stage that generates nothing but buzz and fair intro to the public.
It is a flat route in Badajoz, where Extremadura is going to be focus the coming days - a simple route, a rivercrossing and in total 5 turns
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 22/20
Sprints: None (Jersey to #2 on stage)
Mountains: None (Jersey to #3 on stage)
Other considerations: None
Spain offers some of interesting terrain across Europe - perhaps second only to Italy
While France suffers from having its mountain clustered into two main groups - Spain (&Italy) has them grouped across the country. While Spain, opposite FRA/ITA, cannot offer the same heights & grindings climbs, it instead can offer daily challenges to the peleton.
Therefore I will do two Vueltas without having their terrain overlapping
I: Counter clockwise starting southwest of Madrid racing towards Murcia & Valencia provinces before swinging up against La Rioja province and further to the mountains of norther Spain
II: Starting in Andalusia, before transfering to area around Teruel, continuing to Catalonia, Pyrenees & the Basque Country while finishing in the area north of Madrid like the 2015 Vuelta
Common for both is that we will keep the current murito DNA - while still challenging the use of ________/ stages while Galicia, Baeleric & Canaric Islands will be ignored
What is also common for both is that they will offers a variety of terrain to all types of riders
Stages are also designing to make an interesting TV product regarding timing
So the overall scheme looks like this:
21 stages (plus a TT presentation on the Friday evening before the race)
One third SPRINT stages -
One third BREAKAWAY stages
One third MOUNTAIN stages
0. 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz
We kick off a Friday with a micro Team Time Trial (?!)
Stage description: I personally think that in order to maximize host city + TV exposure, a great to to kick off a GT, would be to do a symbolic TTT with one team only on the course at all time - a stage that generates nothing but buzz and fair intro to the public.
It is a flat route in Badajoz, where Extremadura is going to be focus the coming days - a simple route, a rivercrossing and in total 5 turns
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 22/20
Sprints: None (Jersey to #2 on stage)
Mountains: None (Jersey to #3 on stage)
Other considerations: None
Re:
I like the idea of starting the Tour with some early mountains, which obviously isn't what I've done here. The risk with doing that is that someone blows away the field in the first couple of stages and then completely dominates the rest of the race. However, the thing that ruins stage races is that a rider takes away all hope and takes away the drama from the final few stages. If someone takes a lead in the first few stages then the hope is still there that anything could happen in the rest of the Tour.
I wasn't actually thinking of the 1992 Tour route when I designed this race. We don't actually go outside of France after the Saas Fee stage but the opening ten days do take place predominantly outside of France. The hope is that the best stages will all take place in France and, although it's not revealed yet, I'm a huge fan of the finale in the Pyrenees which I think will test the riders without forcing all of the drama into the last few days.
I like the idea of starting the Tour with some early mountains, which obviously isn't what I've done here. The risk with doing that is that someone blows away the field in the first couple of stages and then completely dominates the rest of the race. However, the thing that ruins stage races is that a rider takes away all hope and takes away the drama from the final few stages. If someone takes a lead in the first few stages then the hope is still there that anything could happen in the rest of the Tour.
I wasn't actually thinking of the 1992 Tour route when I designed this race. We don't actually go outside of France after the Saas Fee stage but the opening ten days do take place predominantly outside of France. The hope is that the best stages will all take place in France and, although it's not revealed yet, I'm a huge fan of the finale in the Pyrenees which I think will test the riders without forcing all of the drama into the last few days.
2021 Tour de France
The Alps are behind us as we make the trek west towards the Pyrenees. Stages 13 and 14 should be some of the easiest of the race and will be the perfect carrot to tempt the sprinters through the first mountain range. However, like the rest of the Tour, each stage should present an opportunity to cause carnage in the peloton if the right weather conditions hit.
Stage 13 - Digne - Arles 214km
Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.27.47 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.28.15 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
If the riders take a wrong turn at the start they might find themselves deep in the southern Alps but if they stick to the course they should be in for a relaxing day towards the coast and the town of Arles which sits near the estuary of the Rhone. Anytime the race is around this part of the world the Mistral wind is mentioned, however, the majority of the stage will be run away from the coast so the GC riders will have a chance to recover after their Alpine exertions.
Stage 14 - Montpellier - Beziers 169.1km
Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.28.46 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.29.13 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
There's just one categorised climb on the route and at just 251m it's not going to cause any nosebleeds in the peloton. The big threat comes from the Mistral wind in the first 70km when the riders will hug the Mediterranean coast past Sete and Adge. Once they've made the turn north they should be out of danger but the roads around Beziers are twisty and grippy so it could be a harder day then the profile looks.
Stage 15 - Beziers - Revel 199.8km
Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.29.38 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.29.49 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
This could be the stage of the Tour. There's only slightly fewer climbing metres than the stage to Saas Fee, and we're only going over 1,000m once. The Haut-Languedoc isn't used all that often but it provides wonderful terrain for an ambush. The opening climb, the Fontfroide should blow the peloton apart and from then on there's almost no flat. The stage, on paper, gets easier after the first ascent but there's still four more summits to negotiate until the downhill finale. The top of the last climb, the Col du Dourgne, might be 36km from the line but the road is up and down all the way to the finish so arranging a chase will be incredibly hard.
The Alps are behind us as we make the trek west towards the Pyrenees. Stages 13 and 14 should be some of the easiest of the race and will be the perfect carrot to tempt the sprinters through the first mountain range. However, like the rest of the Tour, each stage should present an opportunity to cause carnage in the peloton if the right weather conditions hit.
Stage 13 - Digne - Arles 214km
Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.27.47 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.28.15 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrIf the riders take a wrong turn at the start they might find themselves deep in the southern Alps but if they stick to the course they should be in for a relaxing day towards the coast and the town of Arles which sits near the estuary of the Rhone. Anytime the race is around this part of the world the Mistral wind is mentioned, however, the majority of the stage will be run away from the coast so the GC riders will have a chance to recover after their Alpine exertions.
Stage 14 - Montpellier - Beziers 169.1km
Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.28.46 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.29.13 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrThere's just one categorised climb on the route and at just 251m it's not going to cause any nosebleeds in the peloton. The big threat comes from the Mistral wind in the first 70km when the riders will hug the Mediterranean coast past Sete and Adge. Once they've made the turn north they should be out of danger but the roads around Beziers are twisty and grippy so it could be a harder day then the profile looks.
Stage 15 - Beziers - Revel 199.8km
Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.29.38 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.29.49 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrThis could be the stage of the Tour. There's only slightly fewer climbing metres than the stage to Saas Fee, and we're only going over 1,000m once. The Haut-Languedoc isn't used all that often but it provides wonderful terrain for an ambush. The opening climb, the Fontfroide should blow the peloton apart and from then on there's almost no flat. The stage, on paper, gets easier after the first ascent but there's still four more summits to negotiate until the downhill finale. The top of the last climb, the Col du Dourgne, might be 36km from the line but the road is up and down all the way to the finish so arranging a chase will be incredibly hard.
