Race Design Thread

[Eshnar]

Stage 6 S.Giovanni In Fiore - Policoro 176 kms

Second chance for the sprinters. Possible crosswinds in the final part along the coast.

 

[Eshnar]

STAGE 7 Matera - Gravina In Puglia 28 kms ITT

Short, easy ITT between Basilicata and Puglia. It should shake the gc a bit, just before the first MTF.

 

[Eshnar]

STAGE 8 Andria - Montevergine Di Mercogliano 190 Kms MTF
First MTF to warm up the legs. Though the location is very classic, the side which will be climbed is unusual. The side of Pietrastornina has much steeper grades than its counterpart.

Stay tuned for the second week

Stage 9 Benevento - Termoli MEDIUM **
Stage 10 Pescara - Montelupone MEDIUM ***
Stage 11 Cagli - Monte Petrano MTT ****
Stage 12 Riccione - Treviso FLAT *
Stage 13 Pordenone - Selva Di Val Gardena HIGH *****
Stage 14 Selva Di Val Gardena - Bolzano HIGH ****
Stage 15 Bolzano - Aprica HIGH *****

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Looking at the gradients there and the long section of false flat I have hopes that this could end up more like the awesome Pescocostanzo stage in 2008 than your typical Montevergine stage.

 

[Eshnar]

Looking at the gradients there and the long section of false flat I have hopes that this could end up more like the awesome Pescocostanzo stage in 2008 than your typical Montevergine stage.

Well, that's the idea

 

[craig1985]

I'm racking my brains to see if I could make an interesting Tour of Beijing, or a solid stage race in China, without the dire course that Beijing had. I could put a circuit race in the city of Chongqing (for those playing at home, the 'qi' in 'qing' is pronounced with with a 'ch') as that place is hilly as anything, and to top it off, you can add in some very spicy food as well.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Oooh, yes that would be an interesting idea. Show us where the UCI went wrong with the Tour of Beijing (parcours-wise, at least...)

 

[Libertine Seguros]

As we hit the final weekend, it's time to retrace our steps and head back north to the race's base camp ahead of the grand finale, with a stage suited to the classics men.

Stage 7: El Bolsón - San Carlos de Bariloche, 159km

Following Ruta 40 back towards the north, the undulating first half of the stage retraces our steps from stage 5, before we do two laps of a circuit around Bariloche, including a tricky little short climb which crests just 5km from the finish. At 1,6km it is not exactly the most strenuous, but with gradients of up to 13% it certainly offers the potential to provide some good racing, whether it be from a breakaway of non-threatening riders dropped on Chapelco or La Hoya, or from classics men seeking to disrupt the sprinters.

Climbs:
Alto El Foyel (cat.2) 14,0km @ 2,1%
Paisaje de Tacuifí (cat.3) 4,0km @ 4,2%
Cañadón de la Mosca (cat.1) 13,4km @ 3,8%
Belgrano (Avenida de los Pioneros)(cat.3) 1,6km @ 6,1%
Belgrano (Avenida de los Pioneros)(cat.3) 1,6km @ 6,1%

Naturally, since we're in the race's home, this is where we will stay ahead of tomorrow's finale, where the climbers will have their chance to make a difference again.

El Bolsón:

San Carlos de Bariloche:

 

[Lupetto]

Now that's an idea! Japan is one of the few places big enough and varied enough that you could create a genuine fourth Grand Tour, but small enough that you could viably cover most of the country without stupendously long transfers too.

Actually it is still a big country and difficult to cover all regions without bigger transfers, respectively for proper mountain stages you just can't go from A to B to make some kilometers. For my route, I left out Hokkaidō and concentrated on the south and the central regions of Japan. As this a fantasy tour, this has nothing to do with the nuclear catastrophe. Like stated, it is more a practical thing. Of course you can go from north to south or the other way around. But I don't like this. Same for real Giro, Tour or Vuelta.

Tour of Japan - ツアー・オブ・ジャパン

Teams As this beeing the 4th Grand Tour or a Grand Tour besides the World Tour, I thought of it beeing a highlight for mostly CT, but also PCT teams form all over the world, with a focus on Japanese and Asian teams. Each team is allowed to start with six riders, which in my opinion makes a race harder to controll and more unpredictable. So we can easily have 25 to 30 teams.

So in 2011 the teams could have been:

AUSTRALIA: Genesys Wealth Advisers.

CHINA: Marco Polo Cycling Team.

CHINESE TAIPEI: Giant Kenda Cycling Team.

COLOMBIA: EPM - UNE, Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioquia.

