Rate the 2018 Tour de France route

[Laplaz]

Re: Re:

When will the full route + all stage details come out?

Usually a month or so before the start (end may-begin june).

Okey, thank you!

 

[roundabout]

Profiles of all stages

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/road-races/tdf-2018-official-profiles-t7118.html

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

Profiles of all stages

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/road-races/tdf-2018-official-profiles-t7118.html

Thanks

I hadn't had my daily dose of disappointment yet.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Profiles of all stages

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/road-races/tdf-2018-official-profiles-t7118.html

Thanks

I hadn't had my daily dose of disappointment yet.

Yep... disappointing. I guess we can hope for some wind and rain as usual.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Profiles of all stages

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/road-races/tdf-2018-official-profiles-t7118.html

Thanks

I hadn't had my daily dose of disappointment yet.

Yep... disappointing. I guess we can hope for some wind and rain as usual.

Yeah.

But France has the worst geography of the GTs to make a good route. It annoys me so much.

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

Profiles of all stages

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/road-races/tdf-2018-official-profiles-t7118.html

Thanks

I hadn't had my daily dose of disappointment yet.

Yep... disappointing. I guess we can hope for some wind and rain as usual.

Yeah.

But France has the worst geography of the GTs to make a good route. It annoys me so much.

It's not like they try very hard to use what's there though.
I'm a little disappointed as usually as I always hope these more precise profiles show that there are some good stages we simply didn't know about yet. You know, some 4th category hills close to finishes or stuff like that, but nope, we're gonna get our 8 Kittel stages. At least the route does look quite decent once the first 8 stages are over.
Of the remaining 13 stages only 3 are flat, that's actually quite good. One thing I once again noticed is how the HC categorization once again lost much of it's prestige. That steep ramp in the first mountain stage has something like 700 meters of altitude gain. That's enough for HC? And even worse, the Aubisque. That categorization has 0 to do with difficulty and is only there because the ASO wants to marketize their last mountain stage by talking about that final super hard HC climb. Ugh

 

[Gigs_98]

Just saw they put blnification sprints (do. basically golden Kilometer clones) in the first week which I think is great. That could make things a little more interesting

 

[Alexandre B.]

Just saw they put blnification sprints (do. basically golden Kilometer clones) in the first week which I think is great. That could make things a little more interesting

If the TTT is a close race, yes.
If not, it will be dull.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Just saw they put blnification sprints (do. basically golden Kilometer clones) in the first week which I think is great. That could make things a little more interesting

How does that exactly work?

 

[Gigs_98]

Just saw they put blnification sprints (do. basically golden Kilometer clones) in the first week which I think is great. That could make things a little more interesting

How does that exactly work?

Don't know, I only wrote what I read on the Flamme rouge site which was posted.

[quote="Gigs_98":1r5asga8]Just saw they put blnification sprints (do. basically golden Kilometer clones) in the first week which I think is great. That could make things a little more interesting

If the TTT is a close race, yes.
If not, it will be dull.[/quote]
Haven't thought about that yet but yeah you are right

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Profiles of all stages

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/road-races/tdf-2018-official-profiles-t7118.html

Thanks

I hadn't had my daily dose of disappointment yet.

Yep... disappointing. I guess we can hope for some wind and rain as usual.

Yeah.

But France has the worst geography of the GTs to make a good route. It annoys me so much.

It's not like they try very hard to use what's there though.
I'm a little disappointed as usually as I always hope these more precise profiles show that there are some good stages we simply didn't know about yet. You know, some 4th category hills close to finishes or stuff like that, but nope, we're gonna get our 8 Kittel stages. At least the route does look quite decent once the first 8 stages are over.
Of the remaining 13 stages only 3 are flat, that's actually quite good. One thing I once again noticed is how the HC categorization once again lost much of it's prestige. That steep ramp in the first mountain stage has something like 700 meters of altitude gain. That's enough for HC? And even worse, the Aubisque. That categorization has 0 to do with difficulty and is only there because the ASO wants to marketize their last mountain stage by talking about that final super hard HC climb. Ugh

I actually like the Aubisque.

Go balls deep on the Col du Tourmalet or gtfo

 

[Gigs_98]

I like the Aubisque too but I don't think a climb which would barely be 2nd category in the giro should be HC in the tour.

 

[rghysens]

Re: Re:

Profiles of all stages

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/road-races/tdf-2018-official-profiles-t7118.html

Thanks

I hadn't had my daily dose of disappointment yet.

Yep... disappointing. I guess we can hope for some wind and rain as usual.

Yeah.

But France has the worst geography of the GTs to make a good route. It annoys me so much.

Not if you try a bit. France has plenty on offer, in almost all its regions to create some interesting stages. But well,....
Lol at stage 1: 700m @ 4.2% must be the easiest categorized climb ever in the TdF.

 

[rghysens]

Re: Re:

It's not like they try very hard to use what's there though.
I'm a little disappointed as usually as I always hope these more precise profiles show that there are some good stages we simply didn't know about yet. You know, some 4th category hills close to finishes or stuff like that, but nope, we're gonna get our 8 Kittel stages. At least the route does look quite decent once the first 8 stages are over.
Of the remaining 13 stages only 3 are flat, that's actually quite good. One thing I once again noticed is how the HC categorization once again lost much of it's prestige. That steep ramp in the first mountain stage has something like 700 meters of altitude gain. That's enough for HC? And even worse, the Aubisque. That categorization has 0 to do with difficulty and is only there because the ASO wants to marketize their last mountain stage by talking about that final super hard HC climb. Ugh

You remember how they sold the stage to Boulogne-sur-Mer in the 2012 Tdf as a "medium mountain stage" at the presentation? That's how desperate they are to sell their course. We already knew about every important bump in the road since october last year.

 

[Lequack]

So why did they add the first rest day at all since no one will actually be tired after the first week?

 

[railxmig]

Ok, i get, why this "climb" on the first stage is categorised. i'm fine with that as i sometimes do it myself (in my fantasy races ofc). Glières and Pré are borderline 1/HC, but i think i would go with 1 in both cases, unless there's a deficit of HC cats (Tour likes to have 6-7 HC climbs). Maybe it's the same case with Croix de Fer idk. Now, from here we're getting into really f'ed up territory. I hope Aubisque is just a missprint and it will be corrected. 16,6km at 4,9% is a borderline 2/1. Even Arcalis is theoretically harder than this. Not even 30% ramps salvage this screw-up and afaik Soulor doesn't have any.

 

[Red Rick]

Is the 2nd part of Col de Portet asphalted or not?

Cause right now the climb profile eerily reminds me of being Finestre's slightly more benign twin.