Vuelta against the clock I
1. 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres - Light Stage
Stage description: First stage is a simple, lightly rolling stage straight west from Badajoz to Merida the first half, and then straight north to Caceres with a simple finish on the main plaza - This one is for the sprinters.
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 997/713
Sprints: 72 km in Merida
Mountains: None
Other considerations: There is no reason to drag out the pain on the first real raceday - and this the sprinters an excellent opportunity to get the red jersey in this 3 hour session
0. 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
1. 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres - Light Stage
Stage description: First stage is a simple, lightly rolling stage straight west from Badajoz to Merida the first half, and then straight north to Caceres with a simple finish on the main plaza - This one is for the sprinters.
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 997/713
Sprints: 72 km in Merida
Mountains: None
Other considerations: There is no reason to drag out the pain on the first real raceday - and this the sprinters an excellent opportunity to get the red jersey in this 3 hour session
0. 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
OK, after a delay, I'm back with my TDF. Just a reminder:
Stage 1: Lille - Boulogne-sur-Mer (207km)
Stage 2: Saint-Omer - Cassel (29km) TTT
Tour de France
Stage 3: Dunkerque - Arenberg, Porte du Hainaut (166km)
Yes, they're cobbled sectors, meaning stage 3 is another stage designed to keep the fastest men of the peleton away from the podium and instead give the specialists an opportunity, and today it's a day for the cobble specialists.
The start is in Dunkerque, by the coast. Initially a fishing port, this town was later used mainly as a privateer base and then for multiple military bases, both French and foreign, during the wars. It was also the scene of the Battle of Dunkirk during WWII, which saw the town taken over by the Germans and the allies expelled.
The journey south takes the riders through the yet unseen areas of Hauts-de-France, in the last day spent entirely in this region. After heading through Bethune and Faches-Thumesnil, the peleton passes in the areas just south of Lille Metropole, where we saw the start of stage 1. After that, the trouble starts; nine cobbled sectors, over a total distance of 21.4km. All the sectors are covered by Paris-Roubaix, and there they are numbered 19 to 10. In this stage, however, they are covered in reverse order, and sector 18 (Trouee d'Arenberg) is ommitted. Nonetheless, this will still be a difficult challenge; there is one five star sector (Mons-en-Pevele) and four four star sectors, including the known Wallers - Haveluy sector, which will be the final area for drama, just 6.4km before the line. Midway through is the day's intermediate sprint, in Orchies.
As has already been done twice in the recent years' cobbled stages, the end is at the foot of the Arenberg Mine. I don't think there is any point about talking about the history of this place, given that most of you know about it's usage in a particular cobbled classic, the name of which I'm mentioning over and over today.
Start: Dunkerque, Place Jean-Bart
Finish: Arenberg, Avenue Michel Rondet
Climbs
none
Next stage
A day some riders would've been dreaming about... and an exit from Hauts-de-France.
Stage 1: Lille - Boulogne-sur-Mer (207km)
Stage 2: Saint-Omer - Cassel (29km) TTT
Tour de France
Stage 3: Dunkerque - Arenberg, Porte du Hainaut (166km)
Yes, they're cobbled sectors, meaning stage 3 is another stage designed to keep the fastest men of the peleton away from the podium and instead give the specialists an opportunity, and today it's a day for the cobble specialists.
The start is in Dunkerque, by the coast. Initially a fishing port, this town was later used mainly as a privateer base and then for multiple military bases, both French and foreign, during the wars. It was also the scene of the Battle of Dunkirk during WWII, which saw the town taken over by the Germans and the allies expelled.
The journey south takes the riders through the yet unseen areas of Hauts-de-France, in the last day spent entirely in this region. After heading through Bethune and Faches-Thumesnil, the peleton passes in the areas just south of Lille Metropole, where we saw the start of stage 1. After that, the trouble starts; nine cobbled sectors, over a total distance of 21.4km. All the sectors are covered by Paris-Roubaix, and there they are numbered 19 to 10. In this stage, however, they are covered in reverse order, and sector 18 (Trouee d'Arenberg) is ommitted. Nonetheless, this will still be a difficult challenge; there is one five star sector (Mons-en-Pevele) and four four star sectors, including the known Wallers - Haveluy sector, which will be the final area for drama, just 6.4km before the line. Midway through is the day's intermediate sprint, in Orchies.
As has already been done twice in the recent years' cobbled stages, the end is at the foot of the Arenberg Mine. I don't think there is any point about talking about the history of this place, given that most of you know about it's usage in a particular cobbled classic, the name of which I'm mentioning over and over today
.
Start: Dunkerque, Place Jean-Bart
Finish: Arenberg, Avenue Michel Rondet
Climbs
none
Next stage
A day some riders would've been dreaming about... and an exit from Hauts-de-France.
Vuelta against the clock I
2. 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia - Medium Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: 100 km journey to the north of the Extremadura province, with a easy two-stepped climb halfway. They will pass close to the goal in Plasencia and then do a climbing detour in Sierra de Gredos, which offers climbs like La Covatilla. We are not going that far up today - but will take tackle two 10km climbs in succession Alto Cabezabellosa & most of the Puerto de Piornal climb from it's hardest side, both climbs are between 5-6% i average, steady dieselclimbs. After the last bump the riders will have 30 km of lightly rolling terrain to Plasencia before the first uphill finish. A 3,8 km climb with slightly more than 4% in average, very irregular and hardest in the middle - and how can you not have a hill top finish on a place called the Virgin of the Mountain when we are talking about the Vuelta
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 3282/3079
Sprints: 68,5 km Mirabel
Mountains/hills: 5 (4 categorized) - Hill Top finish
Alto De Mirabel (south). 62,5 km 3. KAT 8,7 km - 5,0%
Alto Cabezabellosa (west). 118,5 km 2. KAT 10,5 km - 5,0%
Puerto De Piornal (west - first 13,5 km). 148,5 km 2. KAT 13,5 km - 5,4%
Puerto del Rabanillo (south).[/url] 159,0 km NO. KAT 3,0 km - 6,1%
Virgin Del Puerto (south - last 3,0 km). 196,5 km 3. KAT 3,8 km - 4,3% (additional 0,8 km - not available in profile)
Other considerations: This stage is designing to get a top-30 rider in red, and also push the weak GC contenders lightly if they come unprepared for La Vuelta. In the Vuelta spirit it makes sense to have a hilltop finish (albeit a light one) on the first sunday, while also offering attacking terrain for either GC riders or a breakaway.
