Tour de France Tour de France 2022 route rumors thread.

[OlavEH]

it's a formula that works really well. Having such stages really helps to force some action indeed. Although I would say it should not become to much a formula. Every year a Mortirolo-Aprica will get a bit predictable as well. So different formats can work as well, without having a monster climb not to far from the finish followed by an easier climb. Most important is having fair possibilities to make ambush early on and avoid stages in which the waiting game is most favorable.

In Italy, there are so many good options for something else than a MTF where the last few kms are the toughest, that it should be easy to create these kind of stages:

Mortirolo - Aprica
Finestre - Sestriere
Stelvio/Gavia - Torri di Fraele/Bormio 2000.
San Pellegrino in Alpe - Abetone
Colle San Carlo - Courmayeur
Fauniera - Madonna di Colletto (downhill finish)
Giau - Falzarego or nearby refugio or downhill finish
Fedaia - Pordoi or downhill finish
Downhill finish to Trento from Bondone or Rovereto from Bordala
Downhill finish from Monte Grappa

And that is just options from the top of my head. There are certainly other. There are also options for the Tour, but not the same abundance as in Italy.

 

[gavia88]

In Italy, there are so many good options for something else than a MTF where the last few kms are the toughest, that it should be easy to create these kind of stages:

Mortirolo - Aprica
Finestre - Sestriere
Stelvio/Gavia - Torri di Fraele/Bormio 2000.
San Pellegrino in Alpe - Abetone
Colle San Carlo - Courmayeur
Fauniera - Madonna di Colletto (downhill finish)
Giau - Falzarego or nearby refugio or downhill finish
Fedaia - Pordoi or downhill finish
Downhill finish to Trento from Bondone or Rovereto from Bordala
Downhill finish from Monte Grappa

And that is just options from the top of my head. There are certainly other. There are also options for the Tour, but not the same abundance as in Italy.

yes, but it would still be a formula. One that works, but if you overuse it, a kind of predictability will grow. Don't understand me wrong, I prefere giro routes almost always above vuelta. But what happened there in the last hilly stage was way more surprising, than a Finestre-Sestriere combo would gave us. Those perfect looking combos are great as 1 vs 1 racing, but not really for surprising tactics. Sometimes not so good looking sequences of climbs can work as well, as tactics became more important. With waiting teammates (again vuelta heras and Aru are some exemples, or last year Sestriere in which INEOS killed it of in the flat before last Sestriere climb), or coincidental interests between teams, flat parts can sometimes be even more decisive. As well as a big HC mountain top finish with nothing before can deliver. Variantion, good pacing of stages, unpredictablity and a lot of option to attack and surprise from far out, GC ranking and team strength, seems more important than just a perfect combo of 2 climbs. So, I don't think a Tour de France route should suffer from the lack of missing of great combos. They have other cards to play to make an atractive route.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

My brain fried a minute. I totally forgot you could use Croix de Fer like that and was already thinking you wanted to descend Glandon south and didn't know geography.

Croix de Fer N via Glandon is one of the hardest TdF climbs ever used, probably topped only by Ventoux, Loze and maybe Portet.

 

[Red Rick]

Croix de Fer N via Glandon is one of the hardest TdF climbs ever used, probably topped only by Ventoux, Loze and maybe Portet.

Nah there's a few other harder ones. But it is hard indeed.

 

[gavia88]

Croix de Fer N via Glandon is one of the hardest TdF climbs ever used, probably topped only by Ventoux, Loze and maybe Portet.

it's really a great climb, the last 8 kilometers before col du glandon are really steep.


I still would prefere a Madeleine-Telegraphe-Galibier-Granon above a Croix de Fer-Telegraphe-Galibier-Granon, because the last option gave a long flat start of the race. While Madeleine already can be reached within 20 k or so

 

[yaco]

Do we have any rumours regarding the route for the first edition of the TDF Femmes ? Could the first stage be an ITT or prologue on the Champs Elyssses ?

 

[Ulle97]

Unfortunately, there aren't too many of these combos in France. You have some good chained climbs like the ones you mention (and Aubisque - Spandelles - Hautacam which hopefully will be used in next year's Tour), but none few or none combos with a massive penulatimate climb followed by an much easier last climb. Italy has a bunch of these. The only one I can think of in France is Pailheres - Plateau de Bonascre.

Galibier- Les Deux Alpe?

 

[Ulle97]

In Italy, there are so many good options for something else than a MTF where the last few kms are the toughest, that it should be easy to create these kind of stages:

Mortirolo - Aprica
Finestre - Sestriere
Stelvio/Gavia - Torri di Fraele/Bormio 2000.
San Pellegrino in Alpe - Abetone
Colle San Carlo - Courmayeur
Fauniera - Madonna di Colletto (downhill finish)
Giau - Falzarego or nearby refugio or downhill finish
Fedaia - Pordoi or downhill finish
Downhill finish to Trento from Bondone or Rovereto from Bordala
Downhill finish from Monte Grappa

And that is just options from the top of my head. There are certainly other. There are also options for the Tour, but not the same abundance as in Italy.

Col d'Allos - Pra Loup

 

[Froome]

Croix de Fer N via Glandon is one of the hardest TdF climbs ever used, probably topped only by Ventoux, Loze and maybe Portet.

Maybe col du sabot is the most hard climb in france.
14.5 km at 9% in a very bad road.

 

[staubsauger]

Galibier- Les Deux Alpe?

That's a stage thankfully never to be held again. Simply because it always would be measured by 1998 standards and hence always ends up being a dissatisfaction even if the actual racing was decent.

