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Tour of Britain route announced

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-of-britain-2016-route-announced/

Stage 1, Sunday, September 4: Glasgow to Castle Douglas 168km
Stage 2, Monday, September 5: Carlisle to Kendal 195km
Stage 3, Tuesday, September 6: Congleton to Tatton Park, Knutsford 182km
Stage 4, Wednesday, September 7: Denbigh to Builth Wells 217km
Stage 5, Thursday, September 8: Aberdare to Bath 205km
Stage 6, Friday, September 9: Sidmouth to Haytor, Dartmoor 150km
Stage 7a, Saturday, September 10: Bristol Stage Individual Time Trial 15km
Stage 7b, Saturday, September 10: Bristol Stage Circuit Race 76.5km
Stage 8, Sunday, September 11: London Stage presented by TfL 100km

Looks a good route for either Froome, G or Poels. Should be a good race
 
Being a Scot from the West, most interested in Stage 1. Seems to go through Stewarton, Dunlop, Kilmarnock, Hurlford, Mauchline, Cumnock, Patna, Dalmellington, Carspairn, St John's Town of Dalry, New Galloway then Castle Douglas. Not Scotland at it's most picturesque but roads I have got to know pretty well this last few years. Patna is as bleak as rural Scotland gets IMO.
 
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TMP402 said:
Looks like a relatively sprint friendly edition but I guess they're catering for guys preparing for the Worlds.

They go up the Struggle. NOT sprint friendly at all. Thats on Day two, the sprinters will loose a hell of a lot of time on here. The GC for this year is someone like the Dawg I suspect to get him to the TOB.
 
Re: Re:

MartinGT said:
TMP402 said:
Looks like a relatively sprint friendly edition but I guess they're catering for guys preparing for the Worlds.

They go up the Struggle. NOT sprint friendly at all. Thats on Day two, the sprinters will loose a hell of a lot of time on here. The GC for this year is someone like the Dawg I suspect to get him to the TOB.

Yes stage 2 looks ok, with the tough Ambleside climb close to the finish and the uphill drag it shouldn't be a sprint. The Bristol stage was won by Kwiatkowski a couple of years ago in a group of 6. And of course Haytor should be won by a climber.
 
Re: Re:

MartinGT said:
TMP402 said:
Looks like a relatively sprint friendly edition but I guess they're catering for guys preparing for the Worlds.

They go up the Struggle. NOT sprint friendly at all. Thats on Day two, the sprinters will loose a hell of a lot of time on here. The GC for this year is someone like the Dawg I suspect to get him to the TOB.

But how many of the stages would you say are for sprinters? That's what I meant more than saying a sprinter could win the GC.
 
Re: Re:

TMP402 said:
MartinGT said:
TMP402 said:
Looks like a relatively sprint friendly edition but I guess they're catering for guys preparing for the Worlds.

They go up the Struggle. NOT sprint friendly at all. Thats on Day two, the sprinters will loose a hell of a lot of time on here. The GC for this year is someone like the Dawg I suspect to get him to the TOB.

But how many of the stages would you say are for sprinters? That's what I meant more than saying a sprinter could win the GC.
Three out of the nine stages are sprint stages, is I remember the terrible profiles stuck onto the route from yesterday.
 
My interest being the Bath stage, and the Tour of Britain organisers have really tried to match the Romandie or Suisse ones: two 90 degree corners in the last 1km, not even that, with the last one coming on a fairly narrow road about 200m from the finish. Less probably. Ridiculous.
 
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rick james said:
Sick of them using the rubbish parts of Scotland.

Exactly. There is so much good riding in the NW. I'd love a decsent finish in Applecross after the Bealach Na Ba.

However if they must stick to the South, they could at least do Lowther Hill or include the Talla Wall. The Tour of the Borders route with a few additional climbs would make a good stage.
 
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Brullnux said:
My interest being the Bath stage, and the Tour of Britain organisers have really tried to match the Romandie or Suisse ones: two 90 degree corners in the last 1km, not even that, with the last one coming on a fairly narrow road about 200m from the finish. Less probably. Ridiculous.
They could have instead made the finish straight slightly longer by entering Royal Victoria Park from Weston Road, looping round the park, past the Obelisk and onto where they do finish. This would be after coming down Lansdown road, after ascending Lansdown Lane/Weston Hill. It would have made the finale alot more interesting with this and the uncategorised climb with the final kms.
 