CROATIA: Loborika - Favorit Team.

GERMANY: Team Nutrixxion - Sparkasse.

GREAT BRITAIN: Endura Racing, Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli, Rapha Condor - Sharp.

HONG KONG: Champion System.

IRAN: Azad University Iran, Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team.

ITALY: Androni Giocattoli - C.I.P.I, D'Angelo & Antenucci - Nippo, Miche - Guerciotti.

JAPAN: Aisan Racing Team, Bridgestone - Anchor, Matrix - Powertag, Shimano Racing Team, Utsunomiya - Blitzen.

MALAYSIA: Letua Cycling Team, Terengganu Cycling Team.

NETHERLANDS: Skil - Shimano.

RUSSIA: Itera - Katusha.

SLOVENIA: Perutnina Ptuj.

SOUTH AFRICA: MTN - Qhubeka.

SOUTH KOREA: Geumsan Ginseng Asia.

USA: Team Type 1 - Sanofi, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling.

Date June - September as possible dates.

General classification
Time bonuses at the stage finish: 20 - 12 - 8 seconds.

Points classification
2-3 intermediate sprints on every stage: 6 - 4 - 2 points and seconds bonus.
35, 30, 26, 24, 22, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points on every stage. No varieties on the different stages. It should be a jersey for the most constant rider.

Mountain classification

HC - 40, 35, 30, 26, 22, 18, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1.
1 - 30, 26, 22, 18, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1.
2 - 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1.
3 - 10, 7, 5, 3, 1.
4 - 5, 3, 1.

As you can see, this is the same classification, that was used by the TdF in the 80ies and 90ies.

Young Riders classification
U25.

Jersey could be white.

 

[Lupetto]

Stage 1: Hiroshima series, 19 km

As you might remember , races like Giro 1968 or Vuelta 1988 and 1989 had no prologue, but a really short stage as prelude for the race. For this stage the peloton will be drawn into groups. So there should be 10 races with 18 riders in each race. The winner with the fastest time will get the first leader jersey of this race. But today's times won't be added to the GC, but I think every winner could get a little time bonus of 10 or 20 seconds, don't know right now. So it will be more a show race, but you can gain a bit of time.

The race will start at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and finish in front of Hiroshima-jō. The climbs will feature 2,7k @ 4.4%, 1,7k @ 3.2% and 0,8k @ 2.7%.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Hiroshima-jō

 

[Lupetto]

Stage 2: Hiroshima - Shimonoseki, 201 km

From Hiroshima's Keirin Velodrome we are heading south for the first "real" stage along the coast of Seto-naikai or the Seto Inland Sea. There will be a bit of climbing, but only to determine a rider to wear the KOM jersey. So this is likely going to be a rider from the break. This stage should end in a sprint at Honshū's southwestern tip in Shimonoseki. The finish will be right next to Shimonoseki City University.

Climbs
Cat. 4 // Route 2 (161m), 4,2k @ 2.3%.
Cat. 2 // Mt. Ohira (526m), 8,3k @ 6%.

Hiroshima Keirin Velodrome

Shimonoseki

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Actually it is still a big country and difficult to cover all regions without bigger transfers, respectively for proper mountain stages you just can't go from A to B to make some kilometers. For my route, I left out Hokkaidō and concentrated on the south and the central regions of Japan. As this a fantasy tour, this has nothing to do with the nuclear catastrophe. Like stated, it is more a practical thing. Of course you can go from north to south or the other way around. But I don't like this. Same for real Giro, Tour or Vuelta.

Japan is about the right size for a three week race. You can't cover the entire country in three weeks, which leads to more variety (as I suggested, though I'm quite happy with my Volta a Portugal route and there are other options, a three-week Volta could quite easily become repetitive given that unless you count Madeira and the Azores, you can quite easily cover pretty much the entire country over 21 stages, which doesn't allow for the same competition to host stages that you get with the three GTs and you could feasibly get with your Tour of Japan.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Right, it's time for me to finish our little trip to southern Argentina, and it's time to finish it off with probably the hardest stage of the eight, with a lot of climbing and a summit finish where the climbers can try to pull back the time they inevitably lost in the time trial and on the dirt roads to El Maitén.

Stage 8: Villa Catedral - San Carlos de Bariloche (Cerro Otto), 166km

Starting at the base camp of Argentina's most well-known ski resort, Cerro Catedral, the riders will head down to Perito Moreno on the first of eight difficult circuits with a medium-length climb. At the end of these circuits the riders will take a short flat lakeside road into Bariloche itself, before turning inland to climb up to Cerro Otto, itself another ski resort in the area, but also playing host to South America's most notable Nordic skiing and biathlon facilities. The climb is not as tough as La Hoya, but the riders will have much more climbing in their legs when they get there. It is here that the overall victory will be fought out in style.

