Rate the TdF 2017 route

[Valv.Piti]

Nothing that we didn't know

Obviously, horrible designed course. I can't help to think Christian Prudhomme must be self-destructive designing a route with 9-10 flat stages and full coverage. I like Mont du Chat, I like Galibier, the rest is crap.

 

[Tonton]

There are many better course designers right here on CN.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Valverde rates it a 10

No way... I thought he had a chance before seeing the profiles, but now I'd even rate him as the #1 favorite.

What a joke... doesn't even deserve to be called a Grand Tour.

 

[Red Rick]

I think that the terrain of France, in comparison to Spain and Italy, is perfectly suited for a 2-week race.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Valverde rates it a 10

No way... I thought he had a chance before seeing the profiles, but now I'd even rate him as the #1 favorite.

What a joke... doesn't even deserve to be called a Grand Tour.

Are you really going this far Fleur? Dont get me too psyched and hyped now...

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

I think that the terrain of France, in comparison to Spain and Italy, is perfectly suited for a 2-week race.

This is it... all this talk about shortening the Giro and Vuelta - no, cut the TDF to 2 weeks. Maybe with a healthy dose of reality the organizers will lose the cockiness and design a proper route for once.

 

[Rollthedice]

Valverde has this in the bag.

 

[guncha]

There was nothing to expect from unpublished stages.
First week has one good stage and two one climb stages.
2nd week is awful because only Peyragudes makes sense. 101km stage to Foix is garbage and will not have any added value.
Transfer from Pyrenees to Alpes is too long. It is horrible to start final week with crappy flat stage.
Izoard stage is ruined. Galibier 28km from finish is as bad as 40km for finish. 22,5km final ITT is nonsense.

Probably they cut everything because they think that Mont du Chat stage is too difficult. It reminds me TDF 2009 when they had beautiful stage to Grand Bornard and everything else was awful.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I don't think cutting the route would make any sense really, they would find new ways to ruin the spectacle, don't underestimate Prudhomme and his gregarios.

 

[portugal11]

oh my lord, 2 people voted 10!!!???

 

[carton]

Hold my beer, I'm going to go out and do a cat 2 climb.

The first week is not that bad, TBH. But yeah, if Froome is within a minute of the lead after stage 12 this should be over. After that Sky should be able to comfortably control the race.

It's actually probably an interesting challenge for the trainers. How to peak for the first week but hold it so you can still put in a pretty good performance on that last week time trial. I think a few guys might get that horribly wrong.

 

[Ferminal]

Why did I look at this again

 

[Valv.Piti]

Good thing we all with go in now with minimal expectations, but its hilarious when they try to sell the race on going through the Vosges, Jura, Massif Central, Pyrenees and Alps when they have only one the job properly with the stages in Jura, I guess both look kinda nice.

 

[mikii4567]

Stage 1: okay, I guess
Stage 2: what a stupid waste of the Ardennes
Stage 3: nice that there's a HTF, but it doesn't look like anything will happen before it
Stage 4: boring
Stage 5: what a stupid waste of the Vosges, will be a snooze-fest until PDBF
Stage 6: boring
Stage 7: boring
Stage 8: very nice but, as has been said, will be killed off by --->
Stage 9: awesome, though like many I fear the flat stretch from Grand Colombier to MdC, especially given MdC's difficulty
Stage 10: boring
Stage 11: *** still asleep ***
Stage 12: can be carnage, especially given its length, but I really doubt it
Stage 13: had the previous stage been harder, awesome. The way it is - breakaway
Stage 14: break? Gilbert?
Stage 15: break, Peyra Taillade is too far from the finish to have an impact
Stage 16: another rest day
Stage 17: I love this stage to bits, it should be exciting from km0, particularly given that this is the second (?) true mountain stage. But it will be killed off slightly by --->
Stage 18: Prudhomme, stop embarassing yourself
Stage 19: pls, just listen to my request from before
Stage 20: okay, I see how it is...
Stage 21: nothing new.

2/10, one point for Stage 17 and one point for the balance between mountain and ITT, I guess. You'd lose 10 000 000 points for the number of sprint stages and double that for the Izoard stage from me, but that puts us into negatives...

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Good thing we all with go in now with minimal expectations, but its hilarious when they try to sell the race on going through the Vosges, Jura, Massif Central, Pyrenees and Alps when they have only one the job properly with the stages in Jura, I guess both look kinda nice.

I've designed a TDF some weeks ago that features all that plus cobbles, French Ardennes and 60km of TT and if I may say so myself my design is miles better than this joke
Could be a nice challenge - design a TDF route using the same start and finish locations as the official route

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Good thing we all with go in now with minimal expectations, but its hilarious when they try to sell the race on going through the Vosges, Jura, Massif Central, Pyrenees and Alps when they have only one the job properly with the stages in Jura, I guess both look kinda nice.

I've designed a TDF some weeks ago that features all that plus cobbles, French Ardennes and 60km of TT and if I may say so myself my design is miles better than this joke
Could be a nice challenge - design a TDF route using the same start and finish locations as the official route

It's been done and not really a challenge to make it better than this one.

 

[Forever The Best]

Re: Re:

Good thing we all with go in now with minimal expectations, but its hilarious when they try to sell the race on going through the Vosges, Jura, Massif Central, Pyrenees and Alps when they have only one the job properly with the stages in Jura, I guess both look kinda nice.

I've designed a TDF some weeks ago that features all that plus cobbles, French Ardennes and 60km of TT and if I may say so myself my design is miles better than this joke
Could be a nice challenge - design a TDF route using the same start and finish locations as the official route

The Foix stage is a joke. And they could have gone to Peyragudes from the other way. Also they should have included hills around Liege.
And don't get me started with the Izoard stage and it b eing after the Serre Chevalier stage. Serre Chevalier stage should have been the last mountain stage.

 

[roundabout]

And La Mure - Izoard and Briancon - Serre Chevalier would have been doable stages retaining most of the climbs from the originals

But of course for no reason whatsoever the last high mountain stage has to have a MTF

 

[bajbar]

The route very much ressembles the 2012 one... Three MTFs (two of them being PDBF and Pyragoudes), almost the same amount of flat stages (how can they put in basically 9-10 pancake flat stages is beyond me...) with the sole exception being, that there is far less TTing than in 2012 - which with that route is a good thing. The route is balanced... but in the wrong way... And even if you try with a route like this, at least three or four of those flat stages should be propper hilly stages (look at the Giro 2015 for example).

The only positive thing is, that with a small amount of possibly deciding stages, those should be full of action. And the route itself might surpsrise, since there might be action where it usually isn't. But the route seems to be designed with Bardet in mind. Very small amount of TTing, Not much MTFs (but rather many downhill finishes) and not many risky stages, where sth. might have gone wrong for him.

 

[Billie]

GVA - Sagan II in Rodez will be exciting. And Gilbert in the mix now aswel

 

[Valv.Piti]

The 2012 route wasn't all that bad up to the Pyrenees - actually the contrary, If I must say - the Vosges and Alps were pretty decent coupled with a nice and long TT early on. Go look on those stages and compare it to this.

 

[Forever The Best]

And La Mure - Izoard and Briancon - Serre Chevalier would have been doable stages retaining most of the climbs from the originals

But of course for no reason whatsoever the last high mountain stage has to have a MTF

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/maps/viewtrack/hd/109718
Lautaret-Croix de Fer-Mollard-Telegraphe-Galibier

https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/maps/viewtrack/hd/109510
Aubisque-Tourmalet-Aspin-Lançon-Azet-Peyragudes

Then the Foix stage being Core-Latrape-Agnes-Peguere or Ares-Mente-Aspet-Core-Latrape-Agnes-Peguere

The TT kms need to be adjusted to these mountain stages too.

 

[Gigs_98]

I don't really know what to write about this. I'm just sad that an event which used to have the goal to entertain, has 10 flat stages which all together are nothing but an insult to the sport while it will still be called the greatest race in the world by people who call themsleves cycling fans for one month of the year

 

[portugal11]

I don't really know what to write about this. I'm just sad that an event which used to have the goal to entertain, has 10 flat stages which all together are nothing but an insult to the sport while it will still be called the greatest race in the world by people who call themsleves cycling fans for one month of the year

This...

 

[Ferminal]

Briancon - Serre Chevalier

I realise stages are getting shorter but...