Tour of Britain Route Details

Abingdon77
Abingdon77 Posts: 56
edited August 2008 in Pro race
Is there a website where you can get a detailed look at the route for this year's Tour of Britain?

The official site has an overview map but something where you can zoom in and see the detail would be nice.

Thanks,

D.

Comments

  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    Abingdon77 wrote:
    Is there a website where you can get a detailed look at the route for this year's Tour of Britain?

    The official site has an overview map but something where you can zoom in and see the detail would be nice.

    Thanks,

    D.

    ????

    http://www.tourofbritain.co.uk/therace_stage_pages/2008_route.asp

    click on the stage numbers on the left? takes you to a page with links on the right

    or are you looking for something more detailed?
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • NJK
    NJK Posts: 194
    mididoctors wrote:
    Abingdon77 wrote:
    Is there a website where you can get a detailed look at the route for this year's Tour of Britain?

    The official site has an overview map but something where you can zoom in and see the detail would be nice.

    Thanks,

    D.

    ????

    http://www.tourofbritain.co.uk/therace_stage_pages/2008_route.asp

    click on the stage numbers on the left? takes you to a page with links on the right

    or are you looking for something more detailed?


    Tha maps are rubbish. Surely there has to be a link to the official handbook.
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,197
    It's not much of a route though is it?

    Wales is left out, as is the Highlands of Scotland.

    Where on earth are the Mountains? What is the point in having a 'King of the Mountains' jersey?

    The rolling hills of the Midlands will certainly test 'em!
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    There are more detailed PDFs of the stage routes in the media section.
  • Yorkman
    Yorkman Posts: 290
    AndyRAC wrote:
    It's not much of a route though is it?

    Wales is left out, as is the Highlands of Scotland.

    Where on earth are the Mountains? What is the point in having a 'King of the Mountains' jersey?

    The rolling hills of the Midlands will certainly test 'em!

    It's what I commented upon when the route came out - the stage that finished in Dalby Forest goes the flat route to Bridlington, Hornsea & Scarborough and they could have taken it out via York instead and up the hills north of York which figured in the Ryedale Rumble, and still finished in Dalby - that is a far stronger hill test.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    hammerite wrote:
    There are more detailed PDFs of the stage routes in the media section.

    nice one there you go
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • Philip S
    Philip S Posts: 398
    Why no Scottish stage details yet?
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,197
    Yorkman wrote:
    AndyRAC wrote:
    It's not much of a route though is it?

    Wales is left out, as is the Highlands of Scotland.

    Where on earth are the Mountains? What is the point in having a 'King of the Mountains' jersey?

    The rolling hills of the Midlands will certainly test 'em!

    It's what I commented upon when the route came out - the stage that finished in Dalby Forest goes the flat route to Bridlington, Hornsea & Scarborough and they could have taken it out via York instead and up the hills north of York which figured in the Ryedale Rumble, and still finished in Dalby - that is a far stronger hill test.

    Is it anything to do with the track cycling 'bias' - that the Tour is as flat as possible?

    Maybe they should get the ASO to organise it. Imagine a stage through Wales and one in the Highlands.

    While we shouldn't knock people's efforts - it is a bit uninspiring though.
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • scwxx77
    scwxx77 Posts: 1,469
    Philip S wrote:
    Why no Scottish stage details yet?

    Starting in Glasgow and finishing at Drumlanrig Castle this year I heard. I expect it will be a reverse of last year’s stage route.
    Winner: PTP Vuelta 2007 :wink:
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    AndyRAC wrote:
    AndyRAC wrote:
    It's what I commented upon when the route came out - the stage that finished in Dalby Forest goes the flat route to Bridlington, Hornsea & Scarborough and they could have taken it out via York instead and up the hills north of York which figured in the Ryedale Rumble, and still finished in Dalby - that is a far stronger hill test.

    Is it anything to do with the track cycling 'bias' - that the Tour is as flat as possible?

    Maybe they should get the ASO to organise it. Imagine a stage through Wales and one in the Highlands.

    While we shouldn't knock people's efforts - it is a bit uninspiring though.

    It wouldn't be anything to do with ensuring that a certain crowd-drawing Manx sprint start has a chance of pulling off a few decent wins and increasing the event's profile in the wider media and the general public?
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • DavidBelcher
    DavidBelcher Posts: 2,684
    LangerDan wrote:
    It wouldn't be anything to do with ensuring that a certain crowd-drawing Manx sprint start has a chance of pulling off a few decent wins and increasing the event's profile in the wider media and the general public?

    The Blackpool-Liverpool stage should pull in a good few Manx fans wanting to see their man bag a stage win.

    David
    "It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal
  • DavidBelcher
    DavidBelcher Posts: 2,684
    AndyRAC wrote:
    It's not much of a route though is it?

    Wales is left out, as is the Highlands of Scotland.

    Where on earth are the Mountains? What is the point in having a 'King of the Mountains' jersey?

    The rolling hills of the Midlands will certainly test 'em!

    Agreed - UK climbs may not have the same prestige status as Continental ones, but there are plenty of tough ones of note they could've planned stages around.

    David
    "It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    DavidBelcher wrote:
    AndyRAC wrote:
    It's not much of a route though is it?

    Wales is left out, as is the Highlands of Scotland.

    Where on earth are the Mountains? What is the point in having a 'King of the Mountains' jersey?

    The rolling hills of the Midlands will certainly test 'em!

    Agreed - UK climbs may not have the same prestige status as Continental ones, but there are plenty of tough ones of note they could've planned stages around.

    David
    All of which are in the areas of low density habitation. The Tour of Britain isn't big enough or established enough to run stages in deserted areas. Sponsors want publicity first, great racing second.
  • DavidBelcher
    DavidBelcher Posts: 2,684
    andyp wrote:
    DavidBelcher wrote:
    AndyRAC wrote:
    It's not much of a route though is it?

