Race Design Thread

[craig1985]

My first race will be a 3 day Tour of the Gold Coast, you could hold it the weekend before the Sun Tour, I mean the foreign squads will be arriving about a week before the Sun Tour to get used to the jet lag and the climate, and where else but the Gold Coast? Ok in stage 3 I will go into NSW for a bit, but's a lot better than calling it the Tour of the Gold Coast and Northern NSW. Hey if it's alright for the Tour de Suisse to have stages in Austria and Lichtenstein, then it's alright for me.

For stage 1 it will be a stock standard 37.7 TTT, starting in the suburb of Southport (where all stages will begin) in the Broadwater precinct, where will turn left to head up to The Spit and past Seaworld and turn around (it's about 4.8km each way), past the start area and up to the suburb of Paradise Point and where the final turn around point will go past Sovereign Island where houses normally go for at least $4m. It's rather flat although if there is a strong northerly (which you will get on the final run back to the finish) or southerly (which you will get when going out to Paradise Point) you can really hammer it, but if you have a head or cross wind it can be difficult.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/826155

 

[nobilis]

Nobilis knows the country better than what I do, but I think we can get a quite hilly/mountainous Tour of Lebanon happening.

Well it has been a dream for me to make this happen. A 1 week tour there would be a very tough one. WHen i have time, i will think of a scenario and will share it with you.
Basically, the topography in Lebanon is a thin coastline, then parrallel to it 2 mountain ranges, the Mount lebanon and the Anti Lebanon with the Bekaa Valley between them. The highest peak with tarmac is at 2600 meters (although the culminating poit is at 3083m) and whcih is part of my training routes in summer.
During our last National Championship, which is a stage race, we had 2 stages with MTF. The advantage is that one can start hitting many HC and cat. 1 climbs by just leaving the coastline, which is the case in most regions in the Mediterranean basin, and the first ramps are usually very steep.
I also remember in one of the climbs we started with a temperature of 26 °C and finished at 6°C.
Anyway, what annoys me is to see boring races being held in Qatar, and with WT status whereas a tour in Lebanon could bring much more excitement. But again, it's all about power and money, and of course political stability.

 

[nobilis]

I think it's safe to say that if Saxo Bank were to do this race we wouldn't see Ran Margaliot on the startline.

Ironically, in 2010, I was part of the Lebanese team in Tour of Cyprus and our plane and the Israeli plane arrived the same time therefore the organisers sent us the same van. Since, we became close friends with all the members of their team.

 

[CasperVg]

Swaziland CycloChallenge

Decided to have a go at a hilly one-day race in Swaziland, but it ended up more mountainous than I expected. Still, I thought it was a nice race so decided to post it anyhow. So, here it is; the first annual Swaziland CycloChallenge, an attempt by the Swazi government to attract more tourists to it's beautiful national parks through televising a cycling race around the entire world.

Swaziland CycloChallenge (September 20th) - 201.1 km - Mountainous

Held in late September, the weather is expected to be fair, with temperatures around 18°C. Still, the riders will have to drink plenty, as it's a fairly long race with quite a few climbs ahead of them. So, they won't have much time to admire the extremely beautiful landscapes they will pass through.

The first hundred kilometres are not quite hard, they're more rolling than mountainous, but after all, that's still the appetizer for the riders, as more is yet to come.

Climb 1 (km 104 - 110): avg. 7.7% (max 14.1%)
Climb 2 (km 130 - 140): avg. 6.9% (max 17.6%)
Climb 3 (km 158 - 167): avg. 8.6% (max 19.6%)

Then there's a few kilometres of gradual descent, before we approach the final difficulty of the Swaziland CycloChallenge:

Climb 4 (km 189 - 193): avg. 6.0% (max. 09.6%)

After that it's a pretty technical descent towards the finish in Mbabane, the administrative capital of Swaziland.


Hope you like it, comments are constructive criticism is always appreciated!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

That's nice and very, very different.

