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Race Design Thread

Page 18 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
findORElevation3.php

Aubisque, Spandelles, Tourmalet, Hourquette d'Ancizan, Azet, Peyresourde.

6 cols. ;)
 
Feb 12, 2010
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A few hectic weeks are done with, now it's time to continue my (first?) stage race set in Norway. In stage 4 we start in Ørsta, and head out for what will be a rolling stage, that ends with a short stingy climb in Stryn. For the first kilometres the rider's will cycle around the peninsula. After the run around the route goes south, over two small hills before it reaches Hornindalsvatnet, Norways deepest lake. We go around the lake and up over Markane, homeplace of biathlete Tarjei Bø and down towards Stryn. When we hit Stryn we go into the final climb which should give good opportunities for attacks, at 4,4 km with 6.8% incline.

This is the route

Our starting town Ørsta

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Fyrde

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Hornindalsvatnet - image by Maciej Duczynski at Panoramio

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Finally Stryn

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Dancing on the Pedals said:
Not strictly speaking a race design of my own, but came across this...

http://www.velopeloton.com/6-tour-de...ols-challenge/

Oh how I would love the Tour to have a go at this :)

And on each climb, the breakaway flies head first into the heads of state as they climb and we get a head on collision? Most of those roads aren't passes (Cam Basque, Luz Ardiden and Hautacam certainly aren't cols and don't have roads big enough to support the Tour on both sides), and even those that are, it looks like he only took one side and rode back down the same one (Tourmalet).

You could certainly make some interesting stages down there, but at the same time it's hard to do something that hasn't been done before with such overused climbs as Aspin and Tourmalet. It'll be interesting seeing the results nonetheless.

cartman said:
A few hectic weeks are done with, now it's time to continue my (first?) stage race set in Norway. In stage 4 we start in Ørsta, and head out for what will be a rolling stage, that ends with a short stingy climb in Stryn. For the first kilometres the rider's will cycle around the peninsula. After the run around the route goes south, over two small hills before it reaches Hornindalsvatnet, Norways deepest lake. We go around the lake and up over Markane, homeplace of biathlete Tarjei Bø and down towards Stryn. When we hit Stryn we go into the final climb which should give good opportunities for attacks, at 4,4 km with 6.8% incline.
I was wondering if you'd given up or forgotten about your race. Good to see it back, I love Norway.

Bonus points for mentioning biathlon as well of course ;)
 
May 24, 2010
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Superbagnere was the first climbI ever did in the Pyrenees and this is a nice wee run.....wish they'd stick this in a tour

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Lannemezan to Superbagneres
195.9Km
6 Cols...... and a cheeky MTF

Col d'Aspin 12.6km @ 6.1%
Hourquette d'Anzican 9.3 @ 6.0%
Col de Peyresourde 19.5km @ 4.8%
Col des Ares 8.1km @ 7.7%
Col de Mente 10.7km @ 8.2
Col de Portillion 10.3km @ 5.9%
Superbagnere 16.9km @ 6.5%

I do wish map my ride would ignore obvious false flats
 
Siriuscat said:
Superbagnere was the first climbI ever did in the Pyrenees and this is a nice wee run.....wish they'd stick this in a tour

picture.php


Lannemezan to Superbagneres
195.9Km
6 Cols...... and a cheeky MTF

Col d'Aspin 12.6km @ 6.1%
Hourquette d'Anzican 9.3 @ 6.0%
Col de Peyresourde 19.5km @ 4.8%
Col des Ares 8.1km @ 7.7%
Col de Mente 10.7km @ 8.2
Col de Portillion 10.3km @ 5.9%
Superbagnere 16.9km @ 6.5%

I do wish map my ride would ignore obvious false flats

When it does that, I just reference climbbybike or altimetrias.net for climb statistics, or map the climb in isolation separately to get a more accurate reading.
 
May 6, 2009
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I'm going to cheat a little, but I will try make my version of the Tour of Beijing. As in cheating, I will venture outside of Beijing province, but I sort of have too, as Beijing isn't that big.
 
