Tour 2012: Route Rumours / Our wishes

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

looks very meh.

we'll see..

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I actually like the proposed big mountain stages. They can be pretty epic if the terrain between points A and B is maximized.

That would entail trusting that the terrain between points A and B is maximised.

 

[McLovin]

morzine via joux-plane is much much better than many mtf.

 

[Descender]

But but but... Morzine is not MTF? Is it allowed to make a mountain stage without finishing on top of a climb? Do they really expect the riders to ride down? I mean, they all have families back home...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

But but but... Morzine is not MTF? Is it allowed to make a mountain stage without finishing on top of a climb? Do they really expect the riders to ride down? I mean, they all have families back home...

Evidently Andy Schleck is no longer the golden child.

 

[Swede1]

Ive probably already said this, but I want a Tour route that is really different from previous years. They should use the climbs from ronde van vlaanderen. That would be epic. Have some punchy finishes like the Vuelta. Have 2 long TT's like in 2007. And maybe have something with dirt roads like in the Giro (and hope it rains). Have 4 good MTF with the last one on Ventoux. That would make for a very very epic awesome Tour de France.

One thing is, Andy Schleck would hate this route. But other than him it seems like a pretty good route for the all-rounders.

 

[Tigerion]

I would like to see something like the Qubec sprint pro on the same day as the prolouge. With green jersey points for the winner so at least whoever is wearing green for the first stage has actually sprinted for it not a come 2nd in a TT.

Let people choose between GC or sprint, after all there is really no point in watching sprinters do a TT. Maybe they all get the same time as the 2nd last rider through the the prolouge, have to let somebody 'earn' the lantern rouge.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I would like to see something like the Qubec sprint pro on the same day as the prolouge. With green jersey points for the winner so at least whoever is wearing green for the first stage has actually sprinted for it not a come 2nd in a TT.

Let people choose between GC or sprint, after all there is really no point in watching sprinters do a TT. Maybe they all get the same time as the 2nd last rider through the the prolouge, have to let somebody 'earn' the lantern rouge.

meh. i had no problems wth the event, it was a bit of fun, in the same sense a crit is. But to insert into the TDF would be circuis like imo.

 

[Ferminal]

You are correct. But if Morzine is the first Alpine stage it expect it to be 2003-like.

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2003/tour03/?id=stages/stage7

Similar to the Dauphine stage to Les Gets too. I guess that fits in with the Tour always having a soft day into the Alps. Going out towards Annonay can't be too hard either.

So that would leave just the La Toussuire MTF which gave us a bunch sprint. They could take in Madeleine before Glandon/Croix de Fer though which would make it a reasonably hard stage

 

[jordan5000]

My wishes: 1 cobbled stage, prologue, 50km flat tt, mountain tt on Ventoux, 3 other mountain top finishes, 2 other mountain stages, 2 transition stages, 10 flat stages, some of which being uneven.

But the most important thing: NO TEAM TIME TRIAL!!!!!!

 

[gregrowlerson]

Possible route based on rumours, taken from the Petite-Reine forum.

Not much ITT

But stages 13 (like '06 stage please), 15 and 18 (like '05 stage please)

 

[airstream]

Hm... As far as I remember this source (or similar to this) guessed 1 mountain stage of 6 for TdF10 and about 1.5 of 6 for TdF11... It's plausible, typical for Tour nowadays route: 3 MTF, 1 ITT. I think that's really reasonable and well-balanced to put 1 ITT, because of riders are afraid of attacking in big mountains now till the last 2-3 km and 2 ITT would kill chances of guys whose ITT is not so good. A bit disappointed with an absence of new climbs using as MTF. My dream is a finish on Col de la Madeleine. Hopefully they will organize Morzine stage through Joux Plane. I dont like '03 profile. The 30-50 strongest finish quietly in this case.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Generally the most accurate route rumors come from Thomas Vergouwen

http://www.velowire.com/home.php?l=en

I don't see a thread yet on his site for 2012 but I assume he will have one soon. He has been spot on for the last 3 years.

He has posted one sketch route.

