Rate the 2015 Tour route!

[guncha]

The more I look at the profiles of mountain stages the less I like them. The most decent mountain stages are Plateau de Beille, La Toussuire and Alpe d'Huez. I am fine with La Pierre Saint Martin as a single climb stage as well.

Since Cauterets is squeezed between La Pierre Saint Martin and Plateau de Beille I cannot imagine anything but soft pedaling during this stage. Tourmalet is too far from finish to generate any kind of action. GC riders will go for bonus seconds at best.

I am not sure about Allos and Pra Loup combo because Allos is quite soft and Pra Loup is neither steep nor long. Possibly some seconds will be grabbed and nothing more.

Glandon 40km before the finish together with a small second category climb cannot make much of difference as well, especially considering the tough two days ahead.

All in all, this year’s TDF had six decent mountain stages (La Planche de Beille Filles, Chamrousse, Risoul, Luchon, Pla d’Adet, Hautcam) which are more than in next year’s race.

 

[Tonton]

Not to argue with the many good points in this thread, BUT:

1. I don't mind that ASO is trying something different. Will it work? We'll see. We don't know. And I believe that the riders make the race. If a team with multiple decent GT guys (like AG2R) wants to attack non-stop and hope that one will make it, it will be great spectacle. Or the Belkin guys...

2. Distance in mountain stages: if one team rides like the USPS or Sky of "old", it doesn't matter if the stage is 300 km long. Nothing will take place until the last climb.

3. ITT (or lack thereof): since the days of Anquetil, it has been an issue. too much or not enough. Some winners have been defensive in the mountains, won the ITTs and won in Paris (Anquetil, Indurain, Evans for example), leaving some fans with a bitter taste: not enough panache... So why not try this? We'll see...

My $0.02: have a long ITT, but not the second to last day like it has been done so many times. Give the climbers a couple more shots at fighting back.

4. The climbs: following on the previous point, I would like to see a MTF the day before Paris every year. For a while now, fans and locals have lobbied to get politicians, ASO, sponsors, anyone to finance the road between Les-Deux-Alpes and the top of the Jandri. That's like Mortirollo+Angliru. Epic.

In the meantime, it's a lot of the same climbs, in a different order from year to year. You only have so many combinations... How about the Puy de Dome (I know the top is closed to regular traffic, but the TdF can get it open)? How about the many short but nasty climbs in the Jura that could make a Ronde-like stage, albeit more difficult? Or up and down non-stop following the Gorges du Tarn? You don't need an 8,000 ft MT necessarily. I feel ASO is being a bit lazy there.

I gave the course a 8, because I think the TdF will be wide open.

Something that I didn't read about the course: what kind of a TdF is that, that ignores most regions of France? They should change their name to A$O: all about the money. It is a disgrace. It has been for a while.

I still give it a 8. We'll see. If Pinot wins, I'll give it a 9

 

[Googol]

Is there even wide enough road left in Puy de Dome?

 

[Tonton]

Is there even wide enough road left in Puy de Dome?

Last time I checked, and confirmed via Google Earth, yes, still there.

 

[jens_attacks]

no, there is a fuccin railroad instead

 

[Tonton]

no, there is a fuccin railroad instead

The road is still there on the side of the fuccin track, used for maintenance. It was open to cyclists mid-June last year but normally it is closed to "individual cyclists". Feasible, but narrow for a TdF

 

[BrentonOfTheNorth]

In the meantime, it's a lot of the same climbs, in a different order from year to year. You only have so many combinations... How about the Puy de Dome (I know the top is closed to regular traffic, but the TdF can get it open)? How about the many short but nasty climbs in the Jura that could make a Ronde-like stage, albeit more difficult? Or up and down non-stop following the Gorges du Tarn? You don't need an 8,000 ft MT necessarily. I feel ASO is being a bit lazy there.

Yes I don't really understand why the TDF (and to a lesser extent, the other GTs) feel that the GC battle should only occur on MTFs. It's not that hard to make challenging hilly stages, stages with potentially significant crosswinds, or mountain stages that end after descents, for example. It's more entertaining when a grand tour is decided by more than simply who wins the race to exhaustion (a MTF) but rather who has the best tactics and success over a variety of challenges.

 

[Peter von]

8, although it may be one too high. I like that they try and mix it up route wise. I dislike that we have two years of cobbles.

Perhaps it should only get a 7 because they create a TT light Tour when a the young French GC guys are better climbers than TT'ers. Nut hopefully that'll bite them in their own be-hind when Jrod takes the last spot on the podium narrowly ahead of JCP.