May 6, 2009
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Donggang to Dalian

But before that, we will race from Donggang (not that far away from North Korea) to Dalian as a separate warm-up race:

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That is a 291km race, take that.

Travel from Dalian (which is on a peninsula) around the bay to Beijing, or a short flight from Dalian to Beijing for the riders.
 
Mar 13, 2009
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craig1985 said:
But before that, we will race from Donggang (not that far away from North Korea) to Dalian as a separate warm-up race:

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That is a 291km race, take that.

Travel from Dalian (which is on a peninsula) around the bay to Beijing, or a short flight from Dalian to Beijing for the riders.

vertical scale?
 
Jun 16, 2009
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craig1985 said:
I'm going to cheat a little, but I will try make my version of the Tour of Beijing. As in cheating, I will venture outside of Beijing province, but I sort of have too, as Beijing isn't that big.
Well you can't call it the Tour of Beijing then...:rolleyes:
 
May 6, 2009
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auscyclefan94 said:
Well you can't call it the Tour of Beijing then...:rolleyes:

Settle down. Did you know Paris - Roubaix hasn't started in Paris since 1969 but it's still called that anyway? If we wanted to be more accurate, we would call the TDU the Tour of Greater Adelaide.
 
Jun 16, 2009
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craig1985 said:
Settle down. Did you know Paris - Roubaix hasn't started in Paris since 1969 but it's still called that anyway? If we wanted to be more accurate, we would call the TDU the Tour of Greater Adelaide.

Yes but it is suppose to be a race in the region of Beijing. You can't compare a historic event like Paris - Roubaix. Cycling has changed so of course they aren't going to start in Roubaix.
 
I'm going to bring back a long forgotten (and seldom disputed) race, continuing on from my Vuelta a Bariloche.

The Vuelta a la Argentina was first run in 1951 (won by Rik van Steenbergen, no less). An attempted resurrection of it in 1991 was aborted, before they brought it back in 1999, as a 12-stage, two week race. The chaos that was the 2000 edition killed it off again, with illness, intrigue, radical redesigning of stages at the last minute, judges openly biasing their calls in favour of Argentine riders, but most importantly a horrific mistake where a truck got onto the course during stage 7, colliding with and killing Relax-Fuenlabrada's Saúl Morales. The péloton neutralised the stage and refused to take the course for stage 8a. There was an attempt to resurrect the race in 2007, but this was unsuccessful and the race remains consigned to the scrapheap of history.

Now, however, I'm going to have a look at bringing it back. Now, naturally, a country the size of Argentina cannot be truly comprehensively covered with even a three-week race, but patterned after the major national Tours of central and South America, I'm going to make this a two week stage race. As a result, good areas for racing such as the excellent hilly territory in the south around Comodoro Rivadavia are going to go unused. I was also originally going to include a stage around San Carlos de Bariloche, but I felt that as that would probably require two aeroplane transfers in as many days, this was probably impractical, and besides, I've just given the residents of the Patagonian resorts their own Tour. As a result this could be more realistically be described as a Tour of the upper half of Argentina, but then that makes it no different to the real life Vueltas.

I'm hoping to create a real all-rounder's course, with something to utilise nearly every skill a road rider could conceivably be expected to have.

Anyway, on with the racing.

Stage 1: Mar del Plata - Mar del Plata (TTT), 23,2km

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We start with a shortish Team Time Trial in the country's biggest beach resort. Starting at the Complejo Deportivo Panamericano, It's a flat out drag race of 4 dead straight kilometres before a little loop around a park leading onto Avenida Peralta Ramos, from which we will follow along the seafront boulevards until reaching Plaza Colón, whereupon we will turn around and return from whence we came on a simple out-and-back type of course finishing at the city velodrome, a reminder of the country's track heritage. Although there are a fair few corners around the seafront, this one should favour the pure power teams, but without being too long so as not to eliminate any team from contention entirely.