If you go slightly more north-east you can actually make a decent mountain stage in this order: Honduras (west), Tornavacas (south), Tremedal (south), De la hoya (east), finish at Covatilla/Travieso, but that would be too early for a stage 2.
0. 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _______________/\/\_,
2. 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia - Medium Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: 100 km journey to the north of the Extremadura province, with a easy two-stepped climb halfway. They will pass close to the goal in Plasencia and then do a climbing detour in Sierra de Gredos, which offers climbs like La Covatilla. We are not going that far up today - but will take tackle two 10km climbs in succession Alto Cabezabellosa & most of the Puerto de Piornal climb from it's hardest side, both climbs are between 5-6% i average, steady dieselclimbs. After the last bump the riders will have 30 km of lightly rolling terrain to Plasencia before the first uphill finish. A 3,8 km climb with slightly more than 4% in average, very irregular and hardest in the middle - and how can you not have a hill top finish on a place called the Virgin of the Mountain when we are talking about the Vuelta
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 3282/3079
Sprints: 68,5 km Mirabel
Mountains/hills: 5 (4 categorized) - Hill Top finish
Alto De Mirabel (south). 62,5 km 3. KAT 8,7 km - 5,0%
Alto Cabezabellosa (west). 118,5 km 2. KAT 10,5 km - 5,0%
Puerto De Piornal (west - first 13,5 km). 148,5 km 2. KAT 13,5 km - 5,4%
Puerto del Rabanillo (south).[/url] 159,0 km NO. KAT 3,0 km - 6,1%
Virgin Del Puerto (south - last 3,0 km). 196,5 km 3. KAT 3,8 km - 4,3% (additional 0,8 km - not available in profile)
Other considerations: This stage is designing to get a top-30 rider in red, and also push the weak GC contenders lightly if they come unprepared for La Vuelta. In the Vuelta spirit it makes sense to have a hilltop finish (albeit a light one) on the first sunday, while also offering attacking terrain for either GC riders or a breakaway.
If you go slightly more north-east you can actually make a decent mountain stage in this order: Honduras (west), Tornavacas (south), Tremedal (south), De la hoya (east), finish at Covatilla/Travieso, but that would be too early for a stage 2.
0. 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _______________/\/\_,
Vuelta against the clock I
3. 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe - Medium Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: 100 km of lightly rolling terrain going southeast from Plasencia before a string of small hills until 140 km mark - from there riders will work their way up to the pass, Collado de Ballesteros, below Pico Villuercas (LS did a wonderful analysis on the climb here: viewtopic.php?p=1387039#p1387039 on the other possible options of ascent) approaching it from north of village of Solana of it's north western side. The next 21 km has average gradient of 3,6% - but that hides the following combo:
1. Valle de Santa Lucia to Navezuelas climb 2,7 km - 8,3%
2. 2,7 km descent - 5-6 % (see profile above)
3. 5,2 km climb - 5,5% (see profile above)
4. 2,8 km descent - 3-4% in average
5. 4,6 km false flat - 4,1% in average
6. Camino de las Acebadillas - a true hellslope of 13,4% in 3 kms on indigious the hormigon surface
The descent is the middle 12 km of the climb from Guadalupe and they will when they reach the town divert to the southwest for 4,5 km before they do a kickup to do the first 1,8 km of the official ascent from Guadalupe to the goal with 7-7,5% in average - yes, I know, but this count as a descent finish - and is here to create a bit further damage to GC, as well as force the good descenders to push it on the way down
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 3519/3304
Sprints: 78,5 km Romangordo
Mountains/hills: 6 (2 categorized) - Descent finish
Repetidor Sierra De Santa Bárbara (west). 10,7 km NO. KAT 2,2 km - 11,0%
Alto De Campillo De Deleitosa (north). 105,0 km 3. KAT 6,8 km - 5,8%
Robledollano (west). 124,0 km NO. KAT 1,9 km - 6,7%
Cabañas del Castillo (north). 137,5 km NO. KAT 3,0 km - 5,3%
Camino de las Acebadillas por Valle de Santa Lucia (see profile above). 165,7 km 1. KAT 21,0 km - 3,6%
Guadalupe finish (see profile above) 183,1 km NO KAT 1,8 km - 7,3 %
Other considerations: The climb is best used as uphill finish from the southwestern & eastern apporach, especially the Guadalupe ascent 16,6 km - 6,3% could be a great Montevergine for Vuelta - but with lots of mountains to come, it might be a bit too early for this Vuelta - the Guadalupe descent is best option for incorporation of the Camino de las Acebadillas hellslope and to create proper selection before a descent on a narrow road
0. 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _______________/\/\_,
3. 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe: Medium _______________,-´\
3. 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe - Medium Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: 100 km of lightly rolling terrain going southeast from Plasencia before a string of small hills until 140 km mark - from there riders will work their way up to the pass, Collado de Ballesteros, below Pico Villuercas (LS did a wonderful analysis on the climb here: viewtopic.php?p=1387039#p1387039 on the other possible options of ascent) approaching it from north of village of Solana of it's north western side. The next 21 km has average gradient of 3,6% - but that hides the following combo:
1. Valle de Santa Lucia to Navezuelas climb 2,7 km - 8,3%
2. 2,7 km descent - 5-6 % (see profile above)
3. 5,2 km climb - 5,5% (see profile above)
4. 2,8 km descent - 3-4% in average
5. 4,6 km false flat - 4,1% in average
6. Camino de las Acebadillas - a true hellslope of 13,4% in 3 kms on indigious the hormigon surface
The descent is the middle 12 km of the climb from Guadalupe and they will when they reach the town divert to the southwest for 4,5 km before they do a kickup to do the first 1,8 km of the official ascent from Guadalupe to the goal with 7-7,5% in average - yes, I know, but this count as a descent finish - and is here to create a bit further damage to GC, as well as force the good descenders to push it on the way down
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 3519/3304
Sprints: 78,5 km Romangordo
Mountains/hills: 6 (2 categorized) - Descent finish
Repetidor Sierra De Santa Bárbara (west). 10,7 km NO. KAT 2,2 km - 11,0%
Alto De Campillo De Deleitosa (north). 105,0 km 3. KAT 6,8 km - 5,8%
Robledollano (west). 124,0 km NO. KAT 1,9 km - 6,7%
Cabañas del Castillo (north). 137,5 km NO. KAT 3,0 km - 5,3%
Camino de las Acebadillas por Valle de Santa Lucia (see profile above). 165,7 km 1. KAT 21,0 km - 3,6%
Guadalupe finish (see profile above) 183,1 km NO KAT 1,8 km - 7,3 %
Other considerations: The climb is best used as uphill finish from the southwestern & eastern apporach, especially the Guadalupe ascent 16,6 km - 6,3% could be a great Montevergine for Vuelta - but with lots of mountains to come, it might be a bit too early for this Vuelta - the Guadalupe descent is best option for incorporation of the Camino de las Acebadillas hellslope and to create proper selection before a descent on a narrow road
