Tour 2012: Route Rumours / Our wishes

[auscyclefan94]

err, nobody.

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

sorry, i thought that post I quoted was reffering to my post about the TT.

Stupid me...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

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

That wouldn't deter one man - the man who should replace Prudhomme after the crappy parcours of last year. Angelo Zomegnan! He'd find a way to use Puy-de-Dôme. Probably involving temporary carpet laid over unsuitable areas and riders ziplining back into Clermont-Ferrand after completing the event for the podium ceremony.

 

[auscyclefan94]

http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20110917_037

From reading a rough translation of this story, the first stage has been changed to become more hilly for Gilbert.

 

[Race Radio]

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

There are rumors for 2013, the 100th Tour.

Supposedly the road has been closed for resurfacing for much of this year and into next.

 

[LaFlorecita]

http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20110917_037

From reading a rough translation of this story, the first stage has been changed to become more hilly for Gilbert.

Berto, go ask for lots of short, steep finishes, technical downhills, no climbs longer and steeper than Plateau de Beille and two 50+ km ITTs.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Andy, go and ask for the Col d'Errozate and Mont du Chat.

 

[airstream]

You hint it would reduce his chances? I bet Andy never heard about these climbs. Libertine Seguros, Errozate and Chat respond logistic requirements that you used approving a removal of Alpe d'Huez?

 

[sultanofhyd]

Andy, ask for Passage du Gois (not in the neutral section) so that you can get a 6 minute headstart and have a better chance of winning.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

You hint it would reduce his chances? I bet Andy never heard about these climbs. Libertine Seguros, Errozate and Chat respond logistic requirements that you used approving a removal of Alpe d'Huez?

Nah, it's just that these climbs are super hard.

Andy wouldn't like Errozate in the race anyway. You could finish at the top of Mont du Chat (14km, 8,9%) without any trouble, but Errozate (10,1km, 9,6%) doesn't have anything at the top, so Andy would be asked to (gulp!) descend...

 

[taiwan]

I'd like to swap the Tour and the Giro one year. Have the Tour in Italy, basically. T'would be awesome.

 

[greenedge]

I liked the breton/ vendee region this year. Hopefully they get a climb that is not the Tourmalet or Alpe D Huez for the Mountain time trial.

 

[El Pistolero]

Berto, go ask for lots of short, steep finishes, technical downhills, no climbs longer and steeper than Plateau de Beille and two 50+ km ITTs.

It went like this:

Phil called ASO stupid to have a flat stage in Liège a few months ago and said he won't bother showing up.

The province of Liège asked ASO to rethink this stage and so they did. It's not like Phil asked it personally to ASO. He just said he wouldn't bother showing up for the Tour with flat stages like that. Guess that was a first for ASO

 

[McLovin]

I liked the breton/ vendee region this year. Hopefully they get a climb that is not the Tourmalet or Alpe D Huez for the Mountain time trial.

It's not possible an ITT on Tourmalet. There are only a few climbs that can be used on a ITT, like Ventoux and Alpe d'Huez.

 

[Poursuivant]

Changing the route, if true, is embarrasing.

 

[auscyclefan94]

It's not possible an ITT on Tourmalet. There are only a few climbs that can be used on a ITT, like Ventoux and Alpe d'Huez.

Have the mountain ITT to La Mongie. Why couldn't that work?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

They can climb this:

because if they turn left at the Col d'Elhursaro then the descent will leave them right at the base of this:

After that they can either descend down to a finish in a small town or do a couple of short (5km @ 5-6%) climbs back to back (Sourzay and Hegichouria) to finish either on the Col d'Hegichouria or at Les Chalets d'Irati.

(You could descend from Les Chalets d'Irati to Larrau then finish on the Puerto de Larrau, but putting them that far from the finish might be a waste of Elhursaro and Errozate).

 

[The Hitch]

It's not possible an ITT on Tourmalet. There are only a few climbs that can be used on a ITT, like Ventoux and Alpe d'Huez.

Interesting, why would a tt be possible on one climb but not another? Surely if htey can do it 200 at once they can do it 1 at a time no?

Im guessing it has something to do with where to keep the riders after the tt but doesnt Tourmalet have another side with a descent so the riders could go there after finishing the actual tt.

Or is there another explanation?

 

[Skip Madness]

If you can have helicopters flying motorbikes off the summit of Kronplatz then you can have a mountain ITT pretty much anywhere.

Elhursaro/Arnostegi things

Don't forget the comical hard way up the Arnostegi/Elhursaro. Zomegnan wouldn't think twice.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

If you can have helicopters flying motorbikes off the summit of Kronplatz then you can have a mountain ITT pretty much anywhere.



Don't forget the comical hard way up the Arnostegi/Elhursaro. Zomegnan wouldn't think twice.

This is why we need a Tour du Pays Basque Français/Iparraldako Itzulia, since Le Tour doesn't use the French Basque Pyrenées anything like enough. As you say, Angelo Zomegnan would look at it and go "THAT. We need more of that", but Prudhomme is too scared of generating gaps that might endanger his precious showdown in the last two days.

 

[roundabout]

If you can have helicopters flying motorbikes off the summit of Kronplatz then you can have a mountain ITT pretty much anywhere.

Having a TT where you need helicopters to get support vehicles down is needlessly costly.

A TT where there's a second route down is a choice of a sane race director.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Having a TT where you need helicopters to get support vehicles down is needlessly costly.

A TT where there's a second route down is a choice of a sane race director.

If Zomegnan ruled the Tour, he'd have found a way to use Puy-de-Dôme. Even if he had to hold the podium ceremony in Clermont-Ferrand and have riders take an enormous zipline down from the summit.

There is a middle ground to be found between the conservatism of Prudhomme and the madness of Zomegnan.

 

[valentius borealis]

Have the mountain ITT to La Mongie. Why couldn't that work?

I'd prefer to see a mountain time trial to Pic du Midi.

 

[McLovin]

Interesting, why would a tt be possible on one climb but not another? Surely if htey can do it 200 at once they can do it 1 at a time no?

Im guessing it has something to do with where to keep the riders after the tt but doesnt Tourmalet have another side with a descent so the riders could go there after finishing the actual tt.

Or is there another explanation?

It must be a second route for cars and motors/cameras to come back at the start. I think a team has only 2-3 cars and every rider should have car with him. The helicopter bring down the motorbikes and cars, it's a joke I think . I remember in 2004-2005 there was an ITT on Hautacam but in a smaller race, and was not broadcasted. That way you can, and read the results on cyclingnews.com

L.E. Rumours that the stage before Paris will finish on Puy-de-Dome, to promote the railway, who will be ready next year.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Andy, ask for Passage du Gois (not in the neutral section) so that you can get a 6 minute headstart and have a better chance of winning.

Great post

 

[KasperAnker]

I'd prefer to see a mountain time trial to Pic du Midi.

Are you insane?
That muletrack doesn't qualify for anything near a road! It's extremely narrow and the surface consists of cracked cliffs.
I had to get off the bike several times to jump over gaps.

-Anker