Thanks! There’s still rooms available in Mont- Dore. Seems like a great place to spend Bastille Day. Though Clermont-Ferrand looks like a ton of fun."The town"?
You refer to the heart of Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand?
The marked place Place de Jaude, the Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral, Basilique Notre-Dame-du-Port, Musée d'Art Roger Quilliot, a volcanological museum, Musée de l'Art et de l'Industrie .....and then, ofcourse, L'Aventure Michelin.
And, of course, a good bike ride upway to Puy-de-Dôme in the vicinity and finishing the day with testing the limits of 4 wheels on the modern layout of Circuit de Charade.
Then you have filled your day.
Well, apart from you've probably worked up an appetite for the +25 restaurants in the city, listed in the Michelin guide laying the foundation for the good habit of planning the route after the food.
Here you don't have to drive that far. You are already there
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Not one post prior to this in the thread had been reported. I have been travelling for a few days and spent very little time online, but have opened this site every now and then to check for report notifications, so that I could have intervened had there been call for it.
And then instead of PMing me, or reporting the posts that you think should have been acted upon had I happened to have stumbled across them, you denounce the modding system (ie, me) publicly.
Frankly, what the hell do you expect of me?
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I could have sworn I had reported a number of posts in this thread, either I’ve somehow made that up or there’s a technical issue.
Edit: I’ve reported my own post for the sake of testing, if that’s gone through I’ll assume the issue is with my memory,
Well with Pogacar (and Vinegard to a lesser extent) the route doesn`t really matter all that much. That guy simply is the most electryfying racer of all time and lights up the race no matter what. So there`s no oubt he`ll make the best of it and deliver a good show.
That being said, Prudhomme and his ASO toyboys can really go and *** themselves. This route is really the biggest insult yet.
"Yeah let`s really piss them all of by doing 33km Vuelta Time trial and than a mountain TT but let`s do it on a piss poor boring short climb to minimize the action as much as possible".
I mean what the actual *** is wrong with these people? I am out of words for the patheticness of that organisation.
That being said, Prudhomme and his ASO toyboys can really go and *** themselves. This route is really the biggest insult yet.
"Yeah let`s really piss them all of by doing 33km Vuelta Time trial and than a mountain TT but let`s do it on a piss poor boring short climb to minimize the action as much as possible".
I mean what the actual *** is wrong with these people? I am out of words for the patheticness of that organisation.
Just to remind people again, the Tour (and other) GT's can n't go and plan a route how they want. There's a lot of money, time and local political will needed as well as all the security. That's why it's the same places year after year. The Innerring blog has had some good posts about the mechanism behind the Tour and how things are stitched together.
You're right about that. But they do have some freedom. Like I don't think it was regional authorities in Spain and France that came up with the idea of muritos. And those steep ramps on top of climbs like Super Belles Filles and the altiport at Peyragudes. This is a developement pushed by ASO (and earlier Unipublic). Same for next year. I think it is a ASO choice that they have none relevant GC mountain stages that end in something else than a big MTF.
Because the general public - CN forums are not representative - does not like descent finishes.
It does not need to be a descent finish. But not the biggest climb as MTF on every mountain stage. Or none proper medium mountain stages, only HC MTFs.
Question for the big climbing fans. Would you prefer a race with 10 stages like the Bastille Stage on tap for the upcoming year or 6 mountain stages like the ones that many of you are complaining about. I am genuinely curious. Because I love the look of the Mastiff stage but I am not a “destroy them in the mountains “ kind of fan. But I do like a good, non stop punchy mountain stage.
It's the general public again, I think. A lot of people automatically rate the stage higher if it's a HC MTF.
There are few hard constraints, and almost no criticism is in that direction. Sure, I'd wish to see Parpaillon in the Tour, but I don't blame ASO for not moving heaven and earth to make it raceable. I'd wish to see a Tour of more than 4000 km and with no rest days, but I don't cry about that every year.
There are trade-offs, design philosophy, habits etc.
Those are not constants. The Tour has changed a lot, and has over time offered a wide variety of routes. When you pay attention to the routes of the Tour, you can infer intentions and what in a given time is considered as viable options (or just plainly listen to what they say). Several combinations of climbs or novel ascents have been talked about or proposed, and then later featured. Because we mostly consider viable options. Like Iseran-Tignes, Bonette-Lombarde-Sant'Anna di Vinadio and Aubisque-Spandelles.
The previous finishes in Rouen have been boring flat stages. Next year has a hilly finale. Because they actively chose that. The Tour hasn't had a long ITT since 2014 (longest was in 2022 at 40.7 km). Because they have actively chosen that.
There are trade-offs, design philosophy, habits etc.
Those are not constants. The Tour has changed a lot, and has over time offered a wide variety of routes. When you pay attention to the routes of the Tour, you can infer intentions and what in a given time is considered as viable options (or just plainly listen to what they say). Several combinations of climbs or novel ascents have been talked about or proposed, and then later featured. Because we mostly consider viable options. Like Iseran-Tignes, Bonette-Lombarde-Sant'Anna di Vinadio and Aubisque-Spandelles.
The previous finishes in Rouen have been boring flat stages. Next year has a hilly finale. Because they actively chose that. The Tour hasn't had a long ITT since 2014 (longest was in 2022 at 40.7 km). Because they have actively chosen that.
Small cycling fans need not reply
This thread might be relevant to your question
What is the perfect Grand Tour?
Since we spend the last 2-3 months just about each year on discussions related to this topic, I think it would be interesting with a more general thread on the topic. What do we excpect, and what would make us satisfied. I can start with some ideas on what it would take for me to rate a GT route...
forum.cyclingnews.com
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Yeah, I get that. But still next year is a bit overdoing it. They could easily replace 2 of the MTFs with a proper medium mountain stage and either a descent finish or even better; a big climb/small climb as the finish combo. Still would have hade more than enough big MTFs, but added variety and the possibility for more entertaining stage for us true cycling fans.
I know all that and I agree with you. I hate that route.
But I've seen a lot of people saying it's 8 or 9/10 because of the mountain stages.
General public just loves MTF's. And the bigger they are, the better.
I mean, I've seen (a lot of..) people who think that Mortirolo-Aprica stage would be better if it finishes on Mortirolo.
I give it a 7.
I think the pacing is pretty good. If 20-30 kms was added to every stage it would be a 9.
I don't mind having plenty of flat stages; just space them out a little. No more than two in a row. Tick.
Have some punchy stages to create intriguing MVDP type vs. Pogacar type finishers. Tick.
Most interesting medium mountain stage not suffocated by daunting racing after it (stage 10, before rest day). Tick.
Queen stage (18) and hardest MTF before a shorter stage (but multi mountain, potential carnage) and easier MTF. Tick.
Roughly 33 kms of relatively flat ITT. Cross.
The stage 13 MTT may hinder racing on Hautacam a little the previous day, but at least the best pyrenean stage comes afterwards. Stage 15 before the second rest day may also be an interesting hilly stage?
All in all I quite like it.
I think the pacing is pretty good. If 20-30 kms was added to every stage it would be a 9.
I don't mind having plenty of flat stages; just space them out a little. No more than two in a row. Tick.
Have some punchy stages to create intriguing MVDP type vs. Pogacar type finishers. Tick.
Most interesting medium mountain stage not suffocated by daunting racing after it (stage 10, before rest day). Tick.
Queen stage (18) and hardest MTF before a shorter stage (but multi mountain, potential carnage) and easier MTF. Tick.
Roughly 33 kms of relatively flat ITT. Cross.
The stage 13 MTT may hinder racing on Hautacam a little the previous day, but at least the best pyrenean stage comes afterwards. Stage 15 before the second rest day may also be an interesting hilly stage?
All in all I quite like it.
they cut the descent finishes way back in 2022 as well. i think this was probably an overreaction after the 2021 route didn't have a true MTF until like stage 17
i think they just go back and forth on how much descent finishing they like every year or so
Really? One would think that those who know that climb is people who know enough about cycling to realize that that would diminsh the race.
Van der Poel have to be crazy if doesn't put this on the top of his calendar after the Spring Classics next year. Like the WCRR last year, I think he will never have a Tour route that suits him etter. Stage 2, 4, 6, 7 and 11 should fit him pefectly. In addition there are 2-3 possible breakway stages the last week, especially stage 20 to Pontarlier. This is just too good for him to skip.
Two negative points from my perspective:
Looks like a very dodgy opening week, expect crashes, probably mass pile ups.
Those frigging long distances between stage finishes and the next days stage start. Do they never give it a thought, money wins I guess.
Looks like a very dodgy opening week, expect crashes, probably mass pile ups.
Those frigging long distances between stage finishes and the next days stage start. Do they never give it a thought, money wins I guess.
Remember a few years ago one of the GTs was trying to minimize transfers to save CO2? Wasn't it the Tour?
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