Tour de France 2022 - Route Presentations

mididoctors

RichN95. said:

salsiccia1 said:

I'll go against the grain here but I don't think cobbles should feature in the Tour. And I don't care what anyone thinks.

I think if they are OK, but I think they should be later in the race. That way they give a bigger opportunity for a GC rider to gamble and lets the specialists race for them selves more. It's also less likely to eliminate stars early on. With it coming early everyone's priority is to get the team leader through safely. They are risk averse.

Geography obviously makes this difficult though

I always fancied the day before Paris if they are going counter clockwise ..real upset on the cards

ddraver

Imagine the teeth-gnashing that would happen if someone non-controversial had a Moscon, 2021 on the cobbles though...

andyp

gsk82 said:

Plateau du belles filles and alpe d'huez again? YAWN! Does the tour designer own a pinarello and only wear black castelli?

The Tour hasn't been to Alpe d'Huez since 2018, so it was almost certain to be included again next year.

ddraver

Dorset_Boy

gsk82 said:

Plateau du belles filles and alpe d'huez again? YAWN! Does the tour designer own a pinarello and only wear black castelli?

It will have been 4 years since the last Alpe finish

gsk82

Dorset_Boy said:

gsk82 said:

Plateau du belles filles and alpe d'huez again? YAWN! Does the tour designer own a pinarello and only wear black castelli?

It will have been 4 years since the last Alpe finish

Yeah well

salsiccia1

The mountain stages are too short. A few of them should have been made to be over 200km.

kingstongraham

6 times up La Planche des Belles Filles in the 11 years it's been used is probably getting a bit much though. Will be 3 out of 4 years in 2022.

above_the_cows

Somone around the La Planche has some deep pockets...

above_the_cows

And they've only even done the Col du Granon once before... in 1986.

dabber

Lacapelle Marival to Rocamadour is near to us and an area I've ridden in a few times so if we're at the house during the tour a little trip to have a look might be in order.

Pross

kingstongraham said:

6 times up La Planche des Belles Filles in the 11 years it's been used is probably getting a bit much though. Will be 3 out of 4 years in 2022.

Yeah feels like the new Alpe.

Pross

It doesn't come past my house and is basically a Tour of Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain.

jimmyjams

RichN95. said:

salsiccia1 said:

I'll go against the grain here but I don't think cobbles should feature in the Tour. And I don't care what anyone thinks.

I think if they are OK, but I think they should be later in the race. That way they give a bigger opportunity for a GC rider to gamble and lets the specialists race for them selves more. It's also less likely to eliminate stars early on. With it coming early everyone's priority is to get the team leader through safely. They are risk averse.
Geography obviously makes this difficult though

I'm a bit undecided about cobbles in the Tour, but I suppose why not, if they are part of the French landscape up Lille area.
If one did want to include some, but for a change later on, I'm sure there must be some suitable pave in other parts of France too, like in some small Burgundy/Massif Central towns. In the Juliette Binoche film 'Chocolat' there are cobbled streets, albeit fairly smooth cobbles – filmed in a village near Dijon.
Or remnants of old Roman roads.
There are, for example, a few such stretches near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (between Avignon and Arles), while these photos show a stretch (albeit closed to vehicular traffic) going north from near Lunel (between Nimes and Montpellier) – and maybe a bit too extreme!

.

jimmyjams

kingstongraham said:

gsk82 said:

Plateau du belles filles and alpe d'huez again? YAWN! Does the tour designer own a pinarello and only wear black castelli?

kingstongraham said:

6 times up La Planche des Belles Filles in the 11 years it's been used is probably getting a bit much though. Will be 3 out of 4 years in 2022.

above_the_cows said:

Somone around the La Planche has some deep pockets...

Fair on the planche, but not on the alpe.

There were large protests when the Belles Filles was first used. Many local people were against the extension of the parking area at the top with all the necessary tree-cutting, and to a lesser extent also against the widening of the road up, and other associated works and construction.
So maybe the Tour organisation either (a) feel they have to include it regularly to justify the changes, or (b) agreed with the departement to come back regularly so locals get some bonus income from day-tourists in compensation for the destruction of part of their landscape.

I speak as someone who knew the hill before it was ever in the Tour, and liked it then, and, having been back since, dislike how it has been changed – for me its simplicity in natural surroundings has gone, and when there are few people around, it just looks ugly.

jimmyjams

Dorset_Boy said:

Surprised there hasn't been any chat about this, but the presentations are underway for both the men's and women's races.
Looks like they've been presenting the women's route first, but only been dipping in and out, but looks like they are hitting Alsace, and the various Ballons there, plus a finish up the gravel section on the Planche des Belles Filles.

Generally the farther the women get, the harder it becomes, although I think the next-to-last stage (with the loop back up to Le Markstein at its end) may be the deciding one, not the final stage up Belles Filles, that is just there to defend.
The next-to-last stage loop appears to include the Grand Ballon beforehand, the climb up which can be very tough, depending on route – I'm guessing they will go up from Wilier, not the hardest but not the easiest, and like them all, long (=16 km).

jimmyjams

kingstongraham said:

Dorset_Boy said:

That looks good - two proper mountain stages, a wine stage with unpaved roads, sprint stages and stages made for attacks. Starting in Paris on the day the men finish which is a good idea too.

You're right - but no TT for the women?
I'm not a TT-fan but somehow I think there has to be one in any tour of a week's length – it is part of getting an overall winner who is competent in several aspects.
I would have liked to have seen a short TT in the afternoon after a normal but shorter stage in the morning.
I'd have reduced stage 3 from 133 km to 100-110 km (taking out one of the last horseshoes near Epernay) and then have had a 12-15 km TT over the much of the eliminated horseshoe.

blazing_saddles

jimmyjams said:

Dorset_Boy said:

Surprised there hasn't been any chat about this, but the presentations are underway for both the men's and women's races.
Looks like they've been presenting the women's route first, but only been dipping in and out, but looks like they are hitting Alsace, and the various Ballons there, plus a finish up the gravel section on the Planche des Belles Filles.

Generally the farther the women get, the harder it becomes, although I think the next-to-last stage (with the loop back up to Le Markstein at its end) may be the deciding one, not the final stage up Belles Filles, that is just there to defend.
The next-to-last stage loop appears to include the Grand Ballon beforehand, the climb up which can be very tough, depending on route – I'm guessing they will go up from Wilier, not the hardest but not the easiest, and like them all, long (=16 km).

Grand Ballon is 13.5km at 6.7 per cent.
The stage also includes the ascents of the Petit Ballon (9,3 km, 8,1 per cent) and Col du Platzerwasel (7,1 km, 8,3 per cent)

davidof

Dorset_Boy said:

1er edition? I thought they ran it from about 1980 right up to 2016 ?

https://youtu.be/50LuR1YMZEg

phreak

jimmyjams said:

kingstongraham said:

gsk82 said:

Plateau du belles filles and alpe d'huez again? YAWN! Does the tour designer own a pinarello and only wear black castelli?

kingstongraham said:

6 times up La Planche des Belles Filles in the 11 years it's been used is probably getting a bit much though. Will be 3 out of 4 years in 2022.

above_the_cows said:

Somone around the La Planche has some deep pockets...

Fair on the planche, but not on the alpe.

There were large protests when the Belles Filles was first used. Many local people were against the extension of the parking area at the top with all the necessary tree-cutting, and to a lesser extent also against the widening of the road up, and other associated works and construction.
So maybe the Tour organisation either (a) feel they have to include it regularly to justify the changes, or (b) agreed with the departement to come back regularly so locals get some bonus income from day-tourists in compensation for the destruction of part of their landscape.

I speak as someone who knew the hill before it was ever in the Tour, and liked it then, and, having been back since, dislike how it has been changed – for me its simplicity in natural surroundings has gone, and when there are few people around, it just looks ugly.

Which is probably one of the reasons why the Tour has never been allowed in either Gavarnie or Tromousse and has to make do with the rubbish ski station at Luz Ardiden instead.

alan_a

This deserves an early entry into Post Of The Tour
😂😂😂

RichN95. said:

I haven't looked at the route at all, but I think it suits Pogacar

alan_a

So… how many days in advance will I have to park my van on the Galibier?

I was thinking of a week glacier skiing at Les deux Alpes and riding over for Alpe D … but back to back days each way on the Galibier will be an awesome atmosphere.

TheBigBean

Looks like @No_Ta_Doctor needs to offer some hospitality and local insight.

Dorset_Boy

alan_a said:

So… how many days in advance will I have to park my van on the Galibier?

I was thinking of a week glacier skiing at Les deux Alpes and riding over for Alpe D … but back to back days each way on the Galibier will be an awesome atmosphere.

With the second Galibier stage ending on the Alpe, then the Galibier might be less busy than it otherwise would have been.

gavinbay

The Granon is my back yard as it were; I live there most of the year.

I've probably cycled it, run it, ski-toured it 50 or so times according to my Strava logs, the same is true of the Galibier.

This is all you need to know about the Granon and it's TDF history

https://www.stylealtitude.com/cycling-col-du-granon-guide.html

Likewise, a similar guide to the Galibier

https://www.stylealtitude.com/guide-to-cycling-the-col-du-galibier.html

shirley_basso

gavinbay said:

The Granon is my back yard as it were; I live there most of the year.

I've probably cycled it, run it, ski-toured it 50 or so times according to my Strava logs, the same is true of the Galibier.

This is all you need to know about the Granon and it's TDF history

https://www.stylealtitude.com/cycling-col-du-granon-guide.html

Likewise, a similar guide to the Galibier

https://www.stylealtitude.com/guide-to-cycling-the-col-du-galibier.html

Good read. I'm not certain but this wording

"steep but all be it brief" should read "steep albeit brief"

darkhairedlord

jimmyjams said:

RichN95. said:

salsiccia1 said:

I'll go against the grain here but I don't think cobbles should feature in the Tour. And I don't care what anyone thinks.

I think if they are OK, but I think they should be later in the race. That way they give a bigger opportunity for a GC rider to gamble and lets the specialists race for them selves more. It's also less likely to eliminate stars early on. With it coming early everyone's priority is to get the team leader through safely. They are risk averse.
Geography obviously makes this difficult though

I'm a bit undecided about cobbles in the Tour, but I suppose why not, if they are part of the French landscape up Lille area.
If one did want to include some, but for a change later on, I'm sure there must be some suitable pave in other parts of France too, like in some small Burgundy/Massif Central towns. In the Juliette Binoche film 'Chocolat' there are cobbled streets, albeit fairly smooth cobbles – filmed in a village near Dijon.
Or remnants of old Roman roads.
There are, for example, a few such stretches near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (between Avignon and Arles), while these photos show a stretch (albeit closed to vehicular traffic) going north from near Lunel (between Nimes and Montpellier) – and maybe a bit too extreme!

.

that would make a fantastic TT stage though.

DeVlaeminck

A TT with extended sections of cobbles or gravel roads would be interesting.

ddraver

Can you imagine the tech-gasm!!

takethehighroad

They mentioned on the Cycling Podcast that the bridge in Denmark on Stage 2 is 18km long.

The echelon klaxon will be exhausted by the end of that day