    Wales is left out, as is the Highlands of Scotland.

    Where on earth are the Mountains? What is the point in having a 'King of the Mountains' jersey?

    The rolling hills of the Midlands will certainly test 'em!

    Agreed - UK climbs may not have the same prestige status as Continental ones, but there are plenty of tough ones of note they could've planned stages around.

    David
    All of which are in the areas of low density habitation. The Tour of Britain isn't big enough or established enough to run stages in deserted areas. Sponsors want publicity first, great racing second.

    True, except maybe for some of the Pennine ones with a good catchment area fairly nearby in West Yorks and/or Greater Manchester, or the South Wales climbs just beyond where the Valleys conurbations start to peter out.

    David
    "It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    andyp wrote:
    DavidBelcher wrote:
    AndyRAC wrote:
    It's not much of a route though is it?

    Wales is left out, as is the Highlands of Scotland.

    Where on earth are the Mountains? What is the point in having a 'King of the Mountains' jersey?

    The rolling hills of the Midlands will certainly test 'em!

    Agreed - UK climbs may not have the same prestige status as Continental ones, but there are plenty of tough ones of note they could've planned stages around.

    David
    All of which are in the areas of low density habitation. The Tour of Britain isn't big enough or established enough to run stages in deserted areas. Sponsors want publicity first, great racing second.

    Also I'm sure the various regional development agencies have to bid for the stages. Perhaps the ones in Wales didn't bother, or didn't stump up enough cash.

    I do agree though that those that are hosting stages could probably have made some of the stages a bit tougher.
  • Abingdon77
    Abingdon77 Posts: 56
    hammerite wrote:
    There are more detailed PDFs of the stage routes in the media section.



    nice one there you go

    Cheers, the one's in the media section are better.

    Thanks.
  • scwxx77
    scwxx77 Posts: 1,469
    scwxx77 wrote:
    Philip S wrote:
    Why no Scottish stage details yet?

    Starting in Glasgow and finishing at Drumlanrig Castle this year I heard. I expect it will be a reverse of last year’s stage route.

    This months Cycling Plus says it goes from Glasgow Green to Drumlanrig via the Mennock Pass, which is a change of route from last year.
    Winner: PTP Vuelta 2007 :wink:
  • knedlicky
    knedlicky Posts: 3,097
    DavidBelcher wrote:
    LangerDan wrote:
    It wouldn't be anything to do with ensuring that a certain crowd-drawing Manx sprint start has a chance of pulling off a few decent wins and increasing the event's profile in the wider media and the general public?

    The Blackpool-Liverpool stage should pull in a good few Manx fans wanting to see their man bag a stage win.

    David
    I believe the three circuits at the end of the stage finishing in Liverpool city centre will include points towards the Mountains Jersey. The climb they’ve chosen is a slow rise of all of 40 feet.
    I think it’s been rigged for Cavendish to win the KOM prize.

    (Staying within the city centre, the climb could have been 40 metres - still not much, but steeper and at least noticeable)
  • GroupOfOne MkII
    GroupOfOne MkII Posts: 1,289
    It's six circuits of Liverpool, with KoM's on three of the laps. I believe it was more of a problem finding a hill on the chosen route between Blackpool and Liverpool, than any desire to rig the KoM prize for Cavendish!! Then again there are some nasty railway bridges near Southport :shock:
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    andyp wrote:
    David
    All of which are in the areas of low density habitation. The Tour of Britain isn't big enough or established enough to run stages in deserted areas. Sponsors want publicity first, great racing second.[/quote]

    That's not really true is it - they've clearly chosen not to make the route too tough as there are plenty of options for hills even using some of those finishing towns. My guess is that the easyish stages make it easier to attract teams to what is a relatively unimportant event with a reputation for poor organisation.
    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • GroupOfOne MkII
    GroupOfOne MkII Posts: 1,289
    Somerset and Scotland look pretty tough to me, well I wouldn't fancy riding them :lol:

    Fair enough the Yorkshire stage could go straight up, but don't the regions, who basically pay for the race, have a say in where it goes within each stage. If so I'm guessing Yorkshire Forward will have said they wanted it to go to Bridlington and Scarborough over somewhere like Thirsk.

    Think if any stage could've been spiced up then it's the North East stage, as there are some great hills and roads just a little bit west of the route out towards Kielder.

    Also I seem to remember hearing in past years that because of rolling road closures the route can't be made too extreme, as it'd spread the field out over too great a time, causing chaos with keeping junctions temporarily shut etc.
  • gumball3000
    gumball3000 Posts: 14
    Don't discount the last few miles on the way into Dalby....

    There are two horrible rises before the main 17% drag into the forrest itself. I ride it regularly in training and they do sting. I would imagine the pros will fly up them, but I for one, will be there to see how flat they make it look.

    Sure, not Alpe D'Huez, but a few years ago we had nothing. We now have a Tour that teams actually want to ride. Rock Racing may be bad news in one way, but it will certainly bring much needed publicity to the sport.

    It is easy to complain about an event that maybe doesn't compare to some of the more established races, but at least we have one now.
  • jimmythecuckoo
    jimmythecuckoo Posts: 4,718
    I am looking forward to seeing the race in Chard. Any watching of bike racing is good by me.
    http://fendrieneu.home.blog
    My blog and pod...
    Beers of Belgium Cycling Club UK
  • GroupOfOne MkII
    GroupOfOne MkII Posts: 1,289
    Race Manual is now available to download in the Race section of the ToB website. Looks quite good for getting detailed details of the stage starts and finishes.

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