2018 TdF route

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MichaelB
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2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:30 am

Early days yet, but there seems to be some cracker stages.

CN's 2018 TdF route early details

Some of the interesting stuff is the double ascent of Mur de Bretagne (stage 6 finish), Stage 9 with over 20km of pave over 15 secteurs, Stage 10 with a steep climb and gravel, Stage 11 & 12 with plenty of climbing, and then a 65km stage with over half of it climbing in Stage 17 with Col de Portet (16km at 8.7 per cent) !! :shock:

Will be interesting to see the full profiles and stage details as more analysis is done.

Standby to standby

RobertL
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby RobertL » Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:11 pm

I found this quote interesting: "There appears to be fewer opportunities for the sprinters in 2018. Eight stages classified as flat stages, but several of these could be affected by crosswinds and stage 9 includes the cobbles."

Why would 22km of cobbles in the middle of stage 9 particularly disadvantage the sprinters at the end of the stage?

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MichaelB
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:16 pm

Image

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Ouch !!!

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Mububban
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby Mububban » Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:51 pm

Ermahgerd!!!

Should make for some great viewing!
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V2rocketeer
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby V2rocketeer » Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:26 am

To me the tour and Alpe D' Huez go together.

Stage 12, July 19: Bourg-Saint-Maurice Les Arcs – Alpe d’Huez, 175km

ironhanglider
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby ironhanglider » Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:33 am

The best part is that stage 9 will be run early to avoid a clash with the World Cup final. It means that live viewing might be a sensible option.

Cheers,

Cameron.

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find_bruce
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby find_bruce » Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:44 am

RobertL wrote:I found this quote interesting: "There appears to be fewer opportunities for the sprinters in 2018. Eight stages classified as flat stages, but several of these could be affected by crosswinds and stage 9 includes the cobbles."

Why would 22km of cobbles in the middle of stage 9 particularly disadvantage the sprinters at the end of the stage?
Cobble sections are narrow which strings the peleton out & riding cobbles is hard work. It is not just in the middle of the race, he final 70 km includes a dozen sectors of cobbles. The pure sprinters like Marcel Kittel will get spat out the back and never see the front of the race again - eg stage 5 in 2014 15 km of cobbles & Kittel, Alexander Kristoff & Andre Greipel all finished 18 minutes down from the winner. Even if the sprinters are with the lead group at the finish, eg in 2015, its likely they will be too sapped to unleash their full speed.

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MichaelB
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:08 am

It will be interesting to see the trio of Stages 10, 11 & 12 after a rest day and after some cobbles.
I have to laugh at some of the other forumites (elsewhere) where all they do is whinge and moan about how bad the route is.
Hell, I couldn't manage 1 stage over several days !!

The stage that takes in Col du Pre and descends down the Cormet de Roseland (been there and done that bit) was brilliant and a really fast and open descent. can't wait to see that on TV !!!

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MichaelB
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:09 am

find_bruce wrote:
RobertL wrote:I found this quote interesting: "There appears to be fewer opportunities for the sprinters in 2018. Eight stages classified as flat stages, but several of these could be affected by crosswinds and stage 9 includes the cobbles."

Why would 22km of cobbles in the middle of stage 9 particularly disadvantage the sprinters at the end of the stage?
Cobble sections are narrow which strings the peleton out & riding cobbles is hard work. It is not just in the middle of the race, he final 70 km includes a dozen sectors of cobbles. The pure sprinters like Marcel Kittel will get spat out the back and never see the front of the race again - eg stage 5 in 2014 15 km of cobbles & Kittel, Alexander Kristoff & Andre Greipel all finished 18 minutes down from the winner. Even if the sprinters are with the lead group at the finish, eg in 2015, its likely they will be too sapped to unleash their full speed.
It could also be very variable depending on how it's raced (does A GC guy go on the attack like Nibbles did) and also the weather :!:

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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby Sharkey » Thu Oct 19, 2017 6:10 pm

It is an interesting course with some great stages.

My wife and I are in the early stages of planning a trip to be in Paris for the finish, and perhaps catch a stage or 2 somewhere in the countryside. I would also like to do a ride or 2, preferably one of the mountains a couple of days after the race has climbed it. I did Ventoux last year 6 weeks after the race and the painting and writing on the road was great to see.

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Mububban
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby Mububban » Sat Nov 18, 2017 11:50 pm

MichaelB wrote:Early days yet, but there seems to be some cracker stages.

......and then a 65km stage with over half of it climbing in Stage 17 with Col de Portet (16km at 8.7 per cent) !! :shock:
The Col Collective just uploaded a preview of stage 17. It looks magnificent:



Let's hope there are no incidents with fans getting in the way, given how narrow those roads get near the summits
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MichaelB
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:02 pm

Well, it's getting closer now and that's good and bad. Good as it will be some great racing, but bad as Froome will probably start and create all sorts of crap around his AAF case unanswered as it probably won't be resolved.

There's been plenty written about whether ASO will try and stop Froome going, but it will be lawyers at 20 paces if they do.

Hoping that MS can put on a good show again and be at the pointy end where it counts, and that LRP can finally string it all together and make it to the finish somewhere on the podium.

fat and old
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby fat and old » Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:38 pm

little Richie is to nice for his own good. He needs to get out there and start some serious whining. Bitch about the team, the hotels, the other blokes in the race, the reporters etc. Not keep holding back. Let it rip.

It worked for Evans :lol:

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biker jk
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby biker jk » Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:58 pm

fat and old wrote:little Richie is to nice for his own good. He needs to get out there and start some serious whining. Bitch about the team, the hotels, the other blokes in the race, the reporters etc. Not keep holding back. Let it rip.

It worked for Evans :lol:

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biker jk
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby biker jk » Thu Jun 07, 2018 8:42 am

Given the Sky domination in the TTT at the Dauphine overnight will the TdF be over after the 35km TTT of stage 3? Nibali lost 2.04! Movistar 1.31 down.

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MichaelB
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Thu Jun 07, 2018 9:08 am

biker jk wrote:Given the Sky domination in the TTT at the Dauphine overnight will the TdF be over after the 35km TTT of stage 3? Nibali lost 2.04! Movistar 1.31 down.
Only potential +ve is that those teams need to do something and attack Sky, so maybe something of an alliance ? For the Dauphine, anyway.

It will be interesting who is there to support GT in the mountains. Seems that Yates is one of the better placed GC guys now.

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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby Arbuckle23 » Thu Jun 07, 2018 9:22 am

MichaelB wrote: so maybe something of an alliance ? For the Dauphine, anyway.
They ganged up on Richie in last years Dauphine!

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MichaelB
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Thu Jun 07, 2018 1:32 pm

Arbuckle23 wrote:
MichaelB wrote: so maybe something of an alliance ? For the Dauphine, anyway.
They ganged up on Richie in last years Dauphine!
Maybe he can turn the tables this year !!!

I reckon for me, Stage 9 is a must watch, as are Stages 10, 11 & 12, especially with the climbing in the latter 3 stages after the rest day. Especially with each stage starting with big climbs.

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MichaelB
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Tue Jun 12, 2018 10:45 am

Slight diversion - gotta hand it to Sky, G did a good ride to win the Dauphine. Thought it might have been lost when he got that puncture, but he got back on.

Anyway, the Q I have is that a team that obsesses over 'marginal gains' :roll: and was quoted recently about the weight of their water bottles, they seem to be using the biggest and heaviest bike computers, the Garmin 1030 ???

Image

I wonