La Course 2017: Stage 1 Briancon - Izoard ***Spoilers****

above_the_cows

Salsiccia1 wrote:

Why can't there be a proper race? Surely the vast majority of the organisational costs are already covered by the men's race. It doesn't have to be 3 weeks, but surely it's not beyond the wit of ASO to have a decent 7-8 day stage race running alongside the last week or so of the men's race.

This. The sausage has it.

gsk82

Salsiccia1 wrote:

Why can't there be a proper race? Surely the vast majority of the organisational costs are already covered by the men's race. It doesn't have to be 3 weeks, but surely it's not beyond the wit of ASO to have a decent 7-8 day stage race running alongside the last week or so of the men's race.

Another few hundred people to find beds for every night for a start.

salsiccia1

gsk82 wrote:

Salsiccia1 wrote:

Why can't there be a proper race? Surely the vast majority of the organisational costs are already covered by the men's race. It doesn't have to be 3 weeks, but surely it's not beyond the wit of ASO to have a decent 7-8 day stage race running alongside the last week or so of the men's race.

Another few hundred people to find beds for every night for a start.

It's not insurmountable, if the will is there

andyp

gsk82 wrote:

Salsiccia1 wrote:

Why can't there be a proper race? Surely the vast majority of the organisational costs are already covered by the men's race. It doesn't have to be 3 weeks, but surely it's not beyond the wit of ASO to have a decent 7-8 day stage race running alongside the last week or so of the men's race.

Another few hundred people to find beds for every night for a start.

Why do people always have to find potential barriers? :roll:

ASO just need to pull their collective finger out and make it happen.

Pross

Thinking about this, I suspect the women hadn't really thought about tactics and treated the stage as a one off race (Lizzie seemed slightly thrown when asked whether she felt the ride gave her a good shot in the TT). Had they thought about it a bit more they may have been better keeping the four chasers together even if Lizzie lost a few more seconds on the stage as at least then they could set off working together to chase the leader.

Lanterne_Rogue

gsk82 wrote:

Salsiccia1 wrote:

Why can't there be a proper race? Surely the vast majority of the organisational costs are already covered by the men's race. It doesn't have to be 3 weeks, but surely it's not beyond the wit of ASO to have a decent 7-8 day stage race running alongside the last week or so of the men's race.

Another few hundred people to find beds for every night for a start.

Okay, so a longer trip at the end of a stage isn't necessarily welcome, but the women would presumably be finishing earlier so more time to get to hotels elsewhere, and if they're racing a shorter course then that might also help finding ways to mitigate the problem.

I'd really like to think that yesterday's stage was a first attempt to try and run two races at once - it had that sort of experimental feel, and I think that there'll be lessons to learn from it.

iainf72

andyp wrote:

ASO just need to pull their collective finger out and make it happen.

My impression is that they've been pressured into doing what they've done and they're not really keen on it generally. Especially if you take l'equipe as being a proxy for ASO.

Ultimately, if it would make them more money, they'd fling themselves into it.

[I will admit to not having strong feelings either way on this one]

gsk82

I'm not saying it can't happen. But its a real struggle as it is to find enough beds for the men's race. Plus shorter stages means longer transfer and an additional start town to be selected and set up. There's far more cost involved than someone suggested above.

At the end of the day it comes down to business. Aso aren't going to create a new loss making race just to satisfy the equality crowd. If it was economical and impractical to do it they'd already be doing it.

rick_chasey

Stage race in june.

During the Tour de Suisse, in that lul.

Head over a few of the same key stages to whet the appetite.

Problem is, the biggest women's stage race, the Giro, happens during the Tour, so no-one gonna watch it.

tailwindhome

Above The Cows wrote:

Salsiccia1 wrote:

Why can't there be a proper race? Surely the vast majority of the organisational costs are already covered by the men's race. It doesn't have to be 3 weeks, but surely it's not beyond the wit of ASO to have a decent 7-8 day stage race running alongside the last week or so of the men's race.

This. The sausage has it.

I have thought they should run a women's Tour De France alongside the men's Paris - Nice each year.

RichN95.

TailWindHome wrote:

Above The Cows wrote:

Salsiccia1 wrote:

Why can't there be a proper race? Surely the vast majority of the organisational costs are already covered by the men's race. It doesn't have to be 3 weeks, but surely it's not beyond the wit of ASO to have a decent 7-8 day stage race running alongside the last week or so of the men's race.

This. The sausage has it.

I have thought they should run a women's Tour De France alongside the men's Paris - Nice each year.

Or the Dauphine. Or both.

I think that a full on Women's Grand Tour is never going to happen. And that's probably for the best. I don't think it would serve women's cycling well. They need space in the calendar to develop their own events away from the men.

greasedscotsman

Rick Chasey wrote:

Stage race in june.

During the Tour de Suisse, in that lul.

Head over a few of the same key stages to whet the appetite.

Problem is, the biggest women's stage race, the Giro, happens during the Tour, so no-one gonna watch it.

I'd hold it the week after the Tour. Give something for all the fans something to watch who have nothing after just spending the last 3 weeks watching the Tour. Doesn't have to be in France, could just move the Giro Rosa.

rick_chasey

greasedscotsman wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Stage race in june.

During the Tour de Suisse, in that lul.

Head over a few of the same key stages to whet the appetite.

Problem is, the biggest women's stage race, the Giro, happens during the Tour, so no-one gonna watch it.