 

[craig1985]

Decided to have a go at a hilly one-day race in Swaziland, but it ended up more mountainous than I expected. Still, I thought it was a nice race so decided to post it anyhow. So, here it is; the first annual Swaziland CycloChallenge, an attempt by the Swazi government to attract more tourists to it's beautiful national parks through televising a cycling race around the entire world.

Swaziland CycloChallenge (September 20th) - 201.1 km - Mountainous

Held in late September, the weather is expected to be fair, with temperatures around 18°C. Still, the riders will have to drink plenty, as it's a fairly long race with quite a few climbs ahead of them. So, they won't have much time to admire the extremely beautiful landscapes they will pass through.

The first hundred kilometres are not quite hard, they're more rolling than mountainous, but after all, that's still the appetizer for the riders, as more is yet to come.

Climb 1 (km 104 - 110): avg. 7.7% (max 14.1%)
Climb 2 (km 130 - 140): avg. 6.9% (max 17.6%)
Climb 3 (km 158 - 167): avg. 8.6% (max 19.6%)

Then there's a few kilometres of gradual descent, before we approach the final difficulty of the Swaziland CycloChallenge:

Climb 4 (km 189 - 193): avg. 6.0% (max. 09.6%)

After that it's a pretty technical descent towards the finish in Mbabane, the administrative capital of Swaziland.


Hope you like it, comments are constructive criticism is always appreciated!

I would imagine the roads wouldn't necessarily be in the best condition either.

 

[craig1985]

Tour of the Gold Coast stage 2 - Southport to Beaudesert - 145km

So after yesterday's TTT, we commence stage 2, a 145km trip taking from stage 1's start in Southport and all the way out to Beaudesert. A gentle roll out through Main Beach and Surfers Paradise before turning onto the Isle of Capri with the aptly named Via Roma (this I'm not making up), and more or less a rolling 27km trip until Springbook. When the peloton hits the suburb of Mudgeerbra then there is undulating hills until we hit the first climb of Springbrook where the climb proper starts after 33km and takes us to the 41km mark where we will take a right hand turn onto Pine Creek Road where it is a rapid descent (easily hit 90km/h) to Nerang-Murwillumbah Road where a right turn will introduce to some more climbing but it's not much and before the descent to turn on to Mt Nathan Rd where the peloton will hit a 10% climb for 3 km. The next climb for the peloton will be Mt Tamborine (after going over 1km climb at 12%) at the 88km mark where it will be a 2.1km at 13%, a short descent, another 15% wall, and then another 13% climb for another 2km, before the very rapid descent into the township of Canungra where will follow this road until Beaudsesrt, but there is a small climb 5km out from the finish and you can expect some attacks on there, it should end in a sprint, but if a well organized group gets together then a small break can succeed.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/826662

Surfers Paradise:

Mt Tamborine:

Rest assured Stage 3 will not be easy.

 

[auscyclefan94]

From there, we meander through rolling roads to Churchill and brown coal country, and past the single most polluting electricity generator in the western world, Hazelwood Power Station. This Beatles-era monstrosity pumps out 1.5 tonnes of CO2 for every kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, three times as much as a modern combined-cycle gas-fired power station. Victoria's brown coal electricity generation is a prime contributor to Australia's appalling record on greenhouse emissions.

The riders continue on their merry way, south of Traralgon and past the almost as polluting Loy Yang power station. The narrow roads are not particularly well-sheltered here, so if anybody has the energy and the wind direction is suitable, the peloton can be splintered. But you'd want to look at the parcours for subsequent stages first.

Good ole Hazelwood. Pumping out that lovely CO2 for all the plants!

Anyway, loving your work here but the stages through Sale and then to Ninety Mile beach will be mostly flat stages?

