Tour de France 2013 - the Route

124

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  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    And eight man teams. That could be fun!

    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/eight-m ... -de-france
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,116
    DeadCalm wrote:
    davidof wrote:
    French main TV news were accusing Voeckler of doping in the last tour on the main broadcast yesterday based on "inhuman" power outputs. Maybe Prud'homme decided best not to have him on stage.

    Is this reported online anywhere? And is it based on those dodgy calculations that keep getting trotted out?

    Yeah its based on the dodgy calculations or his strava profile or something :lol:

    Here is the news broadcast

    http://videos.tf1.fr/jt-20h/le-dopage-p ... 05793.html

    I thought it was interesting that the French TV singled out Voeckler
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  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    davidof wrote:
    DeadCalm wrote:
    davidof wrote:
    French main TV news were accusing Voeckler of doping in the last tour on the main broadcast yesterday based on "inhuman" power outputs. Maybe Prud'homme decided best not to have him on stage.

    Is this reported online anywhere? And is it based on those dodgy calculations that keep getting trotted out?

    Yeah its based on the dodgy calculations or his strava profile or something :lol:

    Here is the news broadcast

    http://videos.tf1.fr/jt-20h/le-dopage-p ... 05793.html

    I thought it was interesting that the French TV singled out Voeckler



    French housewives will NOT be happy
  • dsoutar
    dsoutar Posts: 1,746
    I heard for fat sprinters the second ascent of l'Alpe d'Huez is optional bro. Don't panic. @andregreipel.#tdf looks awesome!!!!!!!

    — Greg Henderson (@Greghenderson1) October 24, 2012
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,695
    Have to say, why are people getting so het up about the twice up Alpe d'huez stage? The "classic" stage is up 2/3 HC cols and THEN up the AdH If it was nt always at the end of the stage AdH would nt ever be an HC col.

    It ll be a great stage, but it's not a super super tough one!
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    ddraver wrote:
    Have to say, why are people getting so het up about the twice up Alpe d'huez stage? The "classic" stage is up 2/3 HC cols and THEN up the AdH If it was nt always at the end of the stage AdH would nt ever be an HC col.

    It ll be a great stage, but it's not a super super tough one!


    from the armchair, defo.. :lol:
  • jonginge
    jonginge Posts: 5,945
    Richmond Racer wrote:
    ddraver wrote:
    Have to say, why are people getting so het up about the twice up Alpe d'huez stage? The "classic" stage is up 2/3 HC cols and THEN up the AdH If it was nt always at the end of the stage AdH would nt ever be an HC col.

    It ll be a great stage, but it's not a super super tough one!


    from the armchair, defo.. :lol:
    I agree it's hyperbole. The marmotte is a similar distance and has glandon (HC), telegraph (1) and galibier (HC) before AdH. Not easy but not super tough either.

    ETA: The descent off the Sarenne is 'technical'
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
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  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    ddraver wrote:
    Have to say, why are people getting so het up about the twice up Alpe d'huez stage?

    Cos it will be great to watch from the roadside. You don't usually get to see a mountain stage twice in one day. It should be fantastic to see, you should go!
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,695
    Yep, it ll be great to watch - But it aint going to get people eliminated!
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • Le Commentateur
    Le Commentateur Posts: 4,099
    It'll be like Box Hill in the Olympics – a procession with attacks on the latter part of the final ascent.
    Un uomo solo al commando
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,116
    Back in the days of Patani, Anderson and Ulrich they would have called twice up l'Alpe d'Huez a Crit.
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  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,116
    Richmond Racer wrote:
    davidof wrote:

    I thought it was interesting that the French TV singled out Voeckler



    French housewives will NOT be happy

    I bet Voeckler wasn't happy, he probably spat his Poe out into his frosties when that came on!
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  • Le Commentateur
    Le Commentateur Posts: 4,099
    http://tv.eurosport.ro/ciclism/tour-de- ... 2904.shtml
    Un uomo solo al commando
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    ddraver wrote:
    Yep, it ll be great to watch - But it aint going to get people eliminated!

    You mean like Cavendish was eliminated last time they went up Alpe d'Huez? :wink:
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    I think some people are underestimating the twice up the Alpe stage. It's going to be a genuine tough stage - maybe not as tough as the Marmotte route but not far off. I think the Alpe is a true HC climb and finishing any stage with a double HC ascent is a bit special - and with a narrow descent there's more scope for action than going over the Galibier first with the long run in down main roads down the Lauteret.
    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • Daz555
    Daz555 Posts: 3,976
    edited October 2012
    I can see Wiggins supporting Froome in the Tour but still actually winning it.

    Assuming that no-one cracks Froome or Wiggins on the climbs then they will both be in play and Wiggo is likely to finish stage after stage within a few secs of his team leader. Then it comes to the TTs and Wiggo takes a minute out of everyone! What happens then? :mrgreen:
    You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
    If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
    If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Daz555 wrote:
    I can see Wiggins supporting Froome in the Tour but still actually winning it.

    Assuming that no-one cracks Froome or Wiggins on the climbs then they will both be in play Wiggo is likely to finish stage after stage within a few secs of his team leader. Then it comes to the TTs and Wiggo takes a minute out of everyone! What happens then? :mrgreen:


    I would actually laugh. A lot.
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    Daz555 wrote:
    I can see Wiggins supporting Froome in the Tour but still actually winning it.

