2010 ToB route unveiled

andyp

@eh - that stage finish was in Newbury.

I rode the Tour of Speyside a few years back and that had a summit finish at the ski station on top of Cairngorm mountain. It was tough.

eh

Ah yes Newbury makes sense. I was trying to remember what other forgetable towns were down that way except Reading

andyp

That's my hometown your insul..., I mean accurately describing!

pat1cp

eh wrote:

Now Aberdeen to Aviemore via the Lecht and with the finish up Cairngorm mountain, now that would be a proper moutain route

You'd have to go along Deeside first and upto Gairshiel from Ballater then over the Lecht, then across to Aviemore and upto the Ski Station. That would split things up.

paulcuthbert

Tour of Britain my arse. No stage in Scotland. -100 to the organisers for that

iainf72

paulcuthbert wrote:

Tour of Britain my ars*. No stage in Scotland. -100 to the organisers for that

Have you read the thread - if they don't stump up money, no stages.

GroupOfOne MkII

If people could just use the following template for all future posts it would be appreciated.

Tour of Britain my @rse, there's no stage in Yorkshire/Cheshire/North Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland/Isle of Man/Cornwall/my street/Spain/Isle of Wight/etc delete as appropriate.

This is a national disgrace and Gordon Brown/David Cameron/Iceland/Muslims/Criminals/British Airways/Sky/Heathy & Safety, delete as appropriate, must be held accountable

People should probably also bookmark this post ready for the 2011 launch as well to save on valuable posting time. Time that could perhaps be better spent emailing your local council/MP/RDA etc and asking them why they aren't part of the Tour.

andyp

paulcuthbert wrote:

Tour of Britain my ars*. No stage in Scotland. -100 to the organisers for that

Presumably this will ruin your run of attending every Scottish stage in the past five years then?

mroli

eh wrote:

Headington hill wouldn't even split a Cat 3/4 race

Would if they left the traffic lights on :P .

I'm not talking about it being mountainous - just about it being a bit more interesting than flat and in a part of the world I know and love riding.

Sure there are a million "better" stages and not complaining about this year's route, but I'd like to see it that's all.

Stage 2 went Milton Keynes - Newbury, but didn't do the route I'd have chosen for it... Also, I think the quality of entering teams is getting higher as well...

GroupOfOne MkII

Sky's press officer wants a TT

http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,25212,16299_6106993,00.html

Actually in all seriousness a good article, and answers why they don't want a TT. Now an opening stage TTT could be entertaining. Have it early one balmy evening like they've done in the Vuelta 8)

Lord Jimmy 7th

woohoo ToB coming to colchester!!!

Tusher

Oi you, yes, you.

(folds arms and looks sternly in your direction)

I have indeed raised this matter with my local authority (one well experienced in hosting the Royal National Mod, vintage car rallies and the roads are a magnet for motorbikers).

The answer was that if it was held in the off-season, it would be welcome, although the one night stays are generally not as profitable as the Mod choirs are.

Also, I was told off the record that cyclists and their entourages are not known for heavy drinking, which is where many hotels make their profits. But the Fort is well experienced in hosting the mountain bike championships, indeed it's quite the mecca for mountain bikers.

But it's not ruled out for the future. Glasgow to Oban via Loch Lomond or the Trossachs one day, Oban to Fort William via Appin or Tyndrum the next day and a Jason McIntrye memorial TT from the Fort the next day.

I'm coming round to the idea of a Tour d'Ecosse though and intend to write to Eck the Fish, our First Minister about it. The Tour would run out with the midgie season, and, as the roads would be closed, after the elite men had set off, the women's peloton would follow, and then a sportive. We would charge the sportive riders £100 a day, to cover the costs.

Mmmmm, away to plot and plan. You read it here first.

fastercyclist

Tusher wrote:

I'm coming round to the idea of a Tour d'Ecosse though and intend to write to Eck the Fish, our First Minister about it. The Tour would run out with the midgie season, and, as the roads would be closed, after the elite men had set off, the women's peloton would follow, and then a sportive. We would charge the sportive riders £100 a day, to cover the costs. .