If they had used it again some years ago it would be a different matter. But that stage has been so extremely glorified. IMHO it's not even worth trying anymore.

 

[gavia88]

That's a stage thankfully never to be held again. Simply because it always would be measured by 1998 standards and hence always ends up being a dissatisfaction even if the actual racing was decent.

If they had used it again some years ago it would be a different matter. But that stage has been so extremely glorified. IMHO it's not even worth trying anymore.

they better do Galibier, Alpe d'Huez, Sarenne, les deux Alpes

 

[Red Rick]

AdH + L2A seems good, but AdH is probably always paying for MTF and nothing else.

 

[Jan the Man]

Although a descent finish i like a finish in serre chevalier like 2017 after oron croix-de fer and Galibier. Villard de lans when used properly maybe like in 2004. Again a descent finish but le grand bonard after the col de la croix fry or morzine after joux-plane should be utilised more.

 

[ice&fire]

AdH + L2A seems good, but AdH is probably always paying for MTF and nothing else.

In a normal world ASO wouldn't want to get money from AdH just to pass by and have the stage finish somewhere else. And AdH wouldn't block the road if the race doesn't finish there.

 

[OlavEH]

Galibier- Les Deux Alpe?

Yep, I can agree on this. Wonder if we'll ever see a Iseran-Galibier double. With either Les Deux Alpes or Tignes as the stage finish, depending on what way they are riding.

Col d'Allos - Pra Loup

Nah, Allos is far too easy to be counted in this category.

 

[Red Rick]

Yep, I can agree on this. Wonder if we'll ever see a Iseran-Galibier double. With either Les Deux Alpes or Tignes as the stage finish, depending on what way they are riding.

Nah, Allos is far too easy to be counted in this category.

Iseran-Galibier was in the 2007 Tour.

 

[houtdffan]

The tour could EASILY have a Finestre/Sestrieres combo finish if it wanted to

St Jean en Maurienne to Sestrieres. 5 climbs. Mollard, Galiber, Montverginie, Finestre, finish at Sestrieres

Of cours,e the modern peloton would howl to the moon to no end of a stage that tough

 

[Red Rick]

In a normal world ASO wouldn't want to get money from AdH just to pass by and have the stage finish somewhere else. And AdH wouldn't block the road if the race doesn't finish there.

I wonder if this is a huge issue with many of the really good potential climbs, like Col de la Loze and Chamrousse

 

[Krzysztof_O]

The tour could EASILY have a Finestre/Sestrieres combo finish if it wanted to

Absolutely, it would be great to extend Finestre's legend to the Tour. Maybe one day it will happen but it's unlikely in the near future.

 

[Billie]

The tour could EASILY have a Finestre/Sestrieres combo finish if it wanted to

St Jean en Maurienne to Sestrieres. 5 climbs. Mollard, Galiber, Montverginie, Finestre, finish at Sestrieres

Of cours,e the modern peloton would howl to the moon to no end of a stage that tough

If the Tour ever does Finestre it should be Finestre - Sestriere - Monginevro with finish in Briançon.

That's about as good as it can get for a combo

 

[Monte Serra]

Do we have any rumours regarding the route for the first edition of the TDF Femmes ? Could the first stage be an ITT or prologue on the Champs Elyssses ?

Good question! Not much has come out, just a rough outline. Start in Paris and MTF's on La Planche and Alpe d'Huez (via the classic hairpins).

https://twitter.com/x/status/1448004152957755396

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/laflammerouge16/status/1448004152957755396

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Good question! Not much has come out, just a rough outline. Start in Paris and MTF's on La Planche and Alpe d'Huez (via the classic hairpins).

https://twitter.com/x/status/1448004152957755396

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/laflammerouge16/status/1448004152957755396

The AdH article refers to the men's race. The Vosges will be the only mountains in the women's race by the looks of things, although PBF won't be the only decisive stage with two rumoured stage hosts in the Alsace at the foot of the mountains, and the same finale to Epernay as in the 2019 Tour.

Rough outline for the women's race:
Stage 1: Champs-Elysées
Other stage hosts, in order from closest to Paris to closest to PBF:
Provins (slightly hilly)
Épernay (hilly, probable HTF)
Bar-sur-Aube (slightly hilly, probably similar to this year's Avenir stage)
(probably one stage in between these two, there's still at least one finish unknown and the distance is very large for a transfer)
Sélestat (see below)
Rosheim (these are very close together so could be on the same stage; mid-mountain)
Stage 8 (final stage): PBF finish (with the stupid gravel ramp at the end; Ballon d'Alsace will also be on the route, either here or on a Stage 7 that comes after the stage(s) at Sélestat and Rosheim)

 

[Escarabajo]

If there is any truth to the parcours in La Flamme Rouge it will be another ugly route. I don't understand the love affair of ASO with the short stages. I just don't understand it. Once the stages are short it makes it a power meter race. Bunch of power mountains. Like who cares about recovery and endurance anymore. It makes me so mad!

 

[houtdffan]

Finestre - Sestriere - Monginevro would be far too easy for a classic tour stage. May be a good Gouvenou special though

 

[houtdffan]

If there is any truth to the parcours in La Flamme Rouge it will be another ugly route. I don't understand the love affair of ASO with the short stages. I just don't understand it. Once the stages are short it makes it a power meter race. Bunch of power mountains. Like who cares about recovery and endurance anymore. It makes me so mad!

We had the Pescheux Special previously. Now we get the Gouvenou special