What route should ASO make for the 2018 TDF?

[deValtos]

ASO have a habit in recent years of stacking the route against the top rider to ensure as close an exciting race as possible. This has resulted in a number of routes with very few TT km's to give a close fight between Quintana and Froome.

However assuming Dumoulin continues to emerge as the strongest challenger (big if I know, but also plausible) to Froome along with Quintana then how does ASO stack their route? If they pack in the TT's it will help Dumo a lot but potentially wipe out Quintanas challenge and vice versa. I suspect with Bardet targeting the Giro in 2018 that might be enough to persuade them to stack the TDF with TT's.

Of course it could turn that out Porte is the biggest challenger anyways and maybe Froome doesn't even win this year, who knows. But it's a tough conundrum for ASO imo. What should they do?

 

[SeriousSam]

Is Dumoulin even a clearly better time trialist than the best version of the time trialling Froome we've seen? I'm not sure he is.

Making the Tour more TT heavy would make a Froome victory even more likely, unless Dumoulin reveals himself to be Armstrong or Indurain this Giro.

 

[RattaKuningas]

I think they should include more climbs like Mur de Bretagne. Maybe just a little bit longer and a little bit steeper but similar kind of climbs and not just at the end of the stages but add them to flat stages (like 20km before finish or something).

 

[DFA123]

Lots of classics style stages with 30-20-10 second time bonuses for the top three.

 

[Dukerojo]

i think that Dumoulin is a similar to Froome, he just needs a better team, so they may leave it the same to make the competition more interesting.

 

[ice&fire]

They have had two young French riders on the podium in recent years. It isn't hard to think they'll make a route that favours Quintana

 

[Asero831]

have a bonifications of 3, 2 and 1 minute.
Let's see if Sagan can win the Tour.

Also you can put a 80km ITT and 30km TTT so that teams will not put many climbing domestiques.

Imagine Sagan with a 15 minute lead going into the final week.
Let's see Sky, BMC and Movistar go ballistic in every mountain stage.

There will be no more stages for the breakaway and a lot of exciting races.

 

[Escarabajo]

Incredibly hard. I am tired of the hilly routes!

 

[Nirvana]

The return of the cobbled stage, some hilly stages, a decent TT (at least 50 km).
For the mountain stages they could do what they want because will be boring anyway.

 

[carton]

If Dumoulin turn Dumdurain they might try to bring back TTs. But I think they're most likely going to build on 2017: short and punchy climbs with downhills for Bardet (and Alaphillipe if he develops into a GC man). Unless the Froomedawg dominates this year. Then I think they just give Quintana a playground.

 

[Netserk]

Marathon mountain stages.

 

[Koba80]

I want a cyclocross stage.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Is Dumoulin even a clearly better time trialist than the best version of the time trialling Froome we've seen? I'm not sure he is.

Making the Tour more TT heavy would make a Froome victory even more likely, unless Dumoulin reveals himself to be Armstrong or Indurain this Giro.

Pretty sure the TDF last year showed that he is. However, climbing wise, I think Froome will destroy Dumoulin. Even in 1 MT watt challenges.

 

[BigMac]

Pack in TT, not only Froome still destroys Dumoulin, the rest will end up farther behind than they already do.

 

[hfer07]

just cut down the team riders from 9 to 7 and witness the wonders of it.

 

[rick james]

they cant keep a 50K TT out the tour for too long, we need one soon

 

[Saus]

More "classic elements" obvisously makes the TdF way more interesting. However, ASO knows very well their commercial interest mainly lies with the folks only watching the TdF every year. So there's a limited pool of riders which should win a certain amount of stages en stay in the race long enough. Ergo, the Champs-sprint wil always stay on board. Whether we like that or not, is a different question.
I can't imagine ASO changing directions on that. Even the massive choice of top GC-riders for the Giro will probably be considered a one-year deficit. Basically, adding Porte, Bardet and Froome to this years Giro line-up, would have made the perfect World Championship of Grand Tours.

 

[Laplaz]

After 2014 and 2015 it would be nice to have again a cobblestone-stage.

 

[WheelofGear]

No bonus seconds.

3+ Hard marathon mountain stages without too much valley.

Two TT's. One mountainous time trial with two climbs at 50k. Another flat-ish (maybe with some few bumps) one at 50k.

 

[Anderis]

Re:

After 2014 and 2015 it would be nice to have again a cobblestone-stage.

This.

But a real one.

2015-one was not hard enough.

 

[RattaKuningas]

Re: Re:

After 2014 and 2015 it would be nice to have again a cobblestone-stage.

This.

But a real one.

2015 was not hard enough.

Paris-Roubaix as a stage of TdF.

 

[rghysens]

A good one.
Which we probably won't get. The only thing we know is that the first 4 stages consist of 3 flat (1, 2 and 4) ones and a TTT (3).

 

[Breh]

21 cobbled stages and Boonen to come out of retirement to win his first Tour

 

[zlev11]

I want to see the 1994 Val Thorens stage but 80km longer

 

[wheresmybrakes]

During the first week, they start off on their normal bikes, during the second week the front wheel is 3 inches smaller than the back wheel, during the third week, the back wheel is 3 inches smaller than the front wheel. As soon as the leader of the race gains a lead of 30 seconds they lose one rider for 1 day, if a lead of 1 minute they lose 2 riders for 1 day etc until time is recovered by other teams then the race leader regains a rider. If the leader of the race has gained a time of more than 5 minutes at any time of the race he has to ride with his saddle the opposite way. If any rider leaves the race other than injury (example: sprinter leaving before the mountains start) each rider of that team loses a minute off their time (its a team sport). During the rest days, all riders are to drink 5 pints of preferred beer and a large kebab after 6pm.

I'm talking crap I know but I'm having a crap day, need a beer (and kebab)