0. 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _______________/\/\_,
3. 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe: Medium _______________,-´\
Vuelta against the clock I
4. 180,2 km Guadalupe-Ciudad Real - Light Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: After 2 active stages, it's time for the sprinters to shine again with this clear transport stage - ok, there is 1500 height meters, but it's gently rolling terrain, with a few 2-3 km climbs with maximum 4% in gradient, the run-in is completely flat and there should be no doubt that a sprinter will claim the podium in Ciudad Real
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 1592/1607
Sprints: 105,0 km Puebla De Don Rodrigo
Mountains/hills: None
Other considerations: Since Guadalupe is a small town a similar profile & length stage can be achieved by starting in Talavera de la Reina
0. 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _______________/\/\_,
3. 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe: Medium _______________,-´\
4. 180,2 km Guadalupe-Ciudad Real: Light ___________________
4. 180,2 km Guadalupe-Ciudad Real - Light Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: After 2 active stages, it's time for the sprinters to shine again with this clear transport stage - ok, there is 1500 height meters, but it's gently rolling terrain, with a few 2-3 km climbs with maximum 4% in gradient, the run-in is completely flat and there should be no doubt that a sprinter will claim the podium in Ciudad Real
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 1592/1607
Sprints: 105,0 km Puebla De Don Rodrigo
Mountains/hills: None
Other considerations: Since Guadalupe is a small town a similar profile & length stage can be achieved by starting in Talavera de la Reina
0. 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _______________/\/\_,
3. 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe: Medium _______________,-´\
4. 180,2 km Guadalupe-Ciudad Real: Light ___________________
Vuelta against the clock I
5. 228,4 km Valdepenas DO-Linares - Medium Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: A long rolling stage to tire the tire riders before a much tougher stage tomorrow. A short transfer from Ciudad Real, the riders will straight south from Valdepenas DO to Linares with several long mild gradient hills to climbs. But instead of going straight to Linares they will circle east/south east of the town to tackle a succession of progressive tougher climbs culminating in category 2 climb up to Baeza (granted the climb is only a category 2 due to previous tasks handled by the riders this day) After this climb there is 25 kms to goal by mild descent, but before they do a flat finish in Linares - a last tricky challenge awaits. Cresting 5 km to goal a short category 3 climb with the last 2 km averaging 6%. Except for the heaviest of sprinter all types of riders are in pool for this one.
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 3141/3448
Sprints: 90,0 km Navas De Tolosa
Mountains/hills: 7 (5 categorized)
Collado de Los Jardines (east). 60,8 km 3. KAT 9,1 km - 3,5%
Unmarked climb (north) 77,3 km NO. KAT 4,6 km - 3,8%
Unmarked climb (west) 121,7 km NO. KAT 2,8 km - 4,8%
Unmarked climb @ Saint Eulalia (north) 142,2 km 3. KAT 10,2 km - 4,0%
Unmarked climb @ Jodar (north) 174,1 km 3. KAT 13,7 km - 3,2%
Baeza-Punte Mazuecos (west). 204,0 km 2. KAT 11,1 km - 4,3%
Linares por Leyva (south). 223,3 km 3. KAT 3,2 km - 5,1%
Other considerations: It possible to a do much shorter loop around Linares by either going straight south from Navas De Tolusa or a minor tweak by going west from Ubeda - but the rationale for this stage to ensure a competitive breakaway and tired top-30 legs before the stage next day which will have a lot more mountains on the menu. South of Jodar - albeit nothing more that a earth track you can find this little cat 1. track withöut tarmac (yet!) it's 8km with 9 % gradient could be an excellent MTF in the Jaen area
0. stage 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. stage 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. stage 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _______________/\/\_,
3. stage 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe: Medium _______________,-´\
4. stage 180,2 km Guadalupe-Ciudad Real: Light ___________________
5. 228,4 km Valdepenas DO-Linares: Medium ___n_____________nnn,-
5. 228,4 km Valdepenas DO-Linares - Medium Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: A long rolling stage to tire the tire riders before a much tougher stage tomorrow. A short transfer from Ciudad Real, the riders will straight south from Valdepenas DO to Linares with several long mild gradient hills to climbs. But instead of going straight to Linares they will circle east/south east of the town to tackle a succession of progressive tougher climbs culminating in category 2 climb up to Baeza (granted the climb is only a category 2 due to previous tasks handled by the riders this day) After this climb there is 25 kms to goal by mild descent, but before they do a flat finish in Linares - a last tricky challenge awaits. Cresting 5 km to goal a short category 3 climb with the last 2 km averaging 6%. Except for the heaviest of sprinter all types of riders are in pool for this one.
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 3141/3448
Sprints: 90,0 km Navas De Tolosa
Mountains/hills: 7 (5 categorized)
Collado de Los Jardines (east). 60,8 km 3. KAT 9,1 km - 3,5%
Unmarked climb (north) 77,3 km NO. KAT 4,6 km - 3,8%
Unmarked climb (west) 121,7 km NO. KAT 2,8 km - 4,8%
Unmarked climb @ Saint Eulalia (north) 142,2 km 3. KAT 10,2 km - 4,0%
Unmarked climb @ Jodar (north) 174,1 km 3. KAT 13,7 km - 3,2%
Baeza-Punte Mazuecos (west). 204,0 km 2. KAT 11,1 km - 4,3%
Linares por Leyva (south). 223,3 km 3. KAT 3,2 km - 5,1%
Other considerations: It possible to a do much shorter loop around Linares by either going straight south from Navas De Tolusa or a minor tweak by going west from Ubeda - but the rationale for this stage to ensure a competitive breakaway and tired top-30 legs before the stage next day which will have a lot more mountains on the menu. South of Jodar - albeit nothing more that a earth track you can find this little cat 1. track withöut tarmac (yet!) it's 8km with 9 % gradient could be an excellent MTF in the Jaen area
0. stage 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. stage 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. stage 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _______________/\/\_,
3. stage 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe: Medium _______________,-´\
4. stage 180,2 km Guadalupe-Ciudad Real: Light ___________________
5. 228,4 km Valdepenas DO-Linares: Medium ___n_____________nnn,-
2021 Tour de France
After we've crawled our way west from the Alps, it's time for the four pronged finale in the Pyrenees. If everything has gone to plan all four jerseys will be up for grabs and there will be opportunities for the sprinters in the final five stages. The mountain stages are designed so that no team can dominate and keep a stranglehold on the race. The pure time triallers had their fun on the Basel 40km time trial, but the stage 18 time trial is one for the pure climbers and could blow apart the race.
