Where do ASO go from here? Tour route 2018

[Lexman]

ASO goes with the TdF where the money is. So they build the stages in function of the towns who are willing to pay. That's their only standard. Why will they go to Brussels in 2019? Because for the history with 50th ann of Merckx first victory? Brussels paid a lot so they come and use the historical ann as a story to explain why they come.

 

[JS10]

It depends on what is ASO"s prioities.Some of the suggestions offered up are obviously coloured by emotion and are not supported by the facts.To put classics type stages in the first week will certainly shake things up,but this only works in Froomes favour.In 2015 he was the only GC rider to make the cut on the windswept stage to Zealand and the following day the only person who could beat him up the Mur de Huy was Purito.Bushwacking andBanditry a la Formigal might work in the Vuelta but not on the Tour.Above all the Tour is a test of strength
and endurance both in mind and body and Froome has proved this again.Mother Nature is Foomes major opponent andgives the other contenders a bit of opportunism-Other than that they could try phonecalls to Nibali"s fairy godmother

 

[deValtos]

To add to the hilly 35km TTT I reckon they'll do a 15km mountain TT and thus claim 50km+ of TT km.

Though as hilly as that TTT is that can't be that good for Bardet against BMC/Sky.

What's Sunweb like at TTT's? I don't think they have much depth in this area after Dumo.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

It depends on what is ASO"s prioities.Some of the suggestions offered up are obviously coloured by emotion and are not supported by the facts.To put classics type stages in the first week will certainly shake things up,but this only works in Froomes favour.In 2015 he was the only GC rider to make the cut on the windswept stage to Zealand and the following day the only person who could beat him up the Mur de Huy was Purito.Bushwacking andBanditry a la Formigal might work in the Vuelta but not on the Tour.Above all the Tour is a test of strength
and endurance both in mind and body and Froome has proved this again.Mother Nature is Foomes major opponent andgives the other contenders a bit of opportunism-Other than that they could try phonecalls to Nibali"s fairy godmother

Tour de France 1980 had 50 kilometers of cobbles planned for stages 5 and 6. They cut out 25 kilometers of stage 6, because Hinault threatened the organizers with a strike. Throw this in and see what Sky can do with it.

That first week of 1980 was hell. Was raining all the time and they put in classic stage after classic stage: 276k, 283k over Wanne, Rosier, Haute-Levee, Theux and Forges, 250k with cobbles...

 

[Jagartrott]

Re:

At least there's gonna be 8 man teams.

I'm absolutely confident Sky can't control it with 8 man teams.

Irony?

Down to 7, and that would be a different thing altogether, but 8 or 9 doesn't make for a huge difference IMO.

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

If the 35 kms of TTT are true then we can rest easy and assume they're trying their worst

Could it be better? Maybe some teams will ditch mountain domestiques considering you cannot use them unless you are team sky, and focus on rouleurs for the ttt. Maybe this forces team sky to bring less climbers as well. But they're able to climb magically anyway

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

At least there's gonna be 8 man teams.

I'm absolutely confident Sky can't control it with 8 man teams.

Irony?

Down to 7, and that would be a different thing altogether, but 8 or 9 doesn't make for a huge difference IMO.

I think there's a sweet spot for every situation. 8 man team compared to a 9 man team isn't all that much difference, if the uphill train is intact.

What Sky does, and this is very imporant, is that they ride the climbs with their rouleurs early in the mountain stages. This is when the breaks get away, this is when Contador attacked on the CdF. Because of this, huge breakaways happen, and because of this, Sky make sure they have the strongest team in the peloton all the way until the final climb. This is a situation that needs to be exploited. If Contador had been dangerous over the Croix de Fer, they wouldn't have given him 3 minutes, and other riders would've joined him, and Sky would likely be down to Landa alone over the Croix de Fer.

It's a simple way to exploit it. You're exploiting a tactic that happens everytime. Yet nobody does it. Why? Because nobody has the balls. Or they're all morons.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

If the 35 kms of TTT are true then we can rest easy and assume they're trying their worst

Could it be better? Maybe some teams will ditch mountain domestiques considering you cannot use them unless you are team sky, and focus on rouleurs for the ttt. Maybe this forces team sky to bring less climbers as well. But they're able to climb magically anyway

Sky's balanced team recks face in the TTT. It doesn't force Sky to bring more rouleurs, it just gives Froome free minutes. That's exactly what the Tour needs, so the battle for 2nd can truly start early.

I honestly think that a big MTT, or a MTT with a little flat beforehand, is the best way to get in some TT mileage and not ruin the race.

 

[Jagartrott]

I asked whether it was irony because Sky basically suffocated this Tour with only 8 riders. And the rider that disappeared from the race was actually probably one of their strongest.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

I asked whether it was irony because Sky basically suffocated this Tour with only 8 riders. nd the rider that disappeared from the race was actually probably one of their strongest.

I thougth the sarcasm was obvious . Seriously they dominated with 6.5 riders. Henao didn't do ***. Nieve was consistenly dropped by Kwiatkowski in the Alps.

 

[Red Rick]

I actually think ASO rather have Froome wins than a French guy. Record champions sell a lot better than domestic champions internationally

 

[Jagartrott]

It's depressing to think Sky could've fielded Poels instead of Henao. Imagine that.
I guess we depend on Sky miscalculating their riders' form, and e.g. Kwiatkowski turns out to be weak-QS-TdF-Michal instead of godzilla-Sky-Michal.

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

Re:

To add to the hilly 35km TTT I reckon they'll do a 15km mountain TT and thus claim 50km+ of TT km.

Though as hilly as that TTT is that can't be that good for Bardet against BMC/Sky.

What's Sunweb like at TTT's? I don't think they have much depth in this area after Dumo.

Maybe they're not quite BMC or Sky, but with Dumoulin, Kelderman and Matthews they should be able to do okay in a hilly TTT. They're still quite young and haven't shown it consistently, but Andersen, Oomen and Kämna can get over a hill and have a decent TT as well. Actually, I can imagine in a few years having Dumoulin, Kelderman, Matthews, Andersen, Oomen and Kämna would be a pretty sick team for a hilly TTT. But yeah, if the big TTT comes instead of some more ITT kms, that will not be good for Dumoulin.

 

[Olanogiro]

1. Fontenay SPRINT
2. La Roche Sur Yvon SPRINT
3. Cholet CRE
4. Sauzeau SPRINT
5. Pointe Du Raz CHEMINS Tro Bro Leon
6. Guerledan HILLY (Mur de Bretagne)
7. Le Mans SPRINT
8. Montlucon SPRINT
9. Col du Beal MTF

repos

10. Romans Sur Isere SPRINT
11. Alpe D'Huez MTF (Ornon-Sarenne-descent per Reculas-Alpe Huez)
12. Bourg Oisans-Sestriere MTF (Lautaret-Montgenevre-Finestre-Sestriere)
13. Sestriere-Gap HILLY
14. Nimes SPRINT
15. Mende HILLY

Repos

16. AX3 MTF (Garavel-Pailheres-AX3)
17. Argeles Gazost (Aspin/Ancizan-TOurmalet-Viscos)
18. Pau-Couradouque (MB, Aubisque, Couradouque)
19. Burdeos SPRINT
20. CRI Burdeos
21. Paris SPRINT

Lire la suite / Read more: http://www.velowire.com/article/1001/fr/les-details-du-grand-depart-du-tour-de-france-2018-dans-le-departement-de-la-vendee.html#ixzz4nkTJHl6N
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[jsem94]

If that's true, then I'm disappointed, but a hell of lot better than this year. I hope that Gap stage is meaningful too.

 

[hrotha]

That's a flat ITT at least. Hope they make it a decent length.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I don't think it looks that bad, looks pretty good to me. The placements of the mountain stages seems on point which is a big deal. Double Alpe is kinda meh, but I think its a great first real MTF in the race, like 2003. Finestre is golden and that stage looks a lot better than the recent Giro ones.. The Pyrenees looks hard. Whats Viscos?

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Italian national coach said post-TdF on the RAI
that next year they better forget TT's altogether and have just a short prologue
if they want to give Bardet a chance.
He wasn't joking.

 

[capuldemetal]

Re:

I don't think it looks that bad, looks pretty good to me. The placements of the mountain stages seems on point which is a big deal. Double Alpe is kinda meh, but I think its a great first real MTF in the race, like 2003. Finestre is golden and that stage looks a lot better than the recent Giro ones.. The Pyrenees looks hard. Whats Viscos?

http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Luz-Ardiden&qryMountainID=15660

i think he is ralking about this

 

[Valv.Piti]

Yeah i figured out after googling, but thanks. That makes it 6 MTFs, 7 if you include Mende (Beal, Alpe, Sestriere, Ax-3, Ardiden and Couraduque) and no descent finishes. Sestriere really isnt a real MTF tho after Finestre. Well, Gap.
,

 

[Red Rick]

That actually seems very good, apart from the TTT. I call fake news.

 

[yaco]

Re:

The obvious one is an increase in the TT kms and more MTFs. They will probably keep one short mountain stage. TTT seems to be out of fashion which is a good thing and probably go for a more traditional short prologue. Sometimes finishing on a descent can be exciting but if the finish is a long way from the top of the final climb it usually ends up as a stalemate and a waste of a stage for many fans.

You cant have long ITT's in today's environment when gaps on the mountains are marginal - Imagine if you have a 60km ITT in stage 2 or 3 ? You'd have 2 contenders left for the yellow jersey I've always proposed a TTT and an ITT to test the strength of teams - Something like a 20km TTT and 30km ITT ( but not a pancake flat course ).

 

[yaco]

Re:

If the 35 kms of TTT are true then we can rest easy and assume they're trying their worst

I think it's a great idea - It means teams have to be careful with their selection of a team - And this will be more important with 8 rider teams.

 

[capuldemetal]

it might be fake.next year we have the centenary of the great war.so it might be logic that a trip in region of verdun can happen.so..cobbles?

 

[hrotha]

Re: Re:

The obvious one is an increase in the TT kms and more MTFs. They will probably keep one short mountain stage. TTT seems to be out of fashion which is a good thing and probably go for a more traditional short prologue. Sometimes finishing on a descent can be exciting but if the finish is a long way from the top of the final climb it usually ends up as a stalemate and a waste of a stage for many fans.

You cant have long ITT's in today's environment when gaps on the mountains are marginal - Imagine if you have a 60km ITT in stage 2 or 3 ? You'd have 2 contenders left for the yellow jersey I've always proposed a TTT and an ITT to test the strength of teams - Something like a 20km TTT and 30km ITT ( but not a pancake flat course ).

Blah blah blah. Watch the 2015 Giro.