Tour of Denmark 2.HC 03/08 - 07/08

[Grayguard]

Tour of Denmark going to Sweden?

Looks like the main event sponsor, Post Danmark, is planning to expand the race to include Sweden (starting with a single stage).
http://spn.dk/cykling/article2507656.ece

 

[RedheadDane]

It's part of the secret plan to get Skåne back!

 

[ingsve]

Looks like the main event sponsor, Post Danmark, is planning to expand the race to include Sweden (starting with a single stage).
http://spn.dk/cykling/article2507656.ece

Cool. The swedish cycling union recently spoke about wanting a scandinavian tour as well since a big race is something that has been missing since Tour of Sweden was cancelled after the 2002 season. I wonder if there is room in the calender for something like an 8 day Tour that goes through both Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

 

[Sørensen]

Would love a Scandinavian race. Would offer a lot of diversity stage wise. Great infrastructure and some of the most beautiful nature and scenery in europe, let alone the world.

 

[Anonymous]

final stage highlights
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkfd32_tour-of-denmark-stage-6_sport

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Cool. The swedish cycling union recently spoke about wanting a scandinavian tour as well since a big race is something that has been missing since Tour of Sweden was cancelled after the 2002 season. I wonder if there is room in the calender for something like an 8 day Tour that goes through both Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

There certainly could be room for it.

I wonder if they can get together with the people organising the Glava Tour of Norway, because that could be a PHENOMENAL race.

To be honest, just Norway on its own could put on a great race, but I've come to the sport too late to see what Sweden really has to offer.

To tell the truth, though, the Post Danmark Rundt isn't really a race for me, but you could do some kind of Peace-Race-like race from the capitals, København-Stockholm-Oslo or vice versa (though Oslo makes the most sense to be last for the reasons of topography).

 

[ingsve]

There certainly could be room for it.

I wonder if they can get together with the people organising the Glava Tour of Norway, because that could be a PHENOMENAL race.

To be honest, just Norway on its own could put on a great race, but I've come to the sport too late to see what Sweden really has to offer.

To tell the truth, though, the Post Danmark Rundt isn't really a race for me, but you could do some kind of Peace-Race-like race from the capitals, København-Stockholm-Oslo or vice versa (though Oslo makes the most sense to be last for the reasons of topography).

Well, the parts of Sweden that a race like this would likely visit would be rather flat. Unless you go really far north where there are a bit more hills but then you lose all the crowds as well so you're better off just going to Norway for some climbs. What the Tour of Sweden did was to utilize a short and steep hill called Klevaliden in Huskvarna that is 1.3km at 10% average and 15% maximum gradient. They used to do a short lap where they rode that climb a few times at the end of the stage.

 

[roundabout]

Looks like the main event sponsor, Post Danmark, is planning to expand the race to include Sweden (starting with a single stage).
http://spn.dk/cykling/article2507656.ece

Some years ago, 8 or 9 back I think, I've read something similar. I am not holding my breath.

 

[Nielsa]

Well, the parts of Sweden that a race like this would likely visit would be rather flat. Unless you go really far north where there are a bit more hills but then you lose all the crowds as well so you're better off just going to Norway for some climbs.

It could be doable, if you could structure the bus transit rides so they wouldn't be too long for the riders. From what I can see, TdP had three long-ish bus transits of 220km, 170km and 150km.

I think a stage that passes by the Åre area on the Swedish side, and finishes somewhere in the Trondheim area in Norway, would have pretty good crowds.

The problem is including mountains/Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen in an 8 day race - this would need a lot of bus transits. Example:

Åre-Trondheim stage.
Then, 150km bus ride south -> a 150km stage south along the fjords to Ålesund.
150km bus ride -> another 150km mountain/fjord stage.
270km bus ride to the Oslo area -> TT or sprint finish in the city.

That's 4 days. Now you have to deal with a 550km distance to Stockholm. 350km transit + 200km stage? Then Stockholm-Copenhagen is 600km - 2 more days in Sweden, last day in Denmark?

(Of course, a 350km transit in the middle of Sweden/Norway might take less time than a 40km transit in the TdF...)

 

[mortand]

A ride up and down Hallandsåsen could be interesting. There's plenty of short hills (longer than most of the usual Tour of Denmark climbs), some of them quite steep, and they would make an intriguing Ardennes-like stage. Maybe even a couple of stages. Hallandsåsen isn't that far off, just around 100 kilometres north of Malmö.

 

[Grayguard]

Some years ago, 8 or 9 back I think, I've read something similar. I am not holding my breath.

You shouldn't try
But the merger between the danish postal service (Post Danmark) and the swedish ditto, makes this more realistic now imo. We will just have to wait and see i guess

 

[Fus087]

I think putting Norway, Sweden AND Denmark into a 8-day race isn't feasible. Nielsa's proposal had only the last day in Denmark - I sure won't like to give up our national tour for that!

It'll have to be 10-16 days if you don't want to make the transfers too long.
Or you make a plane transfer Oslo-Aalborg/Billund in the middle of a 8-10-day race: Start in Stockholm with 1-2 flattish stages, Åre-Trondheim, 1-2 mountainous stages in Norway; transfer by bus/train to Oslo and by plane to Jutland (team buses etc. could take the ferry) - this might call for a rest day; a stage by the North Sea (dangerous if windy, otherwise a sprint), the traditional Yding Skovhøj - Vejle stage, an ITT of 20-30 km, maybe combined with a very short road stage in the morning, a Midtsjælland-Odsherred stage (optional, could also be replaced by a gravel stage around Herning, or another sprint stage in Jutland), and finally Frederiksberg Allé.

 

[Nielsa]

I think putting Norway, Sweden AND Denmark into a 8-day race isn't feasible. Nielsa's proposal had only the last day in Denmark - I sure won't like to give up our national tour for that!

I made up that route assuming that Danmark Rundt would remain a separate race though. Other posters above were saying there should be room for it on the race calendar.
Otherwise it would not be fair, of course, to have only one day in Denmark!

 

[ingsve]

I think putting Norway, Sweden AND Denmark into a 8-day race isn't feasible. Nielsa's proposal had only the last day in Denmark - I sure won't like to give up our national tour for that!

It'll have to be 10-16 days if you don't want to make the transfers too long.
Or you make a plane transfer Oslo-Aalborg/Billund in the middle of a 8-10-day race: Start in Stockholm with 1-2 flattish stages, Åre-Trondheim, 1-2 mountainous stages in Norway; transfer by bus/train to Oslo and by plane to Jutland (team buses etc. could take the ferry) - this might call for a rest day; a stage by the North Sea (dangerous if windy, otherwise a sprint), the traditional Yding Skovhøj - Vejle stage, an ITT of 20-30 km, maybe combined with a very short road stage in the morning, a Midtsjælland-Odsherred stage (optional, could also be replaced by a gravel stage around Herning, or another sprint stage in Jutland), and finally Frederiksberg Allé.

At 10-16 days it would be hard to get anything but a 2.2 rating. Tour of Portugal is the only race I can think of that is 2.1 or higher that is over 10 days long and that race hides in obscurity and not many big teams or riders tend to go there.