Tour de France 2018 Rumours

[Gigs_98]

Is it possible that there really isn't a thread about this yet? This might be a sign how popular the tour de france is in this forum, but anyway, it's the biggest race of the year and the speculation about the route is therefore always quite interesting.

The first three stages are already official. The race will start with an exciting flat stage followed by a possibly even more exciting flat stage followed by the first gc relevant stage, a TTT on the 3rd day.
http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2017/us/grand-depart-2018.html

Since I don't speak french I'm not exactly good at finding rumors myself, but luckily other people do this job for me, I therefore hope it's okay to post a route prediction from the Flamme Rouge forum:
https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/road-races/tour-france-2018-route-rumors-t7035.html

1 Flat Noirmoutier-en-l'Île > Fontenay-le-Comte
2 Flat Mouilleron-Saint-Germain > La Roche-sur-Yon
3 Team Time Trial Cholet > Cholet
4 Flat La Baule > Sarzeau
5 Hilly Lorient > Pointe-du-Raz
6 Flat Pontivy > Rennes(?)
7 Flat Rennes(?) > Chartres(?)
8 Flat Dreux > Amiens(?)
9 Cobbles Saint-Quentin/Compiegne(?) > ???

10 High Mountain Annecy > ??? (Ain)
11 High Mountain Bourgoin-Jailleu > Alpe d'Huez (via Sarenne)
12 Climb Time Trial Le Bourg d'Oisans > Alpe d'Huez
13 Flat ??? > Valence
14 Medium Mountain Valence > Mende
15 Flat Millau > Toulouse(?)
16 Flat Auch > Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle

17 High Mountain Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle > Arette Pierre Saint-Martin
18 High Mountain ??? > Bagneres-de-Bigorre (?)
19 High Mountain ??? > Superbagneres
20 Individual Time Trial ??? > ???
21 Flat ??? > Paris - Champs-Elysees

The first thing I noticed is that this prediction would mean that 5 out of 8 weekend stages are flat. Another rather strange thing is that there could be two stage finishes in Alp d'Huez, a normal stage which ends like the Dauphine stage this year, and a mountain time trial. Moreover there will be another, probably flat time trial after the final set of mountain stages in the pyrenees, where the climb to Superbagneres could finally make a return to the tour. There are stages which take place in Bretagne, however I'm not sure if there will be dirt roads like rumored earlier this year. Besides gravel there could also be cobbles, which combined with the TTT means that teams probably can't only bring climbing domestiques to the race (except sky whose climbing domestiques are quite often winner ob cobbles classics too)

 

[Monte]

With no Alpe D Huez im gonna pass again..

Norway is trying to get start of TDF 2020 i know, i bet it depends on the success of Bergen ..

 

[Netserk]

velowire is always an excellent source: http://www.velowire.com/article/1027/fr/tour-de-france-2018---les-rumeurs-sur-le-parcours-et-les-villes-etapes--.html

 

[Libertine Seguros]

 

[Alexandre B.]

Dreux - Amiens on Bastille Day.

Great.

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

velowire is always an excellent source: http://www.velowire.com/article/1027/fr/tour-de-france-2018---les-rumeurs-sur-le-parcours-et-les-villes-etapes--.html

I searched for that article but didn't find it. I knew that they always wrote about the rumours in the last years but seems like there is only a french article this year, which is probably why it wasn't one of my search results.

I tried very hard to not already criticize the route in the op, but yeah, that is pretty much my thought. Once again way too many flat stages, once again basically no good medium mountain stages and once again the same overused climbs to an amount where they use the finish location of a mountain stage twice in one tour. I give them the benefit of the doubt since these are rumors and I still don't believe in double Alp d'Huez, but in any case, this isn't exactly looking innovative.

 

[sir fly]

We've had more (pretty reliable) rumours by this time of the year in previous seasons.
Should the rumoured itt be decently long, maybe Froome and Sky will start thinking about the double attempt.

 

[deValtos]

Holy *** did they not learn from this year? Why are they repeating this years route?

 

[Rollthedice]

Hear My Train A Comin'

 

[Tonton]

Alberto Contador will win this bike race .

 

[Tonton]

With no Alpe D Huez im gonna pass again..

Norway is trying to get start of TDF 2020 i know, i bet it depends on the success of Bergen ..

What??? If that stands, AdH via Sarenne is nice (coming from the East/Lautaret) and you get your AdH as an ITT, and I bet the folks on the dark side of the forum will compare times and make their year out of it .

If that is the course, yikes...I suppose there are murito opportunities on some of the flat-labeled stages (near and at la Pointe du Raz for example, some nasty 1-1.5 km climbs), but man... . Awful week-ends, Bastille Day borefest.

Beuaaarrrkkk...(flush)

 

[Red Rick]

MTT. NO SKY TRAIN IN A MOUNTAIN STAGE

 

[Netserk]

With no Alpe D Huez im gonna pass again..

Norway is trying to get start of TDF 2020 i know, i bet it depends on the success of Bergen ..

What??? If that stands, AdH via Sarenne is nice (coming from the East/Lautaret) and you get your AdH as an ITT, and I bet the folks on the dark side of the forum will compare times and make their year out of it .