What?

So Bradley is riding now...looks a bit silly :roll:

paulcuthbert

GroupOfOne MkII wrote:

Tour of Britain my @rse, there's no stage in Yorkshire/Cheshire/North Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland/Isle of Man/Cornwall/my street/Spain/Isle of Wight/etc delete as appropriate.

Haha, jerk. Northern Ireland, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man aren't part of Britain.

Dufus!

RichN95.

paulcuthbert wrote:

GroupOfOne MkII wrote:

Tour of Britain my @rse, there's no stage in Yorkshire/Cheshire/North Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland/Isle of Man/Cornwall/my street/Spain/Isle of Wight/etc delete as appropriate.

Haha, jerk. Northern Ireland, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man aren't part of Britain.

Dufus!

The Isle of Wight is part of England, Dufus.

Richrd2205

paulcuthbert wrote:

GroupOfOne MkII wrote:

Tour of Britain my @rse, there's no stage in Yorkshire/Cheshire/North Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland/Isle of Man/Cornwall/my street/Spain/Isle of Wight/etc delete as appropriate.

Haha, jerk. Northern Ireland, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man aren't part of Britain.

Dufus!

Whereas Spain, of course, quite clearly is part of Britain....
You might want to tone down that posting style

Tusher wrote:

But it's not ruled out for the future. Glasgow to Oban via Loch Lomond or the Trossachs one day, Oban to Fort William via Appin or Tyndrum the next day and a Jason McIntrye memorial TT from the Fort the next day.

I was having very similar thoughts coming home from Strachur at the weekend. There's some stunning climbs on that route if you step away from the main roads, but perhaps Stirling to Glasgow with the Dukes pass, the Tak Ma Doon, the Crow Road etc would be a nice first stage.... Or a city centre crit on the Edinburgh nocturne route...

Back on topic, the ToB is still a fledgling race & it's good that it has continuing support. It's never going to go everywhere & has to balance population centres/possible crowds with attractive stages. It has done a fairly good job of that, even though, I wish it would develop some character...

GroupOfOne MkII

paulcuthbert wrote:

GroupOfOne MkII wrote:

Tour of Britain my @rse, there's no stage in Yorkshire/Cheshire/North Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland/Isle of Man/Cornwall/my street/Spain/Isle of Wight/etc delete as appropriate.

Haha, jerk. Northern Ireland, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man aren't part of Britain.

Dufus!

Wow, you're all charm aren't you

andyrac

Regarding a TT/TTT - Why not use a race circuit? There's plenty around the country.
And as for a 'proper' TT, Why not use the Epynt military ranges in Mid Wales? I've been there many times to watch Tarmac Rallying. I'm sure that would be perfect for a TT.

Yellow Peril

It would be good to see the ToB in the Isle of Man for a stage. Many of the greats have ridden here in the past and the Island is bike mad churning out a few top class riders at the moment.

It may be time to put a proposal to the Island's powers that be to sound it out.

flattythehurdler

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

flattythehurdler wrote:

IMO, the stages are far too long. If it is cold and wet, as it often is, it will just lead to a pissed off miserable peloton. They should run short stages with a few hills and then a town centre criterium type few laps finish for each stage. What is the point in aping a GT route when the weather is likely rubbish, the traffic a nightmare, the scenery often poor, and the routes by and large flattish and dull. Few few spectators are going to line up in the sticks to watch this. A route as above would be far better. It would be easy to have say 100k stages with some early and mid climbs to break things up a bit, and then a few town centre laps to finish. You could have a cracking day like that in almost all major cities and towns, and the councils might be more interested in an evening lap race finish. The riders would prefer it Im sure, as would the general population.