Stage 16 - Castelnaudary - Ax 3 Domaines 154.4km
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.40.59 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
The first of the trio of mountain stages is probably the easiest. The Ax 3 Domaines climb is just 7.8km and although the average gradient is steep, at 8.2%, it won't be a huge hurdle for the contenders. The road before the final climb is virtually 40km of continous uphill which features two second category climbs and a third category one. There's also the second category Seguela climb after 55km to warm-up the main GC riders. The yellow jersey riders may choose to keep their powder dry in preparation of the remaining two climbing stages but this is perfect ambush territory.
Stage 17 - Ax Les Thermes - Bagneres-de-Luchon 190.6km
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.41.28 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.41.54 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Any stage that starts in Ax Les Thermes and finishes in Bagneres-de-Luchon can be expected to be a serious mountain stage but I've resisted the temptation to put five back-to-back climbing stages at the end of the Tour. This stage will be a good opportunity for the GC riders to recuperate and refocus on the consecutive upcoming climbing days. The inclusion of the Portet d'Aspet might put the sprinters off but at the summit they will have 76km of road to get back into the peloton. The road to the finish is a long, but gradual, uphill slog which shouldn't cause too many problems for the sprinters.
Stage 18 - Bagneres-de-Luchon - Arreau 33.3km TT
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.42.27 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.42.38 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
The final time trial of the race and a seriously difficult effort for all the riders. The climb of the Peyresourde will account for just 45% of the stage but, time wise, it will be where the riders spend the majority of time. It's not simply a case of going uphill as quickly as possible and emptying the tank because the final 11km are flat with a slight descent. Anyone who goes too hard and doesn't leave anything for that finish will see themselves lose serious time. Bike choice will be crucial here, nobody will want to descend with a disk wheel on, but is it worth losing momentum with a bike change once the course flattens out?
Stage 19 - Lannemezan - La Mongie 154km
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.43.08 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.43.22 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
The Tourmalet will play a huge role in the final two mountain stages and its eastern side will host the first battle. This is the Queen Stage of the Tour but it's just 154km, there's almost no flat ground on this course and five climbs, four first category and one hors category. The Port de Bales, Peyresourde and Col d'Azet come immediately after one another, there's then a brief period of respite between the d'Azet and the Aspin. The finale of Aspin and Tourmalet is a serious test and could easily destroy the lead group of favourites if anybody is having an off day. The summit finish is located in La Mongie, rather than the actual summit of the climb so the peloton will be grateful that they don't have to climb 200m more, small mercies.
Stage 20 - Bagneres-de-Bigorre - Col du Tourmalet 218km
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.44.10 PM by Sam Larner, on Flickr
One of the finest recent penultimate days in a Grand Tour was the 2015 Vuelta, which consisted of four climbs - the same two repeated. The riders are setting off from Bagneres-de-Bigorre and will take on the same eastern side of the Tourmalet that they finished on yesterday. There's then no flat before the Col du Soulor/Col d'Aubisque double which will then take the riders onto the flat middle section of the course. After the easier mid-section loop, the race will head back towards the Soulor from the north side and then take on the Col du Tourmalet, for the third time - first time from the west. This time, the race will finish at the summit, whoever has yellow now will win the Tour de France.
After we've crawled our way west from the Alps, it's time for the four pronged finale in the Pyrenees. If everything has gone to plan all four jerseys will be up for grabs and there will be opportunities for the sprinters in the final five stages. The mountain stages are designed so that no team can dominate and keep a stranglehold on the race. The pure time triallers had their fun on the Basel 40km time trial, but the stage 18 time trial is one for the pure climbers and could blow apart the race.
Stage 16 - Castelnaudary - Ax 3 Domaines 154.4km
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.40.59 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrThe first of the trio of mountain stages is probably the easiest. The Ax 3 Domaines climb is just 7.8km and although the average gradient is steep, at 8.2%, it won't be a huge hurdle for the contenders. The road before the final climb is virtually 40km of continous uphill which features two second category climbs and a third category one. There's also the second category Seguela climb after 55km to warm-up the main GC riders. The yellow jersey riders may choose to keep their powder dry in preparation of the remaining two climbing stages but this is perfect ambush territory.
Stage 17 - Ax Les Thermes - Bagneres-de-Luchon 190.6km
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.41.28 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.41.54 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrAny stage that starts in Ax Les Thermes and finishes in Bagneres-de-Luchon can be expected to be a serious mountain stage but I've resisted the temptation to put five back-to-back climbing stages at the end of the Tour. This stage will be a good opportunity for the GC riders to recuperate and refocus on the consecutive upcoming climbing days. The inclusion of the Portet d'Aspet might put the sprinters off but at the summit they will have 76km of road to get back into the peloton. The road to the finish is a long, but gradual, uphill slog which shouldn't cause too many problems for the sprinters.
Stage 18 - Bagneres-de-Luchon - Arreau 33.3km TT
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.42.27 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.42.38 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrThe final time trial of the race and a seriously difficult effort for all the riders. The climb of the Peyresourde will account for just 45% of the stage but, time wise, it will be where the riders spend the majority of time. It's not simply a case of going uphill as quickly as possible and emptying the tank because the final 11km are flat with a slight descent. Anyone who goes too hard and doesn't leave anything for that finish will see themselves lose serious time. Bike choice will be crucial here, nobody will want to descend with a disk wheel on, but is it worth losing momentum with a bike change once the course flattens out?
Stage 19 - Lannemezan - La Mongie 154km
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.43.08 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrScreen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.43.22 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrThe Tourmalet will play a huge role in the final two mountain stages and its eastern side will host the first battle. This is the Queen Stage of the Tour but it's just 154km, there's almost no flat ground on this course and five climbs, four first category and one hors category. The Port de Bales, Peyresourde and Col d'Azet come immediately after one another, there's then a brief period of respite between the d'Azet and the Aspin. The finale of Aspin and Tourmalet is a serious test and could easily destroy the lead group of favourites if anybody is having an off day. The summit finish is located in La Mongie, rather than the actual summit of the climb so the peloton will be grateful that they don't have to climb 200m more, small mercies.
Stage 20 - Bagneres-de-Bigorre - Col du Tourmalet 218km
Screen Shot 2016-08-04 at 1.44.10 PM by Sam Larner, on FlickrOne of the finest recent penultimate days in a Grand Tour was the 2015 Vuelta, which consisted of four climbs - the same two repeated. The riders are setting off from Bagneres-de-Bigorre and will take on the same eastern side of the Tourmalet that they finished on yesterday. There's then no flat before the Col du Soulor/Col d'Aubisque double which will then take the riders onto the flat middle section of the course. After the easier mid-section loop, the race will head back towards the Soulor from the north side and then take on the Col du Tourmalet, for the third time - first time from the west. This time, the race will finish at the summit, whoever has yellow now will win the Tour de France.