Re: Re:

BeagRigh said:
rick james said:
Sick of them using the rubbish parts of Scotland.

Exactly. There is so much good riding in the NW. I'd love a decsent finish in Applecross after the Bealach Na Ba.

However if they must stick to the South, they could at least do Lowther Hill or include the Talla Wall. The Tour of the Borders route with a few additional climbs would make a good stage.

I think it's time for a Tour of Scotland, Tour of Wales, Tour of Northern Ireland, Tour of the North, Tour of the West and Tour of the South.
 
Re: Re:

lemon cheese cake said:
Brullnux said:
My interest being the Bath stage, and the Tour of Britain organisers have really tried to match the Romandie or Suisse ones: two 90 degree corners in the last 1km, not even that, with the last one coming on a fairly narrow road about 200m from the finish. Less probably. Ridiculous.
They could have instead made the finish straight slightly longer by entering Royal Victoria Park from Weston Road, looping round the park, past the Obelisk and onto where they do finish. This would be after coming down Lansdown road, after ascending Lansdown Lane/Weston Hill. It would have made the finale alot more interesting with this and the uncategorised climb with the final kms.
I'd say finish on Great Pulteney Street, despite the roundabout, coming in from the other side though (Holbourne) so the corner is less 90 and more 40 degrees and then becomes a bend. After, of course, any climb in the area.
 
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Re: Re:

TMP402 said:
BeagRigh said:
rick james said:
Sick of them using the rubbish parts of Scotland.

Exactly. There is so much good riding in the NW. I'd love a decsent finish in Applecross after the Bealach Na Ba.

However if they must stick to the South, they could at least do Lowther Hill or include the Talla Wall. The Tour of the Borders route with a few additional climbs would make a good stage.

I think it's time for a Tour of Scotland, Tour of Wales, Tour of Northern Ireland, Tour of the North, Tour of the West and Tour of the South.

Don't get me wrong the ToB is good but its disappointing that Sussex & Kent have been snubbed from the route as have other hotbeds of cycling in the UK. Its also a shame that the race is riddled with transfers rather than high quality place to place stages. A long final stage coming in from one of the home counties and finishing in Central London would be loads better than the penultimate stage being miles away and then a transfer for the riders for a circuit race.

I feel the organisers could do a lot more to engage local cycling clubs in the route design. No one knows the best terrain more than experienced local riders and consulting with local clubs would really enhance the race rather than hours of endlessly boring B roads.

Route first - feasibility second me thinks

Also the UK is crying out for a well thought out "classics" style one day race over 140 miles (sorry guys the Surrey classic goes up what local riders consider a slope).
 
Re: Re:

B_Ugli said:
Also the UK is crying out for a well thought out "classics" style one day race over 140 miles (sorry guys the Surrey classic goes up what local riders consider a slope).

My idea for this is to take this year's Tour de Yorkshire stage 3, lengthen it by starting it in Tom Simpson's birthplace or home town and there you go, a one-day race with meaning and one that has so far entertained both times we've seen it run.
 
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TMP402 said:
B_Ugli said:
Also the UK is crying out for a well thought out "classics" style one day race over 140 miles (sorry guys the Surrey classic goes up what local riders consider a slope).

My idea for this is to take this year's Tour de Yorkshire stage 3, lengthen it by starting it in Tom Simpson's birthplace or home town and there you go, a one-day race with meaning and one that has so far entertained both times we've seen it run.

This is it - they just need to use a bit of imagination. I would wager that most people would prefer one top rate one day classic in the UK and a really good & exciting national Tour route with the input of locals.

Take Flanders for example, most of the finale of that route is within a very small area. Flanders weaves and winds around every tiny back lane of Flanders to find the most enthralling and exciting route. There are loads of areas of the UK which given a bit of thought could present just as an exciting route.

If you go East along the North Downs from Boxhill there are tons of narrow little very short steep climbs which locals are up and down every weekend.
 

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