I'd hold it the week after the Tour. Give something for all the fans something to watch who have nothing after just spending the last 3 weeks watching the Tour. Doesn't have to be in France, could just move the Giro Rosa.

Even I have cycling fatigue after the Tour.

A classics season and 2 GTs, especially with the intensity of the Tour.

Sheesh.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Run the women's TDF in sync with the mens, with the same stage finish point each day, but different start points? With estimated finish time for the women ~90mins before the lead men are expected.

greasedscotsman

Rick Chasey wrote:

Even I have cycling fatigue after the Tour.

A classics season and 2 GTs, especially with the intensity of the Tour.

Sheesh.

Bah, lightweight!

Even at the end of the road season, I'm looking forward to cross and track!

RichN95.

NitrousOxide wrote:

Run the women's TDF in sync with the mens, with the same stage finish point each day, but different start points? With estimated finish time for the women ~90mins before the lead men are expected.

Who is going to be paying for this? This is a business remember.

greasedscotsman

NitrousOxide wrote:

Run the women's TDF in sync with the mens, with the same stage finish point each day, but different start points? With estimated finish time for the women ~90mins before the lead men are expected.

But this will get zero TV coverage. They aren't going to interrupt the men's race, that close to the finish, to show a women's race. You can see this with the women's Tour of Flanders.

I think it's a mistake to try and compete with the Tour for coverage. If you were trying to start a new men's stage race, you wouldn't want to hold it in July.

greasedscotsman

greasedscotsman wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Even I have cycling fatigue after the Tour.

A classics season and 2 GTs, especially with the intensity of the Tour.

Sheesh.

Bah, lightweight!

Even at the end of the road season, I'm looking forward to cross and track!

But then a lot of people who watch the Tour, only watch the Tour. They haven't been watching since January. If you can attract those fans...

davidof

underlayunderlay wrote:

I'd really like to think that yesterday's stage was a first attempt to try and run two races at once - it had that sort of experimental feel, and I think that there'll be lessons to learn from it.

This is how they used to run the women's tour de France.

France had a long women's stage race until last year (well it had several but one remaining): The Route de France, which grew out of the ashes of the women's Tour de France. It was not run this year due to a dispute with the UCI over the women's calendar and World Tour status. http://www.org-rc.fr/

For info RAI's Giro Rosa coverage gets 3 million viewers so there is obviously a market for women's cycling in Italy.

rick_chasey

greasedscotsman wrote:

greasedscotsman wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Even I have cycling fatigue after the Tour.

A classics season and 2 GTs, especially with the intensity of the Tour.

Sheesh.

Bah, lightweight!

Even at the end of the road season, I'm looking forward to cross and track!

But then a lot of people who watch the Tour, only watch the Tour. They haven't been watching since January. If you can attract those fans...

Also, everything post Tour feels a bit crap.

blazing_saddles

davidof wrote:

underlayunderlay wrote:

I'd really like to think that yesterday's stage was a first attempt to try and run two races at once - it had that sort of experimental feel, and I think that there'll be lessons to learn from it.

This is how they used to run the women's tour de France.

France had a long women's stage race until last year (well it had several but one remaining): The Route de France, which grew out of the ashes of the women's Tour de France. It was not run this year due to a dispute with the UCI over the women's calendar and World Tour status. http://www.org-rc.fr/

For info RAI's Giro Rosa coverage gets 3 million viewers so there is obviously a market for women's cycling in Italy.

As far as I could see at the time, Rai's Giro Rosa coverage this year was almost non-existent. 10-15 minutes sandwiched between the stage finish of the Tour and the presentations.
There might have been more, but if there was, it was even better hidden than that slot.
So disappointing that I didn't bother to watch.

Rick Chasey wrote:

Also, everything post Tour feels a bit crap.

Doesn't it just.

greasedscotsman

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Also, everything post Tour feels a bit crap.

Doesn't it just.

Hmm, not sure I agree with that. Who isn't looking forward to the Binck Bank Tour?

blazing_saddles

Tomorrow's 22.5km second stage:

RichN95.

A very twisty course isn't it

RonB

Not quite sure how this works. Is there anything to stop riders forming groups to reach those starting earlier?

bobmcstuff

iainf72 wrote:

andyp wrote:

ASO just need to pull their collective finger out and make it happen.

My impression is that they've been pressured into doing what they've done and they're not really keen on it generally. Especially if you take l'equipe as being a proxy for ASO.

Ultimately, if it would make them more money, they'd fling themselves into it.

[I will admit to not having strong feelings either way on this one]

I think ASO just aren't really keen. Cycling podcast pointed out that ASO has been quick to snap up failing men's races and bring them into the fold but they've been happy to just let the women's races fail. They went through a list, there's been a fair few.

bobmcstuff

RonB wrote:

Not quite sure how this works. Is there anything to stop riders forming groups to reach those starting earlier?

No, that's kinda the point. But the gaps are too big really.

proto

Looking at the Strava efforts up the climb, interesting to 11th fastest is Leah Thorvilson, the winner of the Zwift Acadamy competition.

She's an ex-runner, and this is her first season racing at any level. No youngster either, 35yo? Quite impressive.

Edit: having said that she was More than 10 mins down, so OTL on the results sheet.

RichN95.

Stage 2 about to start. I'm very interested to see how this works out.

blazing_saddles

AvV is away, Be interesting to see what Lizzie D does.

Sitting up and waiting is the answer.