- Feb 20, 2010
- 33,053
- 15,231
- 28,180
I've had a few routes I've tried to crowbar the Camino de las Acebadillas into but never quite found one it fitted into, so chapeau for that choice.
Sammy, I'm not sure if to increase the ambush potential you'd want to put Portillón into stage 17? As a descent from a cat.2 climb but not an overly hard stage it could still be one for the durable sprinters (or even the less durable ones if the Aubenas stage in 2009 is anything to go by). Curious as to how you'll manage the logistics of the loop in stage 20 - I know the Vuelta has done this (more than once, since they used a similar trick with Navacerrada in the Bola del Mundo stage in 2010) but with the additional race caravan and the much higher fan presence - the density of fans has caused a couple of problems in the Tour in recent years anyhow, but if the riders are descending through them? That could be carnage. It worked ok for the Vuelta because a lot of the people who watched on Cotos watched on Navacerrada earlier then walked, rode or travelled across the plateau while the riders did the Morcuera loop, I'm not convinced that with the fan volumes for a Tour deciding stage that would be possible. I'd also have put stage 20 finishing in Bagnères-de-Bigorre as well personally, two back to back finishes at the same climb is probably overkill and given your stage is in homage to the 2015 Vuelta stage, that stage possibly worked best because of the descent finish and that the final climb wasn't the hardest so a descent finish in this, the GC men's last chance, might be beneficial, even taking my personal feelings about the Tourmalet (I despise it) out of the equation.
Sammy, I'm not sure if to increase the ambush potential you'd want to put Portillón into stage 17? As a descent from a cat.2 climb but not an overly hard stage it could still be one for the durable sprinters (or even the less durable ones if the Aubenas stage in 2009 is anything to go by). Curious as to how you'll manage the logistics of the loop in stage 20 - I know the Vuelta has done this (more than once, since they used a similar trick with Navacerrada in the Bola del Mundo stage in 2010) but with the additional race caravan and the much higher fan presence - the density of fans has caused a couple of problems in the Tour in recent years anyhow, but if the riders are descending through them? That could be carnage. It worked ok for the Vuelta because a lot of the people who watched on Cotos watched on Navacerrada earlier then walked, rode or travelled across the plateau while the riders did the Morcuera loop, I'm not convinced that with the fan volumes for a Tour deciding stage that would be possible. I'd also have put stage 20 finishing in Bagnères-de-Bigorre as well personally, two back to back finishes at the same climb is probably overkill and given your stage is in homage to the 2015 Vuelta stage, that stage possibly worked best because of the descent finish and that the final climb wasn't the hardest so a descent finish in this, the GC men's last chance, might be beneficial, even taking my personal feelings about the Tourmalet (I despise it) out of the equation.
Tour de France
Stage 4: Douai - Reims (194km)
Finally, stage 4 is the first opportunity for the fastest men, such as Kittel and Cav. It's virtually flat, and the sole climb is midway through the stage. The run-in is easy and flat.
This stage departs from Douai, a large commune with a beautiful belfry. Known for its engineering and chemical industry, it features a very big Renault plant (I don't know whether the green jersey sponsor will like the concept ) that employs many locals. It also has a very old university, which features a large variety of faculties but specialises in Catholicism.
At first, the peloton heads through open flat land, passing through Cambrai and Fresnoy-le-Grand. A turn left sees the riders head to La Capelle, where the intermediate sprint is. Afterwards, the riders turn south, and soon face the only climb of the day - the Cote de Pas-Blanc, which is only cat. 4. This means that, after today's stage, it's likely the polka-dot jersey will be held by the rider who obtained it after stage 1. After that, it's a hilly but relatively flat approach to Reims, where we end today.
Reims is another Roman city on the route of my TdF. Here, most French kings were crowned in the city's ancient cathedral, which faced damage by Germans during World War II but was successfully restored. World War I also damaged the city, perhaps even more heavily. Now, the city is used predominantly for tourism, especially the cathedral.
Start: Douai, Place d'Armes
Finish: Reims, Boulevard Victor-Hugo
Sprint: La Capelle
Climbs
Côte de Pas Blanc (cat. 4, 0.9km at 7.3%)
Next stage
Flat, flat, flat... and a surprising conclusion.
Stage 4: Douai - Reims (194km)
Finally, stage 4 is the first opportunity for the fastest men, such as Kittel and Cav. It's virtually flat, and the sole climb is midway through the stage. The run-in is easy and flat.
This stage departs from Douai, a large commune with a beautiful belfry. Known for its engineering and chemical industry, it features a very big Renault plant (I don't know whether the green jersey sponsor will like the concept
) that employs many locals. It also has a very old university, which features a large variety of faculties but specialises in Catholicism.
At first, the peloton heads through open flat land, passing through Cambrai and Fresnoy-le-Grand. A turn left sees the riders head to La Capelle, where the intermediate sprint is. Afterwards, the riders turn south, and soon face the only climb of the day - the Cote de Pas-Blanc, which is only cat. 4. This means that, after today's stage, it's likely the polka-dot jersey will be held by the rider who obtained it after stage 1. After that, it's a hilly but relatively flat approach to Reims, where we end today.
Reims is another Roman city on the route of my TdF. Here, most French kings were crowned in the city's ancient cathedral, which faced damage by Germans during World War II but was successfully restored. World War I also damaged the city, perhaps even more heavily. Now, the city is used predominantly for tourism, especially the cathedral.
Start: Douai, Place d'Armes
Finish: Reims, Boulevard Victor-Hugo
Sprint: La Capelle
Climbs
Côte de Pas Blanc (cat. 4, 0.9km at 7.3%)
Next stage
Flat, flat, flat... and a surprising conclusion.
Vuelta against the clock I
6. 253,0 km Peal De Becerro-El Yelmo - Hard Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: The riders today are going to tackle the longest stage of Vuelta and the first real GC stage with a new MTF, all this action will take place in a forgotten part of spain, Sierra de Cazorla. A short transfer from yesterday's finish leads to first flat 45 km before riders tackle the Tiscar climb from a south-western approach. Its a long, gentle but irregular climb - 4 km with 5%, 2 km descent, 8 km with 5,5% and two 13-14% ramps, 6 km descent before the last 5 km to the top with 5,5% in average. From the top there is 30ish km to the next challenge, Las Palomas which is tackled from it's easiest side and no reason to concern (yet). Now follows 60 km of flat terrain on west side of the mountain range before a real test comes up - the category 1 Ballestera climb. 14 km of 5,1% doesn't sound tough - but the climb is in reality two-stepped. 2 km 3-4% lead-in before it kicks in with 3 km á 9 %, the a flattish 5% before a 2 km light descent, then follows 6 km with 6,5% - what these numbers doesn't say is that there is a lot of 10-11-12% ramps all over the mountain. From the top the riders will stay on a plateau for 25 km before a descent takes them to the hamlet of Polideportivo. Here is the main challenge of the Vuelta so far the El Yelmo. 14 km with 7%. Is this really ESP category ? Well, borderline no, but it comes as the 4th climb of the day and after 239 km of racing... ...and the deciding factor: it the highest point of the Vuelta - therefore it will be the 1st of in total 3 ESP climbs in this Vuelta. It start with 2 km of 4-5 % gently - before it has it's most brutal part in the beginning - 5 km with 8 %, then 5 km with 6% before it kick-up again in the end with 9-10%. A climb not unlike the ADH - which always gives drama from the beginning, even though it has the same lead-in troubles as El Yelmo. There is some long straight stretches and a middle part with lots of hairpins to give riders a steady rythm up. Let's hope the spanish august heat will give us an additional factor playing in here.