If that is the course, yikes...I suppose there are murito opportunities on some of the flat-labeled stages (near and at la Pointe du Raz for example, some nasty 1-1.5 km climbs), but man... . Awful week-ends, Bastille Day borefest, ..

Beuaaarrrkkk...(flush)

I've heard not all mods are too happy with such imagery

TromleTromle has been permabanned for suggest a team should be executed

 

[Red Rick]

With no Alpe D Huez im gonna pass again..

Norway is trying to get start of TDF 2020 i know, i bet it depends on the success of Bergen ..

What??? If that stands, AdH via Sarenne is nice (coming from the East/Lautaret) and you get your AdH as an ITT, and I bet the folks on the dark side of the forum will compare times and make their year out of it .

If that is the course, yikes...I suppose there are murito opportunities on some of the flat-labeled stages (near and at la Pointe du Raz for example, some nasty 1-1.5 km climbs), but man... . Awful week-ends, Bastille Day borefest, ..

Beuaaarrrkkk...(flush)

I've heard not all mods are too happy with such imagery

TromleTromle has been permabanned for suggest a team should be executed

Can't ban a moderator. I've tried

 

[Netserk]

Same in the old system, I've tried as well

Fair enough that it needed to be edited out, but I do think it puts the original ban a bit in perspective and how easily it seems it's possible to be permabanned nowadays. Oh, and by all means edited this out too if it's clotting the thread too much.

 

[Tonton]

Come on . I'm French, looking at this prediction, what do you expect? That I give it a 8 ?

If it's true, it's atrocious. I'm not the best design specialist here, but I can come up with something waaaayyy better than that (and I have ). I'll do it for free.

What are they doing to the Tour de France ?

 

[portugal11]

Alberto Contador will win this bike race .

I think he has more chances than pinot

 

[Netserk]

Come on . I'm French, looking at this prediction, what do you expect? That I give it a 8 ?

If it's true, it's atrocious. I'm not the best design specialist here, but I can come up with something waaaayyy better than that (and I have :coool: ). I'll do it for free.

What are they doing to the Tour de France ?

Perhaps a 9 if it'll manage a 12.5% improvement from last year?

Well, well, well. For some reason, I always end up giving a 8 to GT designs (unless they're my designs )...riders make the race after all. This TdF is no exception: 8 it is.

I don't understand the outcry expressed by some. Ratings below 5, are, in my estimation, pure nonsense. I also agree that the final ITT should be longer. The 40K suggestion is spot on. I also wish that half of France was not ignored. On the other hand, among the half of France that, for once, was not ignored, I'm glad to see a true Jura stage, beginning in the old capital of Franche-Comte, Dole, and featuring an interesting finish. Before that, the PDBF coming from the west as it seems is probably a missed opportunity. I don't think that Chevreres will precede it (narrow), so I'm afraid of a _____/.

One thing that warrants at least a decent rating is the Biche-GC (by Virieu, muhahahaha )-MDC, the dream of so many forum participants. I don't know what will happen on that day, but all I know is that I'll take the day off.

For the second year in a row, ASO is trying to shake the tree with different designs. Last year, the GC battle was great, so why not try again? The nostalgia about the '90s, 100K of ITT, is something that I can't understand. I lived through the BigMig years and it was no fun. I also don't understand the comment about a Colombian lobby influencing the design. The poster should realize that Bardet was 2nd last year: nice course for him in'17, isn't it? Which means great TV ratings, hype, sponsorship, et caetera. Add to the mix the route passing in front of Tibopino's house, and he forgets about the Giro (see his reaction - I'm in!). Alaphilippe: if he really is a younger version of Valverde, he should do well. A few sprints for Demare, Coquard, and Nacer, and here you go. I can understand some of the considerations. It's a business.

The Peyragudes stage is great, Izoard MTF is going to be very tough, I wish we had all the profiles, a precise itinerary to know everything that we need to know.

I give ASO a pass and some props.

 

[skippo12]

I am still waiting for a cobbled time trial. Do something new and include some harder sectors of Paris-Roubaix in a time trial.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

I am still waiting for a cobbled time trial. Do something new and include some harder sectors of Paris-Roubaix in a time trial.

When the sun rises in the west, sets in the east.
The seas go dry, and the mountains blow in the wind like leaves
Then will we have our cobbled TT.

 

[skippo12]

Re: Re:

I am still waiting for a cobbled time trial. Do something new and include some harder sectors of Paris-Roubaix in a time trial.

When the sun rises in the west, sets in the east.
The seas go dry, and the mountains blow in the wind like leaves
Then will we have our cobbled TT.

Agree. Never do something intersting...people might watch it.

 

[portugal11]

Re:

I am still waiting for a cobbled time trial. Do something new and include some harder sectors of Paris-Roubaix in a time trial.

I think a "roubaix-paris" in the last stage would be epic.

 

[Sciocco]

Wow, trying to make it worse then this year. When will these morons be fired?

 

[jsem94]

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

Wow, trying to make it worse then this year. When will these morons be fired?

When the Giro finally topples the Tour in prestigue.

Ergo, when the sun rises in the west, and sets in the east
When the seas go dry, and the mountains blow in the wind like leaves.