Rate The 2021 Tour De France Parcours!

[Mayomaniac]

So, we have access to all the stages, what do we think about it all? It looks good to me, I just wish the Tignes stage was a bit harder and same with the stage to Luz Ardiden. But you cant win them all. Maybe a flat stage or two too much, but otherwise I like the design, especially the early TT and the Ventoux-stage. My big fear is a waiting game at least until Ventoux since the hardest Alpine-stage to Grand Bornand could prove to be a disappointment right before the Tignes stage... Bretagne is always good, especially when you throw all these hills in. It will be some tough days. The Pyrenees will be hard, a tricky stage in Andorra, clear cut break afterwards and then two classic TdF MTFs in hard terrain. Probably shouldn't expect action before the final climbs though which is a bit of a bummer - if you have a couple of climbs before Tourmalet, that could looks different.

Overall I think there are enough opportunities for a very good race and you can always skip the flat stages, especially those right after the Alps, but again, we could get echelons. But chapeau for the stage over Ventoux, that looks great.

Better than expected. I really like stage 7, a long hilly stage to wear people down and the next day we have the Grand Bonard stage. With the mid length ITT early n (I'm a big fan of it) already creating some gaps and they Tignes MTF on stage 9 being rather easy (and having 2km of flat at the end) we should see action on this one.
The Ventoux stage looks great, I also would have liked to see another climb earlier on the Luz Ardiden stage.

My main problem is the Andorra stage, they could have turned that one in a proper, Giro-level, queenstage with the same start, final climb and finish: https://www.cronoescalada.com/index.php/tracks/view/700199

Overall it's good enough for a modern Tour, enough kms of ITT to force the climbers to attack before the final week and the first 2 stages are also interesting.

 

[Netserk]

My usual method of rating is to rank it among the 10 most recent items - in this case rank the routes of the Tour from 2012-2021. I'm probably still at a 3, with the 2021 route outranking 2012 and 2017 only. I'm not sure what route is the fourth worst of the ten.

My main problem is the Andorra stage, they could have turned that one in a proper, Giro-level, queenstage with the same start, final climb and finish: https://www.cronoescalada.com/index.php/tracks/view/700199

I'm not sure that would work as well in the Tour. Gallina - Comella is more certain to work.

 

[Bolder]

So, we have access to all the stages, what do we think about it all? It looks good to me, I just wish the Tignes stage was a bit harder and same with the stage to Luz Ardiden. But you cant win them all. Maybe a flat stage or two too much, but otherwise I like the design, especially the early TT and the Ventoux-stage. My big fear is a waiting game at least until Ventoux since the hardest Alpine-stage to Grand Bornand could prove to be a disappointment right before the Tignes stage... Bretagne is always good, especially when you throw all these hills in. It will be some tough days. The Pyrenees will be hard, a tricky stage in Andorra, clear cut break afterwards and then two classic TdF MTFs in hard terrain. Probably shouldn't expect action before the final climbs though which is a bit of a bummer - if you have a couple of climbs before Tourmalet, that could looks different.

Overall I think there are enough opportunities for a very good race and you can always skip the flat stages, especially those right after the Alps, but again, we could get echelons. But chapeau for the stage over Ventoux, that looks great.

I like it a bit more now, actually. I hope the 7,8,9 combo will mean some decent gaps. The Morvan is lumpier than you might think, for stage 7 and it's pretty long so maybe the Alps stages will prove to be more decisive than I think. But on paper 8,9 look somewhat pro forma, as in "we need a few Alps stages."

I don't know what to think about the Ventoux stage which feels kind of gimmicky to me; the descent could be treacherous with some really tired, cold legs if riders are trying to chase back. But I don't see how it won't produce a big GC shakeout; if you don't have legs there it's going to be a long, windy second ascent...

I'm also looking forward to the stage to Quillan. And Col de Portet stage looks REALLY hard.

Stage 20 TT is long enough that 1'30 could be gained or lost.

 

[Mayomaniac]

My usual method of rating is to rank it among the 10 most recent items - in this case rank the routes of the Tour from 2012-2021. I'm probably still at a 3, with the 2021 route outranking 2012 and 2017 only. I'm not sure what route is the fourth worst of the ten.



I'm not sure that would work as well in the Tour. Gallina - Comella is more certain to work.