Apart from - I know it is a difficult concept to grasp for some of you but the ToB doesn't just pick a route they fancy riding and then just turn up and erect stage finishes and starts.

Many town centres have now been pedestrianised so a town centre finish is impractical but let us know what your local authority says in reply to your letter.

I take iy you've never heard of/seen the nocturne series then. Many town centres have been pedestrianised, well that rules out a town/city centre finish in the whole of the uk ever then. I can't be bothered to reply to the rest :roll:

Rodrego Hernandez

Look up the meaning of the word 'many'

I would be pretty sure that the organisers have considered many of you suggestions and ruled them out for whatever reason. You an safely assume that one of the reasons for ruling them out isn't out of spite to prevent you seeing a town centre finish. They have been organising for a long time and do actually know what they are doing.

Keep us posted on what your local authority says though.

flattythehurdler

I presume you are being deliberately abtuse.

gsk82

a city centre finish on a weekday is pretty much a no go because of the road closures that are required. i do think they should make sure that they have big city finishes on weekends though, last year it was yowk, newcastle and london, this year its blackpool, stoke and london.

Rodrego Hernandez

flattythehurdler wrote:

I presume you are being deliberately abtuse.

Nope. Are you being deliberately stupid?

cougie

A Manx stage would be good - but I just cant see it happening logistically.

Flatty - what are you talking about the scenery on the TOB is rubbish ? What scenery were you expecting in Britain ?? They've had some fantastically picturesque stages. If you want crap scenery - look no further than the Vuelta which can be massively dull and lets not even mention Qatar and co...

flattythehurdler

I don't recall saying that the tour of quatar had wonderful scenery. Whilst there is beautiful countryside in the UK, a wet week in september through Rochdale and Stoke?
@Hernandez, you really are a bit of a loser. 95 posts, and personal abuse already? Last post in answer to you. No point talking to a yob.

Rodrego Hernandez

flattythehurdler wrote:

I don't recall saying that the tour of quatar had wonderful scenery. Whilst there is beautiful countryside in the UK, a wet week in september through Rochdale and Stoke?
@Hernandez, you really are a bit of a loser. 95 posts, and personal abuse already? Last post in answer to you. No point talking to a yob.

You started it. Read the topic from the start and you will realise the stupidity of your posts.

It is very strange how many stupid posts this topic has generated, all of them answered very neatly in the first page or 2.

Apart from learning the meaning of the word 'many' may I also suggest you learn what personal insults are. Asking if you were stupid is not an insult. Calling you a moron would be an insult.

I have to disagree, there is sometimes a point in talking to all kinds of people. For instance, the main reason of this reply is to respond to an idiot which I generally try to avoid.

Your reply with regards to the scenery furthermore illustrates your ignorance so can I suggest that you go back to whatever place you crawled from and not bother this topic again.

orbeaorca

Any links to detailed routes?

There is a link earlier on in this thread but doesnt seem to work for me

Gav888

Link works fine for me Si??

Has anyone watched a stage race before, as I want to watch stage 6 as its my local stage.

I was planning to start at Bury then drive to Haverhill, then Halstead and so on keeping ahead of them to the finish at Colchester. What is traffic usually like for getting ahead of the peleton on side roads etc or is it best to pick maybe 3 spots, start, middle and finish?

orbeaorca

Gav888 wrote:

Link works fine for me Si??

Has anyone watched a stage race before, as I want to watch stage 6 as its my local stage.

I was planning to start at Bury then drive to Haverhill, then Halstead and so on keeping ahead of them to the finish at Colchester. What is traffic usually like for getting ahead of the peloton on side roads etc or is it best to pick maybe 3 spots, start, middle and finish?

Link working now :P

You need to watch Stage 7 not 6 Gav unless you have moved into Norfolk and not told me...lol

I will probably just cycle out to Lavenham and watch there, will maybe fit the Bury - Lavenham part into a route aswell for a Sunday morning blast after I get back from Wales and the Suffolk Sunrise is done.