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 5376/4176
Sprints: 172,5 km Hornos
Mountains/hills: 5 (4 categorized)
Puerto De Tiscar (south por Hinojares). 72,0 km 2. KAT 24,2 km - 2,8%
Alto De Cazorla (south). 100,5 km NO. KAT 3,0 km - 6,7%
Las Palomas (west). 111,4 km 2. KAT 8,4 km - 4,6%
Alto De Ballestera (west). 189,9 km 1. KAT 14,0 km - 5,1%
El Yelmo (west). 189,9 km ESP. KAT 14,3 km - 7,0% - CIMA ALBERTO FERNANDEZ
Other considerations: While Spain offers a lot of top-notch climbs, it's main disadvantage versus France & Italy is that many of them lacks the opportunity for good back-to-back climbing beforehand like we see in Andorra, Appenines, Dolomites, Alpes or French Pyrenees west of Andorra. Either the climbs are too shallow or there is too much false flat in between. That's one of reasoning's too make this stage so long - you really need to break up the riders legs before the final climb. And with EL Yelmo this is more or less the toughest lead-in you can do - lots of km and lots of mild climbing before.
0. stage 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. stage 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. stage 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _______________/\/\_,
3. stage 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe: Medium _______________,-´\
4. stage 180,2 km Guadalupe-Ciudad Real: Light ___________________
5. stage 228,4 km Valdepenas DO-Linares: Medium ___n____n__n__n__n__n_n_,-
6. Stage 253,0 km Peal De Becerro-El Yelmo: Hard ____/\___/\______/\____/
6. 253,0 km Peal De Becerro-El Yelmo - Hard Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: The riders today are going to tackle the longest stage of Vuelta and the first real GC stage with a new MTF, all this action will take place in a forgotten part of spain, Sierra de Cazorla. A short transfer from yesterday's finish leads to first flat 45 km before riders tackle the Tiscar climb from a south-western approach. Its a long, gentle but irregular climb - 4 km with 5%, 2 km descent, 8 km with 5,5% and two 13-14% ramps, 6 km descent before the last 5 km to the top with 5,5% in average. From the top there is 30ish km to the next challenge, Las Palomas which is tackled from it's easiest side and no reason to concern (yet). Now follows 60 km of flat terrain on west side of the mountain range before a real test comes up - the category 1 Ballestera climb. 14 km of 5,1% doesn't sound tough - but the climb is in reality two-stepped. 2 km 3-4% lead-in before it kicks in with 3 km á 9 %, the a flattish 5% before a 2 km light descent, then follows 6 km with 6,5% - what these numbers doesn't say is that there is a lot of 10-11-12% ramps all over the mountain. From the top the riders will stay on a plateau for 25 km before a descent takes them to the hamlet of Polideportivo. Here is the main challenge of the Vuelta so far the El Yelmo. 14 km with 7%. Is this really ESP category ? Well, borderline no, but it comes as the 4th climb of the day and after 239 km of racing... ...and the deciding factor: it the highest point of the Vuelta - therefore it will be the 1st of in total 3 ESP climbs in this Vuelta. It start with 2 km of 4-5 % gently - before it has it's most brutal part in the beginning - 5 km with 8 %, then 5 km with 6% before it kick-up again in the end with 9-10%. A climb not unlike the ADH - which always gives drama from the beginning, even though it has the same lead-in troubles as El Yelmo. There is some long straight stretches and a middle part with lots of hairpins to give riders a steady rythm up. Let's hope the spanish august heat will give us an additional factor playing in here.
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 5376/4176
Sprints: 172,5 km Hornos
Mountains/hills: 5 (4 categorized)
Puerto De Tiscar (south por Hinojares). 72,0 km 2. KAT 24,2 km - 2,8%
Alto De Cazorla (south). 100,5 km NO. KAT 3,0 km - 6,7%
Las Palomas (west). 111,4 km 2. KAT 8,4 km - 4,6%
Alto De Ballestera (west). 189,9 km 1. KAT 14,0 km - 5,1%
El Yelmo (west). 189,9 km ESP. KAT 14,3 km - 7,0% - CIMA ALBERTO FERNANDEZ
Other considerations: While Spain offers a lot of top-notch climbs, it's main disadvantage versus France & Italy is that many of them lacks the opportunity for good back-to-back climbing beforehand like we see in Andorra, Appenines, Dolomites, Alpes or French Pyrenees west of Andorra. Either the climbs are too shallow or there is too much false flat in between. That's one of reasoning's too make this stage so long - you really need to break up the riders legs before the final climb. And with EL Yelmo this is more or less the toughest lead-in you can do - lots of km and lots of mild climbing before.
0. stage 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. stage 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. stage 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _______________/\/\_,
3. stage 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe: Medium _______________,-´\
4. stage 180,2 km Guadalupe-Ciudad Real: Light ___________________
5. stage 228,4 km Valdepenas DO-Linares: Medium ___n____n__n__n__n__n_n_,-
6. Stage 253,0 km Peal De Becerro-El Yelmo: Hard ____/\___/\______/\____/
Tour de France
Stage 5: Châlons-en-Champagne - Nancy (186km)
Today's stage is similar to stage 1, in that it is generally flat, but has a hilly conclusion that should see attackers like Sagan winning. Generally, the run-in is similar to the 2014 TdF Stage 7, where we saw Matteo Trentin take the honours, but that stage's finish line was located after a descent, whereas here we end on a hill.
Proceedings get underway in Chalons-en-Champagne, which some may know as Chalons-sur-Marne. This town has some beautiful sights, such as the cathedral, Notre-Dame-en-Vaux church and the pictured Hotel de Ville. In 451, the area saw the Battle of Chalons between the Romans and Huns.