P Sa. 30 June 2012 Liège Liège official, 6.1 km
1 Su. 1er July 2012 Liège Seraing official, 180 km
2 Mo. 2 July 2012 Visé Tournai
3 Tu. 3 July 2012 Orchies Boulogne-sur-Mer
4 We. 4 July 2012 Abbeville Rouen
5 Th. 5 July 2012 Gournay-en-Bray or Rouen Saint-Quentin or Reims
6 Fr. 6 July 2012 Reims Metz or Sedan for the start
7 Sa. 7 July 2012 Tomblaine Gérardmer or Belfort for the finish
8 Su. 8 July 2012 Belfort Porrentruy
9 Mo. 9 July 2012 Besançon Mâcon
R1 Tu. 10 July 2012 rest day in Mâcon
10 We. 11 July 2012 Villars-les-Dombes
(Parc des Oiseaux) Chambéry / ??? ???
11 Th. 12 July 2012 Albertville La Toussuire EDT 10/07
12 Fr. 13 July 2012 Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne Annonay
13 Sa. 14 July 2012 Valence ???
14 Su. 15 July 2012 Foix Toulouse ???
15 Mo. 16 July 2012 Samatan Pla d'Adet / Saint-Lary-Soulan or Peyragudes for the finish
R2 Tu. 17 July 2012 rest day in Pau
16 We. 18 July 2012 ??? La Pierre-Saint-Martin
17 Th. 19 July 2012 ??? Brive-la-Gaillarde
18 Fr. 20 July 2012 Brive-la-Gaillarde Limoges or Clermont-Ferrand for the finish?
19 Sa. 21 July 2012 Chartres Chartres individual time trial
20 Su. 22 July 2012 Chartres Paris Champs-Elysées or Provins for the start


If they have a ITT around Valence then have a ITT around Chartres the route wouldn't be that bad. I guess if there was going to be a tt around valence then it may go to Montelimar or be an out-and-back course.

 

[roundabout]

Huh?

If they are going to make stage 14 "flat" than 2 ITT is too much for this course unless stage 18 finishes on the Puy de Dôme.

Edit: although stage 10 looks good.

 

[Lupetto]

There will never be a finish on the Puy de Dôme again.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Stage 14 on that route = another waste of a weekend day. It's like this year, when they made us wait 2 weeks for a single mountain, then crammed them all into the last week, only to put a stupid crappy pancake flat stage on at the weekend!

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

There will never be a finish on the Puy de Dôme again.

I don't give up hope for it. There's this 100 year edition, they've got to find some very specials things for it. And there must be a way to make a Puy de Dome stage happen.

 

[rzombie1988]

I'd love a Col D'Abisque MTF, but I don't think it'll happen. I thought it made for an awesome stage and awesome visuals in 2007.

 

[valentius borealis]

I don't give up hope for it. There's this 100 year edition, they've got to find some very specials things for it. And there must be a way to make a Puy de Dome stage happen.

I was under the impression that part of the road up to Puy de Dome was torn up a couple of years ago.

 

[Cimber]

Wish: 2 TTs. That wont happen though so I just hope that the one TT will be 50km+.

Oh and a few stages that ends with a descent pls.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Wish: 2 TTs. That wont happen though so I just hope that the one TT will be 50km+.

Oh and a few stages that ends with a descent pls.

I think it is possible. I think it is possible that their maybe one at the end of the 2nd week around Valence.

 

[roundabout]

You do know that it's over 300km between Valence and Foix? Over 400 by car.

In short, not gonna happen.

 

[Siriuscat]

Wish: 2 TTs. That wont happen though so I just hope that the one TT will be 50km+.

Oh and a few stages that ends with a descent pls.

Steep technical descents, in the rain....just to annoy Frandy!!

 

[auscyclefan94]

You do know that it's over 300km between Valence and Foix? Over 400 by car.

In short, not gonna happen.

Who said the posible tt has to be between Valence and Foix?

 

[roundabout]

Who said the posible tt has to be between Valence and Foix?

err, nobody.

They would need to have a kinda long transfer after your TT though...