Rate the Vuelta 2018 route

[del1962]

Re:

I just want to bump this thread.

For some reason the pictures of the stages are not showing in my computer. I wonder if anyone is having the same problems.

Same issue

 

[Escarabajo]

This one is a bad route. That can only means that we are going to have a great race!

 

[SafeBet]

Can't see the images either.
But I'm pretty sure I could guess them.

 

[ice&fire]

Re:

Can't see the images either.
But I'm pretty sure I could guess them.

They were linking to the Vuelta web site when the route was announced and it's been reshuffled since then. All I need to recall is that I thought it was the worst GT route of 2018 by a large margin.

 

[Red Rick]

http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/

All the stage profiles can be found here. I'm not gonna find all the links again.

 

[Lequack]

Stage 20, the last one before procession to Madrid:

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Re:

Stage 20, the last one before procession to Madrid:

That looks like one fun stage!

 

[Brullnux]

This route is:
40km of TT in two stages
2 murito/short uphill finish of some kind (including monte oiz)
5 not totally flat but probably a sprint, some more sprint-y than others
6 MTF, 1 total uni-puerto, 1 real mountain stage, most others with no significant climbs that can change a race before the mtf
5 flat

It's a really bad route

 

[klintE]

Stage 20 looks scary and may bias the competition in earlier spots.
I would rather switch stage 20. and 19. or even 17
Can't see the reason why queen stage has to be the last.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

This route is:
40km of TT in two stages
2 murito/short uphill finish of some kind (including monte oiz)
5 not totally flat but probably a sprint, some more sprint-y than others
6 MTF, 1 total uni-puerto, 1 real mountain stage, most others with no significant climbs that can change a race before the mtf
5 flat

It's a really bad route

I count 9 MTF (including Muritos). You have 8. There are two stages defined as flat but they are not. I think they are Stage 1 and Stage 17.

 

[roundabout]

Stage 20 looks scary and may bias the competition in earlier spots.
I would rather switch stage 20. and 19. or even 17
Can't see the reason why queen stage has to be the last.

To quote Sir Laurence Olivier - "money, dear boy".

Andorra is specifically paying to have the big finale. And ratings-wise it should be on a weekend.

 

[Escarabajo]

Stage 2:

Stage 4:

Stage 9:

Stage 13:

Km 89 Cat 1 (Puerto de Tarna): 16.8 km @ 4.9%
Km 167 Cat 1 (Camperona): 8.8 km @ 6.5% or Last 2.1 km @ 15%

Stage 14:

Km 82 Cat 1(Alto de Colladona): 5 km @ 8.23%
Km 112 Cat 1(Alto de Mozqueta): 9 km @ 6.7%
Km 138 Cat 3 (Alto de la Falla de los Lobos): 6.8 km @ 5.6%
Km 162 Cat 1(Les Praeres de Nava): 5 km @ 13.5%? I get 4 km @ 11.6% There is a small plateau at the end

Stage 15:

Km 94 Cat 1(Mirador del Fito): 7 km @ 8.1%
Km ~139 Cat 1(Mirador del Fito): 4.4 km @ 9.3%
Km 172 Cat ESP(Lagos de Covadonga): 13.5 km @ 6.76% or 8.5 km @9.45%

Stage 17:

Km 158 Cat 1(Balcón de Bizkaia- Monte Oiz): 7.6 km @ 8.8%

Stage 19:

km 140 Cat 1(Col de la Rabassa ): 17 km @ 6.34%

Stage 20:

Km 9 Cat 2 (Col de la Comella): 4.8 km @ 6.5%
Km 20 Cat 1 (Coll de Beixalis): 10.1 km @ 6.4%
Km 39 Cat 1 (Coll de Ordino): 11.4 km @ 6.3%
Km 65 Cat 1 (Coll de Beixalis): 7.1 km @ 7.6%
Km 84 Cat 3 (Coll de La Comella): 4 km @ 4.8%
Km 98.2 Cat 1(Coll de La Gallina): 7.8 km @ 7.6%

Can find all stages here:
http://www.steephill.tv/vuelta-a-espana/

And more details here:
https://www.cyclingstage.com/vuelta-2018-route/

or Here:
https://www.climbbybike.com/race.asp?Race=Vuelta2018

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Stage 20, the last one before procession to Madrid:

That looks like one fun stage!

I guess Demare won't be doing the Vuelta..........

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

Stage 20, the last one before procession to Madrid:

That looks like one fun stage!

I guess Demare won't be doing the Vuelta..........

It's stage 20 so he's not gonna miss much by not making the time cut.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

This route is:
40km of TT in two stages
2 murito/short uphill finish of some kind (including monte oiz)
5 not totally flat but probably a sprint, some more sprint-y than others
6 MTF, 1 total uni-puerto, 1 real mountain stage, most others with no significant climbs that can change a race before the mtf
5 flat

It's a really bad route

I count 9 MTF (including Muritos). You have 8. There are two stages defined as flat but they are not. I think they are Stage 1 and Stage 17.

I also have 20 stages so you are right for sure

 

[railxmig]

Re: Re:

Stage 20, the last one before procession to Madrid:

That looks like one fun stage!

That's a weaker version of this 2015 stage:

I really though i've rated this before... In general 2018 Vuelta is kinda lacking in punch. It's like a Bryan Adams song - perfectly serivceable but lacking any substance. Glad to see Monte Oiz from the proper side (unlike the rumours suggested) but for me that's the only highlight of the stage. Sad to see once again Covatilla as a one-mountain finish. The first Andorra stage is a waste of climb. I'm also kinda sick of Camperona. I guess the racing will be great but for what it's now it's not a high score.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Stage 20, the last one before procession to Madrid:

That looks like one fun stage!

That's a weaker version of this 2015 stage:

I really though i've rated this before... In general 2018 Vuelta is kinda lacking in punch. It's like a Bryan Adams song - perfectly serivceable but lacking any substance. Glad to see Monte Oiz from the proper side (unlike the rumours suggested) but for me that's the only highlight of the stage. Sad to see once again Covatilla as a one-mountain finish. The first Andorra stage is a waste of climb. I'm also kinda sick of Camperona. I guess the racing will be great but for what it's now it's not a high score.

Climbs are the wrong order in the 2018 stage. What they need is to have full Gallina without Comella before the finishing climb if that's possible.

What I really want, is that the Tour does a stage like that with Pailhères and Port d'Envalira before that.

 

[Laplaz]

Last climb of stage 14 looks brutal.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Yeah, its a classic Vuelta route. Last year was a lot better in terms of the route and I think Contador definitely payed the organizers back with some great attacking riding, but its extremely hard to do anything other than waiting for the last climb in this year's race. Which obviously isn't good, but you can have a decent enough race that way.

I love Lagos de Covadonga for some reason (the 2016 stage was nice), Les Praeres looks like a classic Vuelta climb like the one Froome bonked on last year. Monte Oiz also looks brutal the way we like it. Camperona is boring at this point. And I like Covatilla, its a bit nostalgic of a climb to me from the early Valverde years in 2004, when he had a total *** day, and 2006 when everyone thought Vino was done for. Then there's 2011 (which I didn't watch) when Antón also messed it up, so it kinda has a history of proving very difficult for some of the favourites.

 

[Gigs_98]

I just realized this is basically a vuelta with not a single worthy esp categorization. Kinda sad when you think of all the climbs that could theoretically be used

 

[dacooley]

it's a pity the vuelta never bothers to post detailed profiles of final climbs.

 

[Red Rick]

I just realized this is basically a vuelta with not a single worthy esp categorization. Kinda sad when you think of all the climbs that could theoretically be used

Nah, Covadonga is a legit ESP. It's not one of the monster ones, but it would've been HC in the Tour too before they decided to do HC inflation like mad.

 

[railxmig]

I know that Libertine will disagree with me, but Spain lacks in HC/ESP department compared to France and Italy. There aren't too many climbs that are viable unless you want to stick to the classics (Covadonga is one of them). This ESP cat. is also quite wonky as sometimes cat. 1 climbs (Alto Campoo & Covatilla) are ESP, but sometimes genuine borderline 1/ESP are only 1 (Bales, Soudet, Cobertoria, San Lorenzo). Even the Libertine's 21 ESP climbs thread has a number of borerline cases like Cubilla, which definitely isn't ESP, Fumanya+Pradell which is borderline etc. I sometimes feel like ESP is a dying category (like 4 in Giro or 2 in Tour) that should be revised or just abolished. And the problem is... i really like how ESP looks on Vuelta's profiles. Esthetically i way prefer the look of ESP to HC in a red circle. It's kinda sad for my eyes to see it just twice (thrice if the winds are good) every edition.

I just realized this is basically a vuelta with not a single worthy esp categorization. Kinda sad when you think of all the climbs that could theoretically be used

Nah, Covadonga is a legit ESP. It's not one of the monster ones, but it would've been HC in the Tour too before they decided to do HC inflation like mad.

Yeah, i don't know, what ASO is lately doing with their HC cat. Stuff like Pré, (debatable) Glières, (debatable) Izoard from both sides, Galibier from Briançon, Finhaut-Emosson, Arcalis, Semnoz 2013, Balès and especially Soulor+Aubisque east should not be HC IMO. What i would personally do is up the standards of HC cat. a bit and lower them for ESP. Maybe if it's the last mountain stage then i could be more lenient towards borderline cases.

 

[Ataraxus]

Re: Re:

Stage 20, the last one before procession to Madrid:

That looks like one fun stage!

The problem with this stage is that Col de la Galina is the hardest climb of the day.
What they should have done is go all the way up to la galina (1912m), take the descent into Sant Julia de Loria and finish in Andorra.
You add only 25 km to the stage and GC action in the last 30-40 km is almost guaranteed.

 

[Red Rick]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1033&v=OPS40lGGKD0