The journey east takes us through known cities such as Saint-Dizier and Bar-le-Duc which, like all places in this area, have a rich history, thanks to the numerous attacks and battles which were held here throughout... well, the last two milleniums. The intermediate sprint is past half-way through the stage, and is located in Commercy.
After Toul, we see an early rise that I chose not to categorise. But after that we see the first of the two hills - the Cote de Maron, which, whilst not very selective, may be crucial in terms of positioning before the final climb; lose here, and you won't be able to attack. This is because the descent is very short and the flat section is short but also very technical; it includes multiple turns as the riders wind through Nancy.
Nancy is a historical town that continually grew in the 1700s and saw its culture and architecture expand but its position was dropped after the death of Stanislas Leszczynski, its former duke. The town remained French during most of the historical uprisings in Alsace-Lorraine, except World War II, when it was taken over by Germany. In 2005, president Jacques Chirac opened the famed Place Stanislas which is a UNESCO recognised site.
2.7km before the line, the route begins to climb, and quite steeply; the Cote de Boufflers averages 8% over its 1.3km length. The KOM points are awared 1.4km before the line, and from there its a false flat until the end. I doubt that any attacks from the climb would be succesful; instead, I believe the climb would favour stronger puncheurs who can also ride fast so they can make use of the uphill terrain and then come through on the flat. Either way, this stage should conclude with an interesting arrival.
Start: Chalons-en-Champagne, Place de la République
Finish: Nancy, Avenue de la Resistance
Sprint: Commercy
Climbs
Côte de Maron (cat. 4, 3.2km at 5%)
Côte de Boufflers (cat. 4, 1.3km at 7.9%)
Next stage
The first stage in a mountainous range (you can all guess which...), and a first chance to see who may come through in the GC.
Stage 5: Châlons-en-Champagne - Nancy (186km)
Today's stage is similar to stage 1, in that it is generally flat, but has a hilly conclusion that should see attackers like Sagan winning. Generally, the run-in is similar to the 2014 TdF Stage 7, where we saw Matteo Trentin take the honours, but that stage's finish line was located after a descent, whereas here we end on a hill.
Proceedings get underway in Chalons-en-Champagne, which some may know as Chalons-sur-Marne. This town has some beautiful sights, such as the cathedral, Notre-Dame-en-Vaux church and the pictured Hotel de Ville. In 451, the area saw the Battle of Chalons between the Romans and Huns.
The journey east takes us through known cities such as Saint-Dizier and Bar-le-Duc which, like all places in this area, have a rich history, thanks to the numerous attacks and battles which were held here throughout... well, the last two milleniums. The intermediate sprint is past half-way through the stage, and is located in Commercy.
After Toul, we see an early rise that I chose not to categorise. But after that we see the first of the two hills - the Cote de Maron, which, whilst not very selective, may be crucial in terms of positioning before the final climb; lose here, and you won't be able to attack. This is because the descent is very short and the flat section is short but also very technical; it includes multiple turns as the riders wind through Nancy.
Nancy is a historical town that continually grew in the 1700s and saw its culture and architecture expand but its position was dropped after the death of Stanislas Leszczynski, its former duke. The town remained French during most of the historical uprisings in Alsace-Lorraine, except World War II, when it was taken over by Germany. In 2005, president Jacques Chirac opened the famed Place Stanislas which is a UNESCO recognised site.
2.7km before the line, the route begins to climb, and quite steeply; the Cote de Boufflers averages 8% over its 1.3km length. The KOM points are awared 1.4km before the line, and from there its a false flat until the end. I doubt that any attacks from the climb would be succesful; instead, I believe the climb would favour stronger puncheurs who can also ride fast so they can make use of the uphill terrain and then come through on the flat. Either way, this stage should conclude with an interesting arrival.
Start: Chalons-en-Champagne, Place de la République
Finish: Nancy, Avenue de la Resistance
Sprint: Commercy
Climbs
Côte de Maron (cat. 4, 3.2km at 5%)
Côte de Boufflers (cat. 4, 1.3km at 7.9%)
Next stage
The first stage in a mountainous range (you can all guess which...), and a first chance to see who may come through in the GC.
Vuelta against the clock I
7. 159,6 km Albacete-Murcia - Light Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: After the storm comes the sun, the riders are up for a sprinter stage of 160 km. They will transfer to Albacete for the start and then go south for the first 30 km, slightly rising all the way. From there they will turn southeast and the next 100 km will see drop from a elevation of 900 m to 100 before a flat run-in to the finish in Murcia.
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 753/1403
Sprints: 66 km Hellin
Mountains/hills: None
Other considerations: None
0. stage 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. stage 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. stage 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _____________n/\n__,
3. stage 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe: Medium ____________n_,-´\
4. stage 180,2 km Guadalupe-Ciudad Real: Light __________________
5. stage 228,4 km Valdepenas DO-Linares: Medium ___n___n___n__n__n_n_,-
6. stage 253,0 km Peal De Becerro -El Yelmo: Hard ______/\___/\______/\____/
7. stage 159,6 km Albacete-Murcia: Light ________________
7. 159,6 km Albacete-Murcia - Light Stage
NB: I've decided to change mountain categorization compared to stage profile /lazyness
Stage description: After the storm comes the sun, the riders are up for a sprinter stage of 160 km. They will transfer to Albacete for the start and then go south for the first 30 km, slightly rising all the way. From there they will turn southeast and the next 100 km will see drop from a elevation of 900 m to 100 before a flat run-in to the finish in Murcia.
Elevation Gain/Loss in m: 753/1403
Sprints: 66 km Hellin
Mountains/hills: None
Other considerations: None
0. stage 3,2 km Badajoz-Badajoz: _
1. stage 144,5 km Badajoz-Caceres: Light _______________
2. stage 196,5 km Caceres-Plasencia: Medium _____________n/\n__,
3. stage 183,1 km Plasencia-Guadalupe: Medium ____________n_,-´\
4. stage 180,2 km Guadalupe-Ciudad Real: Light __________________
5. stage 228,4 km Valdepenas DO-Linares: Medium ___n___n___n__n__n_n_,-
6. stage 253,0 km Peal De Becerro -El Yelmo: Hard ______/\___/\______/\____/
7. stage 159,6 km Albacete-Murcia: Light ________________
TRENDING THREADS
-
World Championship 2025: Men’s RR, September 28- Started by Berniece
- Replies: 2K
-
European Championship 2025: Men’s RR, October 5- Started by Berniece
- Replies: 700
-
World Championship 2025: Men’s ITT, September 21- Started by Berniece
- Replies: 942
-
European Championship 2025: Men’s ITT, October 1- Started by Berniece
- Replies: 278
-
Teams & Riders The Remco Evenepoel is the next Eddy Merckx thread- Started by DNP-Old
- Replies: 35K
-
-
Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread- Started by Lequack
- Replies: 40K
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram