Women's Tour of Scotland route finally released

bompington

I've done the 3 pistes each year since it started - it's my one event of the year. Brutal is the word for it - i remember the headwind on the Lecht that year oh so well.

And of course your average speed always looks so pathetic as you finish 600m higher than you start. At least mine does :oops:

But yes, would make a great race - no proper alpine length climbs but quite a lot that might be enough to get some gaps in the peloton.

bompington

... and of course that just shows that you certainly can have ski station finishes in Scotland!

With the minor provisos that a) there's no accommodation at any of them and b) they don't quite have the elan of an alpine resort.

anjasola

Hope the tarmac boys get out before the event.

andyp

phreak wrote:

You could probably say that about most mountains though couldn't you? I mean the Stelvio isn't exactly easy to get to, but it still regularly features in races. Seems a bit of a shame to do a race specifically in Scotland and not visit the area Scotland is most renowned for (the Highlands). Inverness to Applecross is what, 130km or so depending on the route you take.

The Alps are full of empty hotels in the summer though. Finding accommodation for the riders, the team staff and the organisation in and around Applecross, without a long transfer, would be a challenge.

bobmcstuff

bompington wrote:

... and of course that just shows that you certainly can have ski station finishes in Scotland!

With the minor provisos that a) there's no accommodation at any of them and b) they don't quite have the elan of an alpine resort.

But that's the thing - there is plenty of stuff in Aviemore!

phreak

andyp wrote:

phreak wrote:

You could probably say that about most mountains though couldn't you? I mean the Stelvio isn't exactly easy to get to, but it still regularly features in races. Seems a bit of a shame to do a race specifically in Scotland and not visit the area Scotland is most renowned for (the Highlands). Inverness to Applecross is what, 130km or so depending on the route you take.

The Alps are full of empty hotels in the summer though. Finding accommodation for the riders, the team staff and the organisation in and around Applecross, without a long transfer, would be a challenge.

Is that true though? I appreciate the Stelvio isn't perhaps the best example, but the nearest big town on the Italian side is Merano, which is a good 50km away. Even if you could find enough in Prato, it's still obviously 24km from the top. The same would be the case for a lot of Italian climbs (Gavia, Mortirolo, Erbe, Fedaia), none of which have enough hotel capacity at the top to cater for a peleton, and quite possibly not enough at the bottom either.

I vaguely recall when the Tour threads were being created they had the hotels teams were staying in, and decent transfers weren't 'that' uncommon.

It just seems that if women's cycling is to really take off then they need to do some of the iconic climbs, yet it seems a lot of the time they deliberately choose routes to avoid them. Looking at how rapid Emma Pooley is up these climbs even now it's certainly not for ability. I kinda suspect that a woman entering the Marmotte or Maratona will have a harder day in the saddle (in terms of parcour) than any professional. That can't be right.

andyp

You don't need a big town. Bormio, at the foot of the Stelvio, has over twenty large hotels in the centre of the town, with more in nearby villages. The Italian passes are in prime skiing locations, so the hotel capacity is enormous, and can easily cope with the Giro.

awavey

thegreatdivide wrote:

Good point. Finish in Ft William which is used to WC MTB events.

Aye, a daft restriction for the women!

you can request an exemption for a single stage upto 160km, as long as the average across the event is 140km per day, thats what the Womens Tour does, stage 1 they announced yesterday is 158km, but which means there will be a shorter stage to compensate.

but you have to build support for these races over time, you cant go big bang style chuck in the hardest set of climbs in the most remote places straight away as the race could fall flat on its face, its a cat 2.1 race so same classification as Tour de Yorkshire, 50% of the riders wont be WWT riders but various conti level teams, UK based tour series style teams, who will no doubt struggle to cover costs to race it.

ultimately the sponsors who are paying for the race, want spectators eyeballing it, theyve been promised 100,000 spectators lining the route, not just a couple of highland cattle however spectacular it might look, and that inevitably means a route that sticks to the obvious centres of population.

once its established in the calendar, then you can take more risks

DeVlaeminck

As has been said these races are all about being financially viable so if Renfrewshire wants to stump up the cash for a crit stage round a Paisley industrial estate (my roots are in that area in case anyone takes offence!) then that is what the race will be.

I know we all realise that anyway but there is also the point that, again already alluded to, that there are some great lesser known areas of Scotland with more than enough terrain to blow a pro tour mens race to bits let alone a second tier women's event. I'm not sure we lose much by not going to Applecross - you can get highland scenery for the backdrop not far North of Glasgow - Loch Lomond isn't far - and in terms of promoting an area for cycling places like Ayrshire takes some beating, well apart from the weather! There are some good towns like Ayr and Largs for starting and finishing in too.

thegreatdivide

Yeah, I mentioned the Ayrshire Alps earlier. It's a superb area, sadly let down by some actual mortar shell holes in the roads. The deepest potholes I've ever seen.