    Assuming that no-one cracks Froome or Wiggins on the climbs then they will both be in play Wiggo is likely to finish stage after stage within a few secs of his team leader. Then it comes to the TTs and Wiggo takes a minute out of everyone! What happens then? :mrgreen:

    Can't see Wiggo climbing with the best if he's also having to do a pacing job on the climbs - that's a huge ask especially if he's coming in after a hard Giro and without that added incentive of being team leader.
    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    Hmmm, Froome didn't do a lot of pacing this year when he was supporting and hence finished with Wiggo on all the hill stages. That said, it will be interesting to see who takes the Rogers role as he did huge amounts of pace setting on the climbs although with no Cav there is space for another climber as well.
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,116
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    I think the Alpe is a true HC climb.

    It would be a Cat 1 climb anywhere else but at ADH.
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  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    pb21 wrote:
    Also I’m surprised the noise is suggesting Wiggins won't defend the title and aim for the Giro instead. After last year I can see him winning on a course like this, there are still 90kms of TTing (albeit 25 of those being TTT) and there aren’t any crazy mountain stages.
    The final ITT is very hilly, more like a mountain TT, and won't give the pure TTers like Wiggins a huge advantage. There's only 33 km of flat ITT in total, which is not a lot.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Le Commentateur wrote:
    http://tv.eurosport.ro/ciclism/tour-de-france/2013/tv-videos_vid252904.shtml

    WTF?! Pretty funny
    Contador is the Greatest
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    greasedscotsman wrote:
    And eight man teams. That could be fun!

    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/eight-m ... -de-france

    Good stuff.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    Le Commentateur wrote:
    http://tv.eurosport.ro/ciclism/tour-de-france/2013/tv-videos_vid252904.shtml

    Hmm, don't give up the day job Mark. Mind you, I would have never have thought that Sean Kelly would have been any good in media.
  • alanp23
    alanp23 Posts: 696
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    I think some people are underestimating the twice up the Alpe stage. It's going to be a genuine tough stage - maybe not as tough as the Marmotte route but not far off. I think the Alpe is a true HC climb and finishing any stage with a double HC ascent is a bit special - and with a narrow descent there's more scope for action than going over the Galibier first with the long run in down main roads down the Lauteret.

    IIRC the descent from Sarenne down to Lac du Chambon is a brutal nasty twisty technical descent. I think they are resurfacing the whole thing, but I think it will be a wild descent.
    Top Ten finisher - PTP Tour of Britain 2016
  • lloyd_bower
    lloyd_bower Posts: 664
    frenchfighter wrote:
    No Andy:
    blogger-image-773924818.jpg

    But he was there

    What the hell is that guy far right doing there?

    Quite rightly all the criticism for Armstrong finally been proven as a doping cheat, and a desire to see a cleaner a future. Yet the tour organisers are happily inviting Contador to pose for the publicity photo re: next years event.

    The Steakman is a convicted and unrepentant doper. Besides that he has all the links to Puerto, Bruyneel, Armstrong, Astana, etc. , he was prevented from riding one tour due to Astana's dodgy links, caught in another, and had one tour removed from his records, yet he's invited he's happily posing in the above publicity shot.

    How can the sport move forward? sure he's served his ban and unless he tests postive before next year's event, he can't be prevented from entering, but I just don't understand Le Tour administation, it's embarrassing. Hopefully this latest opportunity to clean the sport, doesn't prove another false watershed like the Festina scandal and the Puerto affair.

    Would be good to have USADA type investigation into Spanish cylcing, and it's hard to believe for a minute that David Millar was the only GB rider diverting from bread and water. At least his attitude since his return (excepting his comments on Contador) has been great, and in contrast to others.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,695
    greasedscotsman wrote:
    ddraver wrote:
    Yep, it ll be great to watch - But it aint going to get people eliminated!

    You mean like Cavendish was eliminated last time they went up Alpe d'Huez? :wink:

    After all the proper cols....that's the point
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • Vino'sGhost
    Vino'sGhost Posts: 4,129
    alanp23 wrote:
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    I think some people are underestimating the twice up the Alpe stage. It's going to be a genuine tough stage - maybe not as tough as the Marmotte route but not far off. I think the Alpe is a true HC climb and finishing any stage with a double HC ascent is a bit special - and with a narrow descent there's more scope for action than going over the Galibier first with the long run in down main roads down the Lauteret.

    IIRC the descent from Sarenne down to Lac du Chambon is a brutal nasty twisty technical descent. I think they are resurfacing the whole thing, but I think it will be a wild descent.

    It is. I hope there are showers
  • Vino'sGhost
    Vino'sGhost Posts: 4,129
    Looks like a good route, we might see teams and riders all over the place. If its raced hard it will be a corker. Or they might be always keeping their powder dry :(
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    JonGinge wrote:
    Richmond Racer wrote:
    ddraver wrote:
    Have to say, why are people getting so het up about the twice up Alpe d'huez stage? The "classic" stage is up 2/3 HC cols and THEN up the AdH If it was nt always at the end of the stage AdH would nt ever be an HC col.

    It ll be a great stage, but it's not a super super tough one!


    from the armchair, defo.. :lol:
    I agree it's hyperbole. The marmotte is a similar distance and has glandon (HC), telegraph (1) and galibier (HC) before AdH. Not easy but not super tough either.

    ETA: The descent off the Sarenne is 'technical'

    Spectacle innit. I think it's fair to honour the mountain. It's the most 'Tour' of all the TdF mountains.

    Tim Moore gets it spot on.
    As a variant on a sporting theme, Alpe d'Huez annoys the purists but enthrals the broader public, like 20/20 cricket or nude volleyball. Last year, a full-blown tent-stamping riot had required heavy police intervention. During this year's clean-up operation, down in a ravine with the bottle shards and dented emulsion tins, a body turned up. He'd fallen off the mountain and no one had noticed. When the Tour goes up Alpe d'Huez, it's a squalid, manic and sometimes lethal shambles, and that's just the way they like it.
    _

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