I kinda agree, Envalira would mainly be a tempogrinder at altitude to put some fatigue into the legs before Beixalis, with the steepest sections of the climb coming early on we should see some action early on the final climb.

Overall I agree that you can't expect any long range attacks if you have Envalira as the penultimate climb, it's not steep enough and the descent is pretty much a wide highway and rather shallow (minus the first 8kms or so).

 

[railxmig]

I'm also looking forward to the stage to Quillan. And Col de Portet stage looks REALLY hard.

It's basically the same as in 2018 but with 115km of flat. They didn't even try for anything before the last 3 climbs. I'm not even asking for Bales (which would be a natural here), but not even Mentee or freakin Ares. I think i wrote this before here. The mountain stages in this years TdF are neutered i.e. their balls are clipped.

...not even Aspin before Tourmalet... are you mad!?

EDIT: Yea, forgot about Ancizan (an alternative to Aspin).

 

[Mayomaniac]

It's basically the same as in 2018 but with 115km of flat. They didn't even try for anything before the last 3 climbs. I'm not even asking for Bales (which would be a natural here), but not even Mentee or freakin Ares. I think i wrote this before here. The mountain stages in this years TdF are neutered i.e. their balls are clipped.

...not even Aspin before Tourmalet... are you mad!?

IMO that's th bigger problem than the Portet stage, put the Aspin (or even better the Hourquette d'Ancizan) before the Tourmalet and stage 18 is fine.

 

[Valv.Piti]

My usual method of rating is to rank it among the 10 most recent items - in this case rank the routes of the Tour from 2012-2021. I'm probably still at a 3, with the 2021 route outranking 2012 and 2017 only. I'm not sure what route is the fourth worst of the ten.



I'm not sure that would work as well in the Tour. Gallina - Comella is more certain to work.

How come your rating is so low? This is definitely a route I like more than a lot of the other route presented.

 

[Escarabajo]

I rated this parcours as a 5 but now I think that was too nice. After looking at it several times again this is one of the worse parcours that I have seen in a while. Close to being garbage. This should be no more than 3. I have the tendency to give good grades. Usually I am an easy professor. But this parcours is just too bad.

 

[Netserk]

How come your rating is so low? This is definitely a route I like more than a lot of the other route presented.

Better than what other years? I’m in doubt about it, and I could easily shuffle the list, but ranking the routes from the top of my head:

2014
2013
2016
2019
2018
2015
2020
2021
2017
2012

Okay, I could completely revise that list. Hmm, it’s not that easy.

Edit: 2016 should definitely be lower on the list, maybe even below 2020.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Better than what other years? I’m in doubt about it, and I could easily shuffle the list, but ranking the routes from the top of my head:

2014
2013
2016
2019
2018
2015
2020
2021
2017
2012

Okay, I could completely revise that list. Hmm, it’s not that easy.

2013 and 2014 are pretty clear cut for me, it gets a bit messy afterwards. 2019 deserves to be up there for the first 2 weeks alone, but no Idea how I'd rate the other Tours. It's just different shades of mediocrity...

 

[Escarabajo]

I think people getting used to the Tour routes being bad actually results in better ratings than they would otherwise get.

This!
I am surprised of the ratings. All because of the poor routes.
Something that kind of trigger my comment is something my wife asked me during the Giro. Like why did I get so excited about stages at the Giro like Cortina d'Ampezzo or Stelvio stage. And I tell her that it is the only time of the year when we get to see something epic or this hard. Just the hardness of the stage is sufficient to destroy the whole race. that is the beauty of it. And we can replay it for years to come. In the Tour, it has been a while since that happened. That's how I rate parcours. From last year's Tour I have only replayed stage 20 ITT and stage 7 which wasn't even a proper mountain stage. All thanks to Sagan trying to get green. Lol.

 

[Red Rick]

2021 route is pure trash only exceeded by 2012 and only rivalled by 2017.

 

[Escarabajo]

2021 route is pure trash only exceeded by 2012 and only rivalled by 2017.

This is the first sign that I am getting old! I agree with Red on something!

 

[Red Rick]

This is the first sign that I am getting old! I agree with Red on something!

Tbh I started giving boomer vibes around 23.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Damn you guys are down on the route. How about the early ITT? We have wanted such a thing for a long time, and I cant count it on two hands how many times I have read a LS-post arguing about how good it was for the race back in 2008.

The only thing I really need is less sprinter stages, but again, Ill just choose not to watch a couple of these stages in the 2nd week.

 

[Eclipse]

I think the CN motto should be 'All GT routes are bad, but some are less bad than others'

 

[Red Rick]

Damn you guys are down on the route. How about the early ITT? We have wanted such a thing for a long time, and I cant count it on two hands how many times I have read a LS-post arguing about how good it was for the race back in 2008.

The only thing I really need is less sprinter stages, but again, Ill just choose not to watch a couple of these stages in the 2nd week.

Because, while arguably relatively balanced, the mountains are dire, 5/6 mountain stages are basically a repetition of a stage of the last 5 years or just flatout boring designs, with a Mont Ventoux descent finish being the lone exception.

 

[Froome]

2 itts it's a improvement, that's fine. The problem is again the type of climbs that the tour usually puts on the route. Long climbs with a low inclination like tignes will not make major differences. Jumbo or ineos will put a strong tempo on that climb, nobody will attack with sucess, and there will be diferences just in the last km.
They should put climbs like in the giro, with a lot of inclination, that makes a lot of diference, and a train doesn't make much difference.

 

[Escarabajo]

To me the problem is not the steepness at the end but the softness of the stages. You can have Aprica after a murderous stage and everyone will be gasping for air.

 

[houtdffan]

It's basically the same as in 2018 but with 115km of flat. They didn't even try for anything before the last 3 climbs. I'm not even asking for Bales (which would be a natural here), but not even Mentee or freakin Ares. I think i wrote this before here. The mountain stages in this years TdF are neutered i.e. their balls are clipped.

...not even Aspin before Tourmalet... are you mad!?

EDIT: Yea, forgot about Ancizan (an alternative to Aspin).

Could have went full 2001 and 2005 and put the Portet D'Aspet, Mente, and Portillion before the final 3 climbs. Only different with those stages is they stopped halfway up at Pla'Dadet instead of going all the way to the Portet.

Simply make the final TT 60 km

 

[Netserk]

Damn you guys are down on the route. How about the early ITT? We have wanted such a thing for a long time, and I cant count it on two hands how many times I have read a LS-post arguing about how good it was for the race back in 2008.

The only thing I really need is less sprinter stages, but again, Ill just choose not to watch a couple of these stages in the 2nd week.

You know what, I'm really puzzled why I yesterday at first put 2016 so high on the list. But I'd like to hear why you think it's better than 2016, 2018 or 2020? Maybe I'll meet you halfway and put it on level with 2016.

2014
2013
2019
2015
2020
2018
2016 & 2021
2017
2012

 

[Nirvana]

Considering that there are a couple of stages that could see wind and hilly stages aren't bad i think 3 would be fair but i gave 4 instead because of the 249 kms long stage that is something i would have never expected to see again in a Tour (and there is even another 220+ kms long stage!). Anyway everytime i see the Tour mountain stages blood start coming out from my eyes...

 

[Escarabajo]

Considering that there are a couple of stages that could see wind and hilly stages aren't bad i think 3 would be fair but i gave 4 instead because of the 249 kms long stage that is something i would have never expected to see again in a Tour (and there is even another 220+ kms long stage!). Anyway everytime i see the Tour mountain stages blood start coming out from my eyes...

It is like they want to be like the Vuelta a España. They don't know that we don't need another Vuelta. And the Vuelta has their reasons to do the designs the way they do. But the Tour has all the Alps and Pyrenes at their disposal? It is truly embarrassing.

 

[Nirvana]

It is like they want to be like the Vuelta a España. They don't know that we don't need another Vuelta. And the Vuelta has their reasons to do the designs the way they do. But the Tour has all the Alps and Pyrenes at their disposal? It is truly embarrassing.

It's not like, they really want to, and i fear also the Giro is having a Vueltization, not as big as the Tour but this year there was only one real Giro mountain stage and was cut and they even reduced the TT mileage to less than 40 kms.

 

[luckyboy]

A shame there is so much TT with a climber like Carapaz in this form. Unless Thomas is incredible it will just be the Slovenians far ahead once again.