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Vuelta a España 2021 route rumours

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Btw, why is the Vuelta so early? It starts two weeks earlier in 2021 than it did 10 years ago. And the race calendar after the Tour is really strange. There is next to nothing happening after the 5th of september except the Worlds and Il Lombardia.
I believe the Vuelta was moved a week earlier in 2011 to move the Worlds from October to September. Thanks to this they had better weather in places such as Bergen or Harrogate.
The extra week this year also applies to the Tour, so I guess is because of the Olympics.
 
I believe the Vuelta was moved a week earlier in 2011 to move the Worlds from October to September. Thanks to this they had better weather in places such as Bergen or Harrogate.
The extra week this year also applies to the Tour, so I guess is because of the Olympics.
Okay. Still, the structure of the second part of the season is much worse than the first part. There are really not many races of interest after 5th September. In Southern Europe it could be okay weather at least until the middle of October. Still there are only two really interesting race days and perhaps 4 semi-interesting after 5th September.
 
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Okay. Still, the structure of the second part of the season is much worse than the first part. There are really not many races of interest after 5th September. In Southern Europe it could be okay weather at least until the middle of October. Still there are only two really interesting race days and perhaps 4 semi-interesting after 5th September.
I presume the UCI have deliberately left a lot of unfilled space towards the end of the year to accommodate for postponed races.
 
I don't think UCI has left anything open. I see they same usual end-of-season Italian, Belgian and French races on the calendar. The Quebec and Montreal one-day races, too. Tour de Luxembourg has maintained it's September place so the calendar is actually more crowded than 2 years ago.

The problem is that there are WT season are pretty much over by the Vuelta is finished. Even if this happens a week earlier than usual this year, it's still bad in a normal season. The race calendar after the Tour is the part of the season where it is most room for improvement.

This part which really spans 10-11 weeks from the start of august to the middle of october and contains far fewer prestigous races than the calendar until the Tour. The least interesting one-week races unless the fully utilize the potenial in the Binckbank Tour. Only two really interesting one day race (Lombardia and the Worlds) in addition to the Vuelta of course. The tour in China is a really not very sucessful attempt to create some interest there. They sholud have tried something else.

My suggestion would have been to up the status of some of the autumn one-day races in southern Europa like Paris-Tours and at least one of the hilly Italian ones, and create a more prestigous fall classics season which attracted more of the top classics riders. A new addition would also be welcome IMO. For example, I've always had an idea that the hilly one-day classic in Provence would have been a perfect option in the late fall season.
 
The problem is that there are WT season are pretty much over by the Vuelta is finished. Even if this happens a week earlier than usual this year, it's still bad in a normal season. The race calendar after the Tour is the part of the season where it is most room for improvement.

This part which really spans 10-11 weeks from the start of august to the middle of october and contains far fewer prestigous races than the calendar until the Tour. The least interesting one-week races unless the fully utilize the potenial in the Binckbank Tour. Only two really interesting one day race (Lombardia and the Worlds) in addition to the Vuelta of course. The tour in China is a really not very sucessful attempt to create some interest there. They sholud have tried something else.

My suggestion would have been to up the status of some of the autumn one-day races in southern Europa like Paris-Tours and at least one of the hilly Italian ones, and create a more prestigous fall classics season which attracted more of the top classics riders. A new addition would also be welcome IMO. For example, I've always had an idea that the hilly one-day classic in Provence would have been a perfect option in the late fall season.
Absolutely. I think the fall is the biggest part where the cycling calendar fails. I think the fall could easily have some one day races for everyone, including pure climbers. And I'm heavily thinking in terms of Ventoux challenge but then using bigger climbs than Ventoux.
 
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There's no Ancares!

The last three stages will be as follows:
  • Tapia de Casariego - Monforte
  • Province of Pontevedra
  • ITT in Santiago (strong rumour not yet confirmed)

The text details that the no-Ancares is because of the conflict about regional borders between Galicia and Castilla y León. Both regions claim the summit, the National Geographic Institute certified in 2017 that the summit belongs to Galicia, but Castilla y León does not accept that resolution. It looks like Unipublic doesn't want to stir the pot.

Would Picon Blanco be approached from the north or the south? The first would be highly preferable. From the north it could connect with the many climbs in Cantabria. Portillo de la Sia as the second last climb before Picon Blanco would be an very obvious option.

I believe the chance of climbing Picón Blanco going through a regional border is really, really small.
 
The text details that the no-Ancares is because of the conflict about regional borders between Galicia and Castilla y León. Both regions claim the summit, the National Geographic Institute certified in 2017 that the summit belongs to Galicia, but Castilla y León does not accept that resolution. It looks like Unipublic doesn't want to stir the pot.

I believe the chance of climbing Picón Blanco going through a regional border is really, really small.
Haha, this is so ridiculous. Freakin narrowminded regional governments!
 
Absolutely. I think the fall is the biggest part where the cycling calendar fails. I think the fall could easily have some one day races for everyone, including pure climbers. And I'm heavily thinking in terms of Ventoux challenge but then using bigger climbs than Ventoux.

A fall classics season with 4-5 WT one-day races would have been great. Especially if the calendar is adjusted to make this races the highlight of the last 3-4 weeks of the season. Il Lombardia, Paris-Tours (the current version, not the previous one), one of Milano-Torino/Giro dell'Emilia and at least one more race.
 
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A fall classics season with 4-5 WT one-day races would have been great. Especially if the calendar is adjusted to make this races the highlight of the last 3-4 weeks of the season. Il Lombardia, Paris-Tours (the current version, not the previous one), one of Milano-Torino/Giro dell'Emilia and at least one more race.
I think a few one day races don't really carry enough weight, I'd like to add a lot more, including a few that might grow like a Strade Bianche.
 
I think a few one day races don't really carry enough weight, I'd like to add a lot more, including a few that might grow like a Strade Bianche.
If you had 5 WT-races from late September to the middle of October, that could/should be enough. Agree on new addtions, especially if the route design is as good as the Strade. France would IMO be the best/most obvious place to add another race.
 
The second last stage will finish at Mos.
The area has no big mountains but plenty of hills and climbs with up to 500m of climbing. According to the link below the plan is to have a hard stage with a large figure of accumulated climbing. No murito or hill top finish. This makes Gamoniteiro the last mountain finish of the race on the last Thursday.

Okay which of you guys in the race design thread abducted and replaced Juillen?
 
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Okay which of you guys in the race design thread abducted and replaced Juillen?
Apparently a former Tour the France winner who comes from the finish town :p
The stage will depart from Sanxenxo and will be almost 200km long.


Interestingly, rumours in forums say that there is another former Tour de France winner also involved in the design of a stage that will finish at his home town before the second rest day.
 
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Apparently a former Tour the France winner who comes from the finish town :p
The stage will depart from Sanxenxo and will be almost 200km long.


Interestingly, rumours in forums say that there is another former Tour de France winner also involved in the design of a stage that will finish at his home town before the second rest day.
Indurain?
 
Indurain?
The other TDF winner rumoured to help in the design of another stage with finish at his home town has one thing in common with Pereiro: his TDF win is his only GT win.

The last stage is confirmed to be an ITT, but the distance is not yet known.
Stage 5 will not finish in Guadalajara but in Molina de Aragón. Nevertheless, it should be a similar kind of stage on rolling terrain exposed to wind.

Less than two days for the official presentation and we know nothing about more than half the stages.
 
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