Pave at the Tour

greasedscotsman
greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
edited June 2010 in Pro race
Going to see the Arenberg stage of this year's Tour, but the question is which sector of the race do I go to? Or to put it another way, someone is bound to have a problem, maybe a crash or puncture, but where is it going to happen?

Comments

  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    The first three sections still in Belgium are a bit unknown, and the first one too short for anything to happen. The fight for positions is probably going to be fiersest in the 5 or 10 kms before Hollain, but that's not something you can see live on the ground.
    Why not the last and 7th section at Haveluy? That's both the most severely rated section they do from Paris-Roubaix (4 stars vs. 3 stars for the other three in France), a good length at 2300 meter, and closest to the finish, so with best chance of seeing a peloton broken up in small groups, and probably best atmosphere too. It's round the corner from Arenberg, if you fancy a pilgrimage...
  • nick hanson
    nick hanson Posts: 1,655
    FJS wrote:
    The first three sections still in Belgium are a bit unknown, and the first one too short for anything to happen. The fight for positions is probably going to be fiersest in the 5 or 10 kms before Hollain, but that's not something you can see live on the ground.
    Why not the last and 7th section at Haveluy? That's both the most severely rated section they do from Paris-Roubaix (4 stars vs. 3 stars for the other three in France), a good length at 2300 meter, and closest to the finish, so with best chance of seeing a peloton broken up in small groups, and probably best atmosphere too. It's round the corner from Arenberg, if you fancy a pilgrimage...
    Fully agree,
    also,regarding the Arenberg,I rode it on the mountain bike the day before this years Paris Roubaix,& it was ROUGH on that!
    so many cols,so little time!
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    nick hanson wrote:
    also,regarding the Arenberg,I rode it on the mountain bike the day before this years Paris Roubaix,& it was ROUGH on that!

    Mountain bike, Arenberg? Lightweight :D

    OK, upon reflection I think my question was a little silly. It's like asking which km to stand on a final climb so you see an attack go. Pretty impossible. Think FJS's answer is the right one though, one of the later sectors is going to be better. As I understand it the ones in Belgium aren't too rough, but then I think whatever problems happen are as likely to occur on the run into the cobbles, rather than on the cobbles themselves. Like on the strade bianchi stage of the Giro a few weeks back.
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    greasedscotsman wrote:
    nick hanson wrote:
    also,regarding the Arenberg,I rode it on the mountain bike the day before this years Paris Roubaix,& it was ROUGH on that!

    Mountain bike, Arenberg? Lightweight :D

    OK, upon reflection I think my question was a little silly. It's like asking which km to stand on a final climb so you see an attack go. Pretty impossible. Think FJS's answer is the right one though, one of the later sectors is going to be better. As I understand it the ones in Belgium aren't too rough, but then I think whatever problems happen are as likely to occur on the run into the cobbles, rather than on the cobbles themselves. Like on the strade bianchi stage of the Giro a few weeks back.

    Not that silly, actually. A couple of the last cobble sections have a sharp 90 degree corner halfway - the stretches after those is where it breaks often... but then sometimes it breaks somewhere else... kind off.... well, just enjoy the atmosphere :wink:

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