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There are no categorised climbs (as you might expect in a team time trial), not that it would be easy to find one here. Still, the riders may have to look out for wind coming in from the Atlantic, as this may have an effect on some of the teams, what with all of the course bar the first and last 4km being side on to the sea.

Velodrome:
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Mar del Plata seafront (the teams will head down the road on the right before returning on the one on the left):
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auscyclefan94 said:
Yes but it is suppose to be a race in the region of Beijing. You can't compare a historic event like Paris - Roubaix. Cycling has changed so of course they aren't going to start in Roubaix.

The Tour de Langkawi started in 1996. Langkawi is the name of an island archipelago that the race seldom visits anymore (it used to start on the main island of Langkawi). It would be more accurately called the Tour of Malaysia.
 
Next up, we head inland with a stage very similar to one in the 1999 edition, where we give out our first mountain points and hopefully open up some smallish gaps on the GC to set us up nicely in the early running.

Stage 2: Mar del Plata - Tandil (Castillo Morisco), 182km

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This stage is at an almost continuous (very) gradual uphill, rising to 250m above sea level at the finish. Certainly the general stage shouldn't be enough to split the pack up, but the short climb in Tandil to finish, climbing through Parque Independencía to finish at Castillo Morisco, will be interesting. At just 1,6km @ 5,8%, the climb is not especially imposing on paper, but this is something of a misnomer; the first kilometre is at 7.9%, ending with a 200m stretch at around 17%. After this there is a very short downhill patch before we go up above 12% for a 200m stretch again (maxing out at about 15%) just as we approach the finish. Certainly this is one for the puncheurs to get their teeth stuck into, while the climbers may want to seek some advantage here, since there are precious few opportunities for them in this part of the country.

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Climbs:
Castillo Morisco (Parque Independencía)(cat.3) 1,6km @ 5,8%

Wind may again be a factor here as well, but this is not one for the sprinters. The inconsistent nature of the climb may allow the power climbers to feel they can blast over it, but I would expect the group to be thinned out considerably by such a climb, and though gaps may be small, we will see a bit of action in the overall as the favourites jockey for position.

Tandil:
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Castillo Morisco (finish):
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Feb 12, 2010
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Stage 5 starts in Stryn and ends at the highest road in Norway, near Galdhøpiggen, suffice to say it's a hard stage. The route goes eastwards from Stryn, and up the old road over Strynefjell reaching Ottadalen. The riders go down the valley untill the hit Lom where they turn right and go up Bøverdalen. The route continues up the valley until the road to Juvasshytta, which is the final ascent of the day, and a worthy MTF. The two ascents today are 12 km at 7.8% and 12.3 km at 10%, should hurt the lungs aswell as the legs.

This is the route

Oppstrynsvatnet seen from Hjelle - Image by Maciej Duczynski

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View westward from Strynefjell

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Strynefjell at autumn

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Final road in goad condition

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After a short transfer by bus to the north, it's time for a mid-length stage heading into the outlying towns and cities outside the country's capital, Buenos Aires.

Stage 3: Las Flores - González Catán, 161km

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Though we were able to use one of the very few hill ranges in the area yesterday, this is about as flat as it gets, as the riders head through the vast plains of the Humid Pampas. There is not a single categorised climb and only a handful of turns to break up the péloton's continual drag onwards and, well, flatwards. This one is not going to be a good televisual spectacle, until we get into the final kilometres. There's an interesting route into González Catán from Ruta 3, which might give attackers the faintest of hopes that they can get something out of the day, but even though South American cycling is not as tightly controlled as in Europe, this is more than likely going to end in a sprint in one of the least salubrious places you could want, hopefully detracting a little from the ugliness of the racing.

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Las Flores:
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González Catán:
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roundabout said:
findORElevation3.php

Aubisque, Spandelles, Tourmalet, Hourquette d'Ancizan, Azet, Peyresourde.

6 cols. ;)

Spandelles is not currently possible because of the state of the road. The descent is not safe. Probably part of the reason why the Tour continues to ignore it, despite its location near Hautacam and Lourdes and it NOT being located in a National Park or nature preserve. Too bad, really.
 
