Worlds 2018 teaser

[delgado]

With the Doha pancake coming up, let's cheer for this course
https://www.strava.com/segments/stra-wm-innsbruck2018-at-11619213?utm_campaign=segment_share&utm_content=11619213&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=www.innsbruck2018.at

7 punishing kms every lap, and that is just that one climb..

 

[Amnes2015]

Chris Froome to do GT double + WC

a good reason to go Giro+Vuelta in 2018

 

[Durden93]

Would a gradient under 6% really be that challenging? Presumably the climb would be followed by a relatively equal descent and some flat so you could do about 15 laps and 4500m. I would much prefer to see a preliminary route before a short circuit. Something like 10 laps of 15km with a 6km climb+ 6km descent.

 

[42x16ss]

It depends on how long the circuit is and if there are any other climbs. Looking at the Strava times set on this climb, the pros will do it in around 20 minutes for most of the race, with the last 60-80kms getting down to about 18-19 minutes. That should still be enough to sort things out over 260+ kms.

 

[Netserk]

Fiesole was 4.4km @ 5.2%. On the last ascent of it two riders had made it clear with four riders in pursuit and no one else near.

 

[BigMac]

3 riders, actually: Urán, Costa and Valverde.

Sorry for the pedantry.

 

[Netserk]

Yeah, I didn't check. Thanks.

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

7km at 6% is more than enough to create carnage at the end of a hard one day race.......

This isn't a GT where we get a 6% MTF controlled to death by a strong team. People will take much more risk attacking in a one day race and if they go up and down this climb the entire day in a 260km race (or do a circuit with two climbs including this one), it's completely uncontrollable.

 

[delgado]

Re:

agreed, and the vicinity guarantees that 6k romp will not be the only lump on the parcours. I seem to recall one of the designers (former Trek-rider Rohregger, himself no slouch uphill back in the day) promising to make brutal use of the topography available, and it's not lacking

 

[jsem94]

It's almost too much. Riders will be going in groups of max two or three the last lap. I love it.

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

It's almost too much. Riders will be going in groups of max two or three the last lap. I love it.

Can it really be too much . Btw, according to (tbh already relatively old) rumors, the start of the race should be in Kitzbühel, around 90 kilometers away from Innsbruck. Moreover they want to make a route with around 5000 meters of altitude gain. The climb which is already official and which will, according to the official website, be the main difficulty of the route has 410 meters of altitude gain, so they would have to climb this ascent around 12 times. However there might also be other shorter climbs, and we don't know yet if the start will really be in Kitzbühel and if they will include a few more climbs before the riders even enter the lap. Anyway I think this will be the only climb of the route, since every other climb would make the lap probably too long. Nevertheless I would love it if they would also include the climb to the Nordkettenbahn. This would cause a very long lap but that 2nd climb is absolutely brutal (2.5 kilometers long at around 11%)

 

[Netserk]

How long do you reckon the circuit will be with only one climb?

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

How long do you reckon the circuit will be with only one climb?

No idea. The climb starts basically at the exact same place where the descent ends, therefore they could make a 13.5 kilometer lap which is basically only up and down. But it would be very strange if they only go into the city for the finish so the lap will probably be a few kilometers longer. Then again the descent ends only a few hundred meters away from the Innsbrucker football stadium and the Innsbrucker Olympic centre so logistically this would be a perfect place to finish such a big event. Moreover there are tramways in Innsbruck so big parts of the city centre aren't usable anyway. However I doubt the only thing they want to show of the city are a few ugly stadiums.

 

[BigMac]

One thing is for sure: we'll have the most scenic WC in some time.

Carlton Kirby will want to comment the landscape on this one.

 

[Durden93]

Anyone know how technical the descent is? Is it a rythmic climb?

 

[42x16ss]

Anyone know how technical the descent is? Is it a rythmic climb?

There's no word on which direction they will descend yet but the climb seems fairly rythmic, it gets over 10% in a few sections but they're only short.

 

[hrotha]

Re: Re:

Then again the descent ends only a few hundred meters away from the Innsbrucker football stadium and the Innsbrucker Olympic centre so logistically this would be a perfect place to finish such a big event.

Let's hope they don't ruin it by putting the climb so close to the finish line.

The finish line right after the descent and a 20-km circuit - those are my fears.

 

[Netserk]

Re: Re:

Then again the descent ends only a few hundred meters away from the Innsbrucker football stadium and the Innsbrucker Olympic centre so logistically this would be a perfect place to finish such a big event.

Let's hope they don't ruin it by putting the climb so close to the finish line.

The finish line right after the descent and a 20-km circuit - those are my fears.

I think they are smart enough to have it at the very beginning of the circuit. For this route, I'd prefer a short circuit with that as the only climb, but a longer circuit with a secondary climb wouldn't be too bad either, as long as the circuit is more front loaded than back loaded.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Rohregger was talking about two climbs. The second one could be to Hungerburg or a part of it. It's a shorter and steeper climb. My guess is that UCI only wants one climb.

6,9k of climbing should be the longest climb in the history of the WRR. Cogollo was 4,2k, Hohe Acht 5k.

 

[King Boonen]

Rohregger was talking about two climbs. The second one could be to Hungerburg or a part of it. It's a shorter and steeper climb. My guess is that UCI only wants one climb.

6,9k of climbing should be the longest climb in the history of the WRR. Cogollo was 4,2k, Hohe Acht 5k.

Sallanches.

 

[jsem94]

Let's put things into perspective here. Duitama was 18km long and had an elevation gain of 455m (albeit at 2500m of altitute).

That was a war. Olano, Indurain and Pantani made up the podium.

Here we're talking about a climb with 410m of elevation? The only thing saving us from this becoming another Duitama is the altitude not being the craziest. Thank god.

 

[Durden93]

If this is the route, I don't see it being won by a true climber like Majka, Aru, etc. 2013 had 3 great climbers in the top 4 but I don't consider Sagan, Cancellara, Gilbert and Grivko to be pure climbers. Even Costa who won it is a very good climber but wouldn't win a race up a cat 1+ when everyone is going full tilt. Montreal had 4000m of altitude gain, but wasn't one by a climber.

 

[Netserk]

It's not just vertical gain over the whole route, it's the length of the effort on a real climb. That's why Gerrans and Kwiatkowski can be up there in Liege but not in proper mountain stages, even if the latter has less vertical gain than Liege.

 

[Durden93]

Re:

It's not just vertical gain over the whole route, it's the length of the effort on a real climb. That's why Gerrans and Kwiatkowski can be up there in Liege but not in proper mountain stages, even if the latter has less vertical gain than Liege.

Oh, for sure I agree with you, but look at Fiseole. That was 4km, albeit at a lower gradient. When they are going hard this will be a 17 minute ish effort which isn't really comparable to the 30-40 minute climbs of the Grand Tours. Hopefully I'm wrong and the cumulative effects of the climb really break up the race but I see this more as a Lombardia then a mountains stage.

 

[Tonton]

Rohregger was talking about two climbs. The second one could be to Hungerburg or a part of it. It's a shorter and steeper climb. My guess is that UCI only wants one climb.

6,9k of climbing should be the longest climb in the history of the WRR. Cogollo was 4,2k, Hohe Acht 5k.

Sallanches.

Duitama '95?