 

[karlboss]

Well it has been a dream for me to make this happen. A 1 week tour there would be a very tough one. WHen i have time, i will think of a scenario and will share it with you.
Basically, the topography in Lebanon is a thin coastline, then parrallel to it 2 mountain ranges, the Mount lebanon and the Anti Lebanon with the Bekaa Valley between them. The highest peak with tarmac is at 2600 meters (although the culminating poit is at 3083m) and whcih is part of my training routes in summer.
During our last National Championship, which is a stage race, we had 2 stages with MTF. The advantage is that one can start hitting many HC and cat. 1 climbs by just leaving the coastline, which is the case in most regions in the Mediterranean basin, and the first ramps are usually very steep.
I also remember in one of the climbs we started with a temperature of 26 °C and finished at 6°C.
Anyway, what annoys me is to see boring races being held in Qatar, and with WT status whereas a tour in Lebanon could bring much more excitement. But again, it's all about power and money, and of course political stability.

What a great idea, you could throw time bonuses in or make it a points competition to ensure that the best all round cyclist is the national champion.

 

[craig1985]

Well it has been a dream for me to make this happen. A 1 week tour there would be a very tough one. WHen i have time, i will think of a scenario and will share it with you.
Basically, the topography in Lebanon is a thin coastline, then parrallel to it 2 mountain ranges, the Mount lebanon and the Anti Lebanon with the Bekaa Valley between them. The highest peak with tarmac is at 2600 meters (although the culminating poit is at 3083m) and whcih is part of my training routes in summer.
During our last National Championship, which is a stage race, we had 2 stages with MTF. The advantage is that one can start hitting many HC and cat. 1 climbs by just leaving the coastline, which is the case in most regions in the Mediterranean basin, and the first ramps are usually very steep.
I also remember in one of the climbs we started with a temperature of 26 °C and finished at 6°C.
Anyway, what annoys me is to see boring races being held in Qatar, and with WT status whereas a tour in Lebanon could bring much more excitement. But again, it's all about power and money, and of course political stability.

How did you go in your national championships? I like the idea of a stage race with two MTF's, certainly something original and would be cool to see if other countries could do something similar.

Qatar (and Oman) doesn't have WT status, but yeah they do have a lot of cash.

Ironically, in 2010, I was part of the Lebanese team in Tour of Cyprus and our plane and the Israeli plane arrived the same time therefore the organisers sent us the same van. Since, we became close friends with all the members of their team.

That's usually the case isn't it? The people don't give a **** and get on fine with each other but it's the one's in charge that make life difficult for everybody.

 

[rgmerk]

Good ole Hazelwood. Pumping out that lovely CO2 for all the plants!

Anyway, loving your work here but the stages through Sale and then to Ninety Mile beach will be mostly flat stages?

Yeah, I did consider making the transition stage after Baw Baw one really long flat stage, or have a long bus trip afterwards. Neither option sounded particularly attractive.

One more flat transition stage and then the fun really begins. Or was I supposed to follow up Baw Baw with the Dargo climb

 

[rgmerk]

Climber's Tour of Victoria - stage 3 Sale to Paynesville

Note: as Libertine Seguros pointed out, this should be stage 4.

A short and relatively benign stage today, with some nice scenery to lull any riders who haven't looked at the profiles for the next two days into a false sense of security!

Map and profile. 145 km.

Categorized climbs: none (you could maybe put a cat 4 at the bump at Mount Taylor if you really wanted).

After rolling out of Sale, the riders make their way to Maffra. While the Port of Maffra may sound interesting, riders would be advised to continue at speed past it lest they end up covered in flies. Thank you, dairy cattle!

Next up, Stratford, which, yes, is on the Avon River. It's better known to cyclists as the start of the infamous Stratford-Dargo classic. While we avoid them today, the ranges will shine in the distance. The road rolls a little, but hardly enough to trouble the peloton. The tree-lined roads will also help to shelter the riders from crosswinds.

Turning to the south-east, away from the ranges, the riders have a lovely little descent along the outskirts of the Mitchell River National Park. The Mitchell River is the largest unregulated river in Victoria, and the park contains some stunningly beautiful areas:

Leaving the park, the road remains sheltered most of the way to Glenaladale, where the road becomes more exposed. There's not a lot of people around here, so the only spectators might well be the odd farmer. Hopefully, they'll not be moving sheep or cattle when the race comes through!

The remaining obstacle for the riders comes as the road turns north to the optimistically named Mount Taylor and Clifton Creek.

We head south into Bairnsdale, where the Mitchell River joins Lake King, part of the Gippsland Lakes. The salt water lake system, protected from Bass Strait by a dune system and the Ninety Mile Beach, is one of Victoria's most popular tourist areas. Unsurprisingly, the road is pretty much dead flat as we continue to the finish in Paynesville along the shores of the Newlands Arm:

If the riders are lucky, somebody might be able to take them out for an evening sail on the lakes, where they can try to catch a nice fish or two, or just see something like this:

A relatively easy day for the peloton, sure. But they're going to need it.

 

[craig1985]

Libertine, my Tour of Beijing is underway with a TT and a MTF so far, one that even the Giro would be proud of.

 

[karlboss]

RGmerk, Dargo, omeo, falls, mt beauty, bright? something like that? If you don't, i'm posting as a I day race

 

[nobilis]

How did you go in your national championships? I like the idea of a stage race with two MTF's, certainly something original and would be cool to see if other countries could do something similar.

Qatar (and Oman) doesn't have WT status, but yeah they do have a lot of cash.

Well, i managed to do only 4 races out of 5 because i had no more leave days and had to get back to France. But i was 4th overall before that. And I had all sort of problems but i'll tell you in the appropriate thread.

That's usually the case isn't it? The people don't give a **** and get on fine with each other but it's the one's in charge that make life difficult for everybody.

exactly. Personnaly I don't give a **** and for me cycling is a universal language that helps toconnect to any other person from whatever background. Sports is a good tool for peace and bringing people together.

 

[nobilis]

What a great idea, you could throw time bonuses in or make it a points competition to ensure that the best all round cyclist is the national champion.

I think it's a good idea. And I know that there are many minor countries in cycling that do it.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

A short and relatively benign stage today, with some nice scenery to lull any riders who haven't looked at the profiles for the next two days into a false sense of security!

Map and profile. 145 km.

Just so you know, you titled that post stage 3, but according to your previous numbering it's stage 4.

 

[rgmerk]

Yes and Yes

Karlboss: something along those lines, though not exactly Unfortunately, the Dargo High Plains Road isn't sealed all the way through, or I would have used it.

Sorry the race is coming a bit slow, but I'm trying to write some decent description and find nice photos too.

Libertine Seguros: Yep. Sorry for the error.

 

[karlboss]

Karlboss: something along those lines, though not exactly Unfortunately, the Dargo High Plains Road isn't sealed all the way through, or I would have used it.

Sorry the race is coming a bit slow, but I'm trying to write some decent description and find nice photos too.

Libertine Seguros: Yep. Sorry for the error.

Rideable on a road, cyclocross, mtb not sealed?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Now, for the most part the UCI is very happy and accommodating to globalisation. It has tried to force Beijing down our throats of course, and as new nations seek to bring the sport forward, Pat McQuaid will happily add them to the calendar, as is seen by his bending over backwards to help out the American races, California in particular, and by the creation of this bizarre, and likely pan flat for seven days out of eight with 1000km+ transfers Russian race.

There is one country that has seen its star rise in cycling in the last 15 years or so, however, and has given a lot to the sport, without ever having its own race. The many riders that have brought this country to our attention over the last decade deserve the chance to show their stuff back at home.

I speak, of course, of Kazakhstan. Now, logically, though Astana is the capital and the name we all associate with Kazakh cycling, a tour of the Astana region would be both mindblowingly dull, and unsuited to the majority of the Kazakh stars the sport has. No, instead, we shall be focusing our efforts on the country's old capital, Almaty. The erstwhile Apple City has some interesting scenery and terrain near it, being at the base of the Tian Shan mountains, and after hosting the Asian Winter Games last year, there is the infrastructure to host an international sporting event in the region.

And so, we move on with the inaugural Almaty Tour.

Stage 1: Almaty (First President's Park) - Chilik, 156km

We start off with the almost traditional sprinter's opener, running east of the race's hometown, primarily along the A351, with the main detour being a long and gradual climb up to the town of Issyk/Esik; this is unlikely to be enough to discard any but the most hopeless of climbers, so Andrea Guardini and Angelo Furlan may want to stay at home. The start, in the First President's Park, will give a dramatic opening and sense of occasion and grandiosity, with its impressive surroundings lending pomp and circumstance. The finish is very different, being in the small and unassuming town of Chilik, much more typical of smalltown Central Asia. The run-in has a couple of corners, but is mostly non-technical, and the fastmen should prevail.

Climbs:
Issyk Mound (cat.2) 9,9km @ 3,1%

First President's Park:

Chilik:

 

[craig1985]

Well, i managed to do only 4 races out of 5 because i had no more leave days and had to get back to France. But i was 4th overall before that. And I had all sort of problems but i'll tell you in the appropriate thread.




exactly. Personnaly I don't give a **** and for me cycling is a universal language that helps toconnect to any other person from whatever background. Sports is a good tool for peace and bringing people together.

That's pretty impressive though.

 

[rgmerk]

Rideable on a road, cyclocross, mtb not sealed?

Haven't driven it for a long time, but in good weather you'd probably get a cyclocross bike across it ok - or even a road bike if you fitted it with Paris-Roubaix tubulars and were prepared to accept the odd puncture.

However, we're talking 40-odd kilometres of continuous very isolated dirt road at high altitude. If it started to rain 2wd team cars could quite easily get bogged en masse.

Parts of the sealed route for stage 5 are sufficiently isolated (and out of mobile phone range) that it would be foolhardy to attempt them without a support car. A mechanical in bad weather up there, you could freeze to death before anyone found you.

 

[rgmerk]

Tour of the Victorian Alps - Stage 5 Metung to Mount Beauty

Route and Profile. 229km.

Categorized climbs: Big Creek Road 3.6km @5.5% cat 4.
Omeo plateau: ~7km@5.2% cat 3
Raspberry Hill: 12km@5.5% cat 1

OK, no more Mr. Nice Guy. Today it’s sea to summit, and a furious chase down again. A very long, very hard stage through Victoria’s isolated, but stunning High Country.

We start at the waterfront, at the Metung Hotel:

Immediately, we head north, joining the Great Alpine Road near Bruthen. I can’t comment on the quality of the Bullant Brewery; I can however recommend that any and all spectators avoid the nests of insect that it is named after. More relaxed riders can also reach Bruthen via the East Gippsland Rail Trail, which runs 100 kilometre west to east from Bairnsdale to Orbost.

But none of those follies for the peloton, who leave the flat Tambo valley farmlands behind and start a gentle climb into the foothills of the High Country. Kilometre after kilometre of open stringybark forest, with only each other and Mr. Stringy for company. He’s probably painted as somebody other than Cadel Evans by now. But you never know!

The climb into Omeo, 113 km into the stage, is fairly steady - if you were feeling malicious, the alternative Swifts Creek-Omeo road has a real kick in the last 2 km. This isolated little town was originally a sleepy support base to the mountain cattlemen who take advantage of the natural grasslands, and latterly a tourist waystation. We could continue on the Great Alpine Road towards Mount Hotham and Bright from here, but recent road sealing works have offered an even more interesting option for racing.

From Omeo to Angler’s Rest, the road becomes more benign, but the scenery is great. The upper reaches of the Mitta Mitta River, visible from the road, are great for white-water rafting . And, then, at kilometre 162, they meet an intersection and "WTF Corner".

While the raw stats of the Raspberry Hill climb aren’t all that impressive, it disguises the vicious first 6 km or so. I haven’t done the climb, but by all reports immediately after the left turn, the road kicks up to 13-14% or so for a km or so, and is nasty for the next five. Far better riders than I attest to its difficulty. The road surface is dead, and riders would be well-advised to run Gatorskins, or at the very least pump their tubulars with sealant; the road material is apparently littered with hard quartz shards which shredded the tyres of the many bedraggled amateurs completing one of the annual challenge rides which uses this climb.