We're going to continue with the pan flat stages, but this time with a more dramatic setting, and with the riders taking to the setting individually rather than en masse.

Stage 4: Buenos Aires - Buenos Aires, 29,3km (ITT)

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Starting and finishing at Plaza de la Republica, adjacent to the famous Obelisk, this is a medium-length city centre ITT which will take in many of Buenos Aires' most well-known sites, looping to the northwest towards the velodrome and Jorge Newbery Airport before heading back towards the centre, also visiting Plaza del Congreso and Pirámide de Mayo along with the Cathedral and Parque Colón on its cross-shaped closing stages. Technical sections are not large in number, and roads are straight and wide, so this is absolutely a time trial for the powerful specialists to grind a time out on.

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Certainly so far Bavarianrider would approve of this route. The fact of the matter is, the Pampas is a key part of Argentina's landscape, and a lot of the riders they've given the péloton are best suited to the flatlands, whether they be time trial-oriented (Giacinti, Medici, Garrido), sprinters (the 2 Haedo brothers, the 217 Richezes) or classics men (Flecha). However, the country isn't totally flat, as we shall find out, so the time trial specialists, rouleurs and their ilk had better concentrate on taking time while they can and not sightseeing while they're in the capital...

The start-finish area at Plaza de la Republica:
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Plaza del Congreso:
Plaza%2Bdel%2BCongreso.jpg
 
cartman said:
Stage 5 starts in Stryn and ends at the highest road in Norway, near Galdhøpiggen, suffice to say it's a hard stage. The route goes eastwards from Stryn, and up the old road over Strynefjell reaching Ottadalen. The riders go down the valley untill the hit Lom where they turn right and go up Bøverdalen. The route continues up the valley until the road to Juvasshytta, which is the final ascent of the day, and a worthy MTF. The two ascents today are 12 km at 7.8% and 12.3 km at 10%, should hurt the lungs aswell as the legs.

Juvasshytta is enough to kill most people off on its own, without sticking another cat.1/HC climb in first! Seriously, the Strynefjell road looks amazing, and this would be an epic stage. I just wish some of these areas were closer to urban centres to make them more viable for racing, because it looks like an awesome cycling road. I suppose the problem is that obviously some of these roads are only available for a few months a year because of conditions so far north, so timing is an all important factor in creating a really good genuine Tour of Norway.

This photo is obviously a motorcycle tourist, but I think it showcases Juvasshytta's other benefit besides its insane 10% average gradients:

juvasshytta1.jpg
 
Aug 31, 2011
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Libertine Seguros said:
And on each climb, the breakaway flies head first into the heads of state as they climb and we get a head on collision? Most of those roads aren't passes (Cam Basque, Luz Ardiden and Hautacam certainly aren't cols and don't have roads big enough to support the Tour on both sides), and even those that are, it looks like he only took one side and rode back down the same one (Tourmalet).

You could certainly make some interesting stages down there, but at the same time it's hard to do something that hasn't been done before with such overused climbs as Aspin and Tourmalet. It'll be interesting seeing the results nonetheless.
Appreciate that it wouldn't work on a logistical scale at all, just came across it and liked the idea of a multi climb stage like that.
 
Libertine Seguros said:
Juvasshytta is enough to kill most people off on its own, without sticking another cat.1/HC climb in first! Seriously, the Strynefjell road looks amazing, and this would be an epic stage. I just wish some of these areas were closer to urban centres to make them more viable for racing, because it looks like an awesome cycling road. I suppose the problem is that obviously some of these roads are only available for a few months a year because of conditions so far north, so timing is an all important factor in creating a really good genuine Tour of Norway.

This photo is obviously a motorcycle tourist, but I think it showcases Juvasshytta's other benefit besides its insane 10% average gradients:

something - Sognefjell - Juvasshytta would be better than the stage cartman proposed, in my opinion. While Sognefjell is an easier climb than Strynefjell, it's not quite THAT far from the final climb. Also, the scenery is even more spectacular, IMO.
 

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