 

[Dr. Juice]

Yes I don't really understand why the TDF (and to a lesser extent, the other GTs) feel that the GC battle should only occur on MTFs. It's not that hard to make challenging hilly stages, stages with potentially significant crosswinds, or mountain stages that end after descents, for example. It's more entertaining when a grand tour is decided by more than simply who wins the race to exhaustion (a MTF) but rather who has the best tactics and success over a variety of challenges.

Simple MTF's are no races to exhaustion. Yes you give it everything but it's always the case. What is more important is endurance over a long stage with 3-4-5 hard climbs (without the need of a MTF) .
It's not about who can climb a single climb after an easy stage at 6.5 W / kg but who can save 6.3 W/kg into the last climb after an exhausting stage.

 

[Cimber]

I love that they - at least just for one year - cut the TTs. It means that riders who noramlly never stand a chance to win the Tour now actually has a shot. I like the Ardennes-finishes too. However, I dont think its good to have cobbles back to back. Cobbles should only happen rarely imo. Also the TTT-stage should be one of the first ones, so that the risk of teams having lost a rider to a crash would be smaller.

But overall I love it.

 

[Cimber]

Yes I don't really understand why the TDF (and to a lesser extent, the other GTs) feel that the GC battle should only occur on MTFs. It's not that hard to make challenging hilly stages, stages with potentially significant crosswinds, or mountain stages that end after descents, for example. It's more entertaining when a grand tour is decided by more than simply who wins the race to exhaustion (a MTF) but rather who has the best tactics and success over a variety of challenges.

Erm, there are at least 2 stages where crosswind can really blow the race apart (stage 2 and 6). Those two stages will be firework if the weather plays along.

And we also Huy which Valverde will love.

 

[hrotha]

They should cut the mountains one year too, so that the rouleurs who never stand a chance actually have a shot.

 

[OlavEH]

Wouldn't it be possible to have some kind of sterrato stage in Tour de France. They use gravel sections in Tro Bro Leon. Should be possible to have something like this in the Tour too, instead of the cobblestone stages.

 

[Netserk]

They should cut the mountains one year too, so that the rouleurs who never stand a chance actually have a shot.

Imagine a Tour route without a single HC mountain!

And of course a maximum of two mountains in a stage

...

On another note, I would like to see the following climbs soon again in the Tour:

Izoard (South) - It was good in 2011, but I would like to see it with a descent finish or perhaps a MTF on Sestriere.
Iseran - Any side would be good, but the best would be the south side with the stage finish in Val d'Isère or Tignes.
Joux Plane - The standard finish in Morzine would be excellent, coupled with a stage finish on Morzine-Avoriaz would be okay as well.
Cormet de Roselend (West) - Overall nice climb.
Courchevel - I like the longer MTFs, just like Chamrousse this year, something we sadly don't see so often with the Unipublic approach.

 

[hrotha]

Imagine a Tour route without a single HC mountain!

And of course a maximum of two mountains in a stage

Does that mean you WANT 1st category climbs? That's so unfair.

 

[May0maniac]

Imagine a Tour route without a single HC mountain!

And of course a maximum of two mountains in a stage

...

On another note, I would like to see the following climbs soon again in the Tour:

Izoard (South) - It was good in 2011, but I would like to see it with a descent finish or perhaps a MTF on Sestriere.
Iseran - Any side would be good, but the best would be the south side with the stage finish in Val d'Isère or Tignes.
Joux Plane - The standard finish in Morzine would be excellent, coupled with a stage finish on Morzine-Avoriaz would be okay as well.
Cormet de Roselend (West) - Overall nice climb.
Courchevel - I like the longer MTFs, just like Chamrousse this year, something we sadly don't see so often with the Unipublic approach.

I'd love to see Bonette from the west side and maybe one day Agnel from the italian side with Fauniera and Sampeyre before it.

 

[Escarabajo]

They should cut the mountains one year too, so that the rouleurs who never stand a chance actually have a shot.

Depends. With or without TT's?

 

[gregrowlerson]

Depends. With or without TT's?

Without?

Leave that to Paris-Nice

 

[Eshnar]

Depends. With or without TT's?

with 9 ITTs.

 

[cineteq]

For those asking. I haven't rated the Tour parcours yet. I'm waiting to the race-design experts to vote. I might need to vote 10 to unbias the results

 

[LaFlorecita]

For those asking. I haven't rated the Tour parcours yet. I'm waiting to the race-design experts to vote. I might need to vote 10 to unbias the results

No one is asking.

 

[cineteq]

No one is asking.

You're still mad at me because I didn't vote Contador Cyclist of Year?

 

[LaFlorecita]

You're still mad at me because I didn't vote Contador Cyclist of Year?

I'm not mad, merely annoyed