As I understand it, the climb, rather than a well-defined summit, gradually peters out to the Bogong High Plains. This alpine grassland was used to graze cattle in the summer for nearly 150 years, and the reinstatement of cattle to the area is currently a bone of contention between the state and federal governments. Cattlemen’s huts dot the region, their lifestyle romanticized by The Man From Snowy River. They're now either ruins or used by bushwalkers:

Some false flat and some short climbs later, at km 190 or so the riders finally reach the high point of the day of around 1700 metres at the Rocky Valley Dam, and descend through the ski resort of Falls Creek very soon after. The road is wide, and the descent not overly steep (though quite technical in parts). The race to the bottom will be on - I hope the lightweight climbers have been practicing their tuck, because the big guys will be coming! Parts of the descent are also through regenerating alpine forest, the dead white snow gums and alpine ash giving an eerie aspect to the views.

The descent to the township of Mount Beauty has a couple of rolls in it near Bogong Village - not large, but enough to prompt a final selection, or to impede a breakaway. But once over those, it’s downhill all the way to the finish line. No “let’s ride another 50 km to Pau” stages here! Mount Beauty itself serves mainly to support the alpine tourist industry.

228.6 kilometres later, the riders might want to consider a dip in the Kiewa River.. They’ve earned it!

This article follows the part of this route from Omeo to Mount Beauty (and part of stage 6).

 

[karlboss]

Haven't driven it for a long time, but in good weather you'd probably get a cyclocross bike across it ok - or even a road bike if you fitted it with Paris-Roubaix tubulars and were prepared to accept the odd puncture.

However, we're talking 40-odd kilometres of continuous very isolated dirt road at high altitude. If it started to rain 2wd team cars could quite easily get bogged en masse.

Parts of the sealed route for stage 5 are sufficiently isolated (and out of mobile phone range) that it would be foolhardy to attempt them without a support car. A mechanical in bad weather up there, you could freeze to death before anyone found you.

Wasn't thinking about riding it solo, just if you could run a race through there, roubaix cobbles are pretty severe and many gravel roads we have in oz are well and truly passable in wet or dry by road bike with more solid wheels. So with motorbikes has support vehicle I was wondering if you could run this classic.

Map

profile

Personally I love the big first climb to form the break of the day, the 2nd cat 1 for those who want to take a chance on their own, the final cat 1 as a do or die climb and decent, being unsealed just adds to being unpredictable. Unforunately I think its 30km too long.

But if cars would get stuck with a little rain, probably not.

 

[CasperVg]

In honour of it's greatest cyclist ever, the Manx Missle, Mark Cavendish, the Manx government has decided to organise a new one-day race, touring all around the magnificent Isle of Man

ManxGP Cavendish (April 14th) - 172.45 km - Flat/Hilly

Set in mid-April, the weather conditions could play a vital role in the race, as there's a big chance of torrential rains and very strong winds. The organisers wanted a different spot in the calender, but couldn't afford to bribe the UCI-officers as much as the Tour of Sochi organisers did, so they ended up on April 14th.

Well, it's not the hardest race ever, for sure, and neither it is the longest, but still the hills might tire the riders. Probably, Cavendish himself would have to be in his 2009 Milano-San Remo winning form to even have a chance... Most of the course is pretty flat, but 3 naughty hills were inserted to give the race various possibilities to develop.

Climb 1 (km 65 - 68): avg. 5.3% (max 9.7%)
Climb 2 (km 110 - 114): avg. 9.8% (max 16.9%)

Luckily for the riders, they still have a few kilometres left to recover - and even if the pack is still largely in one place, a mass sprint is certainly not guaranteed, as the riders still have to cross Snaefell Mountain, although they can't head all the way to the top.

Climb 3 (km 156 - 161): avg. 7.3% (max. 14.8%)

Snaefell Mountain, Surroundings

Then it's roughly 10 kms of descent left, so that groups formed during the ascent have a nice chance of making it ahead of the pack; if they work well together. Finish (and start) are in Douglas, coincidentally the birthplace of the Missile himself (coincidentally as in: I didn't know it beforehand ).

Hope you like it!