that would be so typical for the tour. That stage for the route du Sud was perfect. But no, let's do 20 k of false flat valley before the final climb instead.
- Apr 30, 2011
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Starting from Pau, that's the big fear. It'd be such a shame when they are doing the Pyrenees from the east. Had they done Lannemezan > Gavarnie, they could have had an arbitrary amount of climbing before Tourmalet too.
A realistic design, not asking for too much:
Lannemezan > Gavarnie-Gèdre
149.0 km, +4582 m. Bike ride in La Barthe-de-Neste, Occitanie
ridewithgps.com
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- Apr 30, 2011
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What makes you say that? It seems the most friendly to him since 2021, and if stage 8 is an ITT then the most friendly since 2012.
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He needs two long time trials at least with some gentler climbs. He'll lose minutes on some of the rumoured MTFs. Plateau de Solaison is not for him.
- Apr 30, 2011
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That sounds to me like the Tour is not for him, not this particular route.
Stage 8 as a TT would finally start to revert the race back to the TDF, not the world climbing championships it became starting when Gouvenou took over
- Oct 25, 2020
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During the 2000s, the Giro got plaudits for introducing mountainous routes. The Tour, in comparison with 8/9 sprint stages appeared to look bland. The opinions have come full circle now, with clamour for less mountains and a variety of stages, including a couple of decent length TTs.
not necessarily fewer mountains, just a better balance between the climbs and the TTs
Also, we need that epic 7 hour slog stage back, that Gouvenou also removed.
The Tour is better now regarding hilly and medium mountain stages. There should really not be more than something like 5 or 6 stages that ends in a mass sprint.
He only acknowledge Tour design like in the early 90s or something like that. 100 km+ of ITT and 7 hour mountain stages.
- Mar 20, 2022
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Endurance IMO. You mock Del Toro when he can't be strong enough to fight for long classics (over 200 km) but now you are underestimating long stages.
Even if they go slow, the lenght is still significant to punish riders. If not MSR would be a dreadful race IMO.
As far as I can find, there hasn't been a 7 hour mountain stage in the Tour since Andorra 1997. The longest I could find in the 2000s were a 6 hour 23 min stage to Alpe d'Huez in 2001 and Col de Aubisque in 2007.
I would welcome longer stages, but it does not need to be mountain stages. Actually I would like better a couple of longer medium mountain stages in each version. Something in the Massif Central or Vosges. Or zig-zag through Vercors with a finish at one of the ski stations there.
I would welcome longer stages, but it does not need to be mountain stages. Actually I would like better a couple of longer medium mountain stages in each version. Something in the Massif Central or Vosges. Or zig-zag through Vercors with a finish at one of the ski stations there.
- Apr 30, 2011
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Tour de France 2000 Stage 14 results
Tour de France 2000 Stage 14 from Draguignan to Briancon was won by Santiago Botero before Paolo Savoldelli and Marco Pantani. Lance Armstrong was leading the general classification.
www.procyclingstats.com
Okay. I missed that one. But still that didn't create much gaps in the GC. Something like a 150 km stage with Saisies, Aravis, Colombiere, Joux-Plane and a finish at Les Gets would probably be a more interesting GC stage than this Briancon stage.Tour de France 2000 Stage 14 results
Tour de France 2000 Stage 14 from Draguignan to Briancon was won by Santiago Botero before Paolo Savoldelli and Marco Pantani. Lance Armstrong was leading the general classification.
The proposed 2026 Pyrenees stages are also really making me appreciate how easy last year was as a spectator. I spent three days in the Pyrenees and watched stages 12-14, with a fairly limited amount of driving in between. Next year looks like it will be a bit more challenging.Starting from Pau, that's the big fear. It'd be such a shame when they are doing the Pyrenees from the east. Had they done Lannemezan > Gavarnie, they could have had an arbitrary amount of climbing before Tourmalet too.
A realistic design, not asking for too much:
Lannemezan > Gavarnie-Gèdre
149.0 km, +4582 m. Bike ride in La Barthe-de-Neste, Occitanie
In general it looks like the Pyrenees stages this year will be scattered. For my money, I’d stay close to Foix for stage 4 and just use that as a base. Skip stage 5 which looks like a sprint and then hit up stage 6. I know hotels in that area are looking hard to find. Or just use a spot between Pau and Foix as my base. Foix at least has a train station. Assuming it’s a mountain top finish as it’s rumored to be, that plus stage 6 would be a fun combo.
Thank you, this is really helpful advice! I've seen a couple of AirBnBs in Gavarnie and I'm tempted to just book one with free cancellation before the route is released, as I think once it is anything available will be booked up so quickly. If they do go up Tourmalet I'd like to watch there though, and stay somewhere like Luz-Saint-Sauveur.
So much of going to the Tour comes down to availability and determination. Of course, that rumored time trail on stage 16 looks to be just about the perfect stage. It’s a time trial. It’s easy to get to through transit and it’s in a gorgeous location.
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