Climbs:

Mirador Cerro Catedral (cat.2) 4,8km @ 5,5%
Mirador Cerro Catedral (cat.2) 4,8km @ 5,5%
Mirador Cerro Catedral (cat.2) 4,8km @ 5,5%
Mirador Cerro Catedral (cat.2) 4,8km @ 5,5%
Mirador Cerro Catedral (cat.2) 4,8km @ 5,5%
Mirador Cerro Catedral (cat.2) 4,8km @ 5,5%
Mirador Cerro Catedral (cat.2) 4,8km @ 5,5%
Mirador Cerro Catedral (cat.2) 4,8km @ 5,5%
Cerro Otto (cat.1) 9,4km @ 5,8%

Villa Catedral:

Cerro Otto:

 

[bicing]

Libertine, do you know about every road in the world? And every hill/mountain? You are the Daniel Tammet of cycling routes.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

The Tour of Nullarbor. Not one for Libertine, this one...

Actually, in all seriousness, and without wanting to steal ACF's thunder, I'll post up a 3 week Grand Tour of Australia. Obviously you could only take in a small part of the country, and obviously it would need to be the south eastern corner, but you could just about put something together worthy of a GT. I'm thinking a week or so in Tasmania, a week in Victoria - around Melbourne, the Australian Alpes and Yarra Ranges, and then a final week in NSW and ACT - again, taking in parts of the Great Dividing Range, and finishing up in Sydney.

 

[auscyclefan94]

You do realise that the Tour of Nullabor is going to dead flat every stage? I'd hate to be racing in such weather during the summer!

 

[craig1985]

Lupetto, make sure you include the Kuragari Touge in there:

IMO of course

 

[craig1985]

You do realise that the Tour of Nullabor is going to dead flat every stage? I'd hate to be racing in such weather during the summer!

About as entertaining as the Tour of Qatar. At least Oman has a MTF in there, and if the race was held at another time of the year, they could go over some 2000m passes.

 

[rghysens]

Last three stages of my fantasy 2013 tdf.

Stage 18 is a real fantasy stage, as it needs some (re)paving of roads, and lighting in some tunnels. It's a tribute to the classic stage finish in Briançon, with a final over the cols de Vars and d'Izoard. But with the inclusion of the col de Parpaillon and the col des Fabres, it becomes a lot more difficult than with the col d'Allos.

climbs:
col des Fabres: 1st cat, 11.4km @ 7.2%, 1617m, 152km to go
col de Parpaillon: HC, 26.8km @ 7%, 2661m, 105km to go
col de Vars: 1st cat, 11.5km @ 6.3%, 2111m, 70km to go
col d'Izoard: HC, 15.5km @ 7.1%, 2360m, 21km to go

Stage 19 is the queen stage of the tour, from Briançon to l'Alpe d'Huez. It includes the col du Galibier, col du Mollard, col de Glandon and l'Alpe d'Huez.

The same day they go to Grenoble and with the tgv to Paris, where the tour finishes the next day with a 150km long flat stage.

 

[roundabout]

Here's my version of the Tour in the spirit of Pescheux with more TT kilometers but also with a bit more mountains and visiting places not often used by the Tour. As the limit is 4 images per post it will be 3 posts.

Prologue: Metz-Metz, 8km. Nothing special and very much for specialist time trialists.

Stage 1:Metz-Saint-Die-des-Vosges,142 km. A short flat stage for the sprinters.

Stage 2: Saint-Die-des-Vosges-Tete du Rouge-Gazon, 213km. As it's a fantasy Tour the first MTF comes on day 3 to Tete du Rouge-Gazon. A long stage with the Ballon d'Alsace the main difficulty before the final climb.

Climbs of cat 2 and above:
Ballon d'Alsace: 16.3km @ 4.3%, 20km to go
Tete du Rouge-Gazon: 11.4km @ 4.8%

Stage 3:Belfort-Chalon-sur-Saone, 203km. A flat stage heading for the next mountain range.

Stage 4: Chalon-sur-Saone-Col de la Faucille, 206km. A stage in the Jura partially retracing the route of stage 7 of the 2010 Tour before climbing the Cote de Lajoux and the final climb to Col de la Faucille.

Climbs:
Col de la Croix de la Serra: 15.7km @ 4.3%, 45km to go
Cote de Lajoux: 17.9km @ 4.2%, 12km to go
Col de la Faucille, 8km @ 4%

Stage 5: Col de la Faucille-Culoz, 160km and first big climbs.

Climbs:
Col de Cuvery: 10.9km @ 5.8 %, 94km to go
Col de la Biche: 7.4km @ 8.4% ,55km to go
Col du Grand-Colombier: 15.3km @ 7.8%, 21km to go

Stage 6: Bellegarde-Albertville, 134km. Short pretty flat stage with Col de Tamié at 15km to go the main difficulty to possibly upset the plans for the sprinters.

Stage 7: Albertville-La Mure, 198km. First Alps stage following the Isere to Grenoble before starting the climbs.

Climbs:
Chamrousse: 27km @ 5.5%, 88km to go
Col de la Morte: 15.3km @ 6.6% ,56km to go
Col de Parquetout: 7km @ 9.8%, 20km to go
La Mure: 4.3km @ 5.6%

 

[roundabout]

Stage 8: Gap-Col Saint-Martin, 200km. Last stage before the rest day

Climbs:
Col de la Cayolle: 29.2km @ 4.1%, about 110km to go
Valberg: 13.2km @ 6.7%, about 65km to go
Col de la Sinne: 11km @ 7.6%, about 33km to go
Col Saint-Martin: 16.4km @ 6.2%

A well-earned rest day comes with a transfer to Montelimar.

Stage 9: Montelimar-Saint-Etienne, 177km. A flat stage rising slightly toward the finish.

Stage 10: Lyon-Chalmazel, 167km. A medium mountain stage to the tiny ski resort of Chalmazel.

Climbs:
Col de la Baracuchet: 19.1km @ 4.6 %, about 71km to go
Col du Chansert: 9km @ 6.3%, about 34km to go
Col du Beal, 13.6km @ 6.6 %, 10km to go
.

Stage 11: Issoire-Murat, 166km. Another medium mountain stage only with shorter sharper climbs.

Climbs:
Pas de Peyrol: 9.6km @ 6.4%, 54km to go
Col du Perthus: 4.5km @ 8.5 %, 38km to go
Col de la Molede: 7.7km @ 5.5%, 8km to go

Stage 12: Rodez-Narbonne, 206km. A flat stage for the sprinters.

Stage 13: Perpignan-Perpignan, 44km. First long ITT for the stronger roleurs to recover the lost time.

Stage 14: Perpignan-Ax-les-Thermes, 164km. First stage in the Pyrenees.

Climbs:
Col de Jau: 23km @ 5.1%, about 70km to go
Col de Garavel: 7.5km @ 5.7%, 51km to go
Port de Pailheres: 15km @ 8%, 20km to go.

Rest day 2.

 

[roundabout]

Stage 15: Ax-les-Thermes-Guzet-Neige, 184km.

Climbs:
Col du Pradel: 14.6km @ 6.6%, 169km to go
Col de Port: 17.5km @ 4.4%, 54km to go
Col d’Agnes: 11km @ 6.7%, 24km to go
Guzet-Neige: 12.7km @ 6% (5km@7% + 6.3km @ 7.4%)

Stage 16: Saint-Girons-Pau, 150km. Flat stage before the final day in the mountains

Stage 17: Pau-Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, 229km. Final big mountain stage.

Climbs:
Col de Marie-Blanque: 11.3km @ 5.2 %, 179km to go
Col de Soudet: 13km @ 7.7%, 133km to go
Col de Bagargui: 9km @ 8.9%, 91km to go
Col de Burdincurutcheta: 9km @ 8.9%, 54km to go
Col d'Arnostéguy: 14km @6.6%,18km to go

Stage 18: Mont-de-Marsan-Perigeux, 207km. A flat stage that becomes rolling close to the finish. Another chance for the sprinters.

Stage 19: Bordeaux-Saint Emilion, 57km, second long ITT.

Stage 20: Paris-Paris, 145 km approximately to finish.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Sprinters may hate you, but I sure don't. The La Mure finish is good, and the French Basque stage has epic written all over it.

 

[Ferminal]

Nice job, using few of the usual climbs. Only 21km from the top of Grand Colombier too, what happened to 42km!?

 

[Lupetto]

Lupetto, make sure you include the Kuragari Touge in there:

IMO of course

Yeah, I've seen that climb. Looks a lot like it will be there, too.

ToJ will continue tomorrow with a medium mountain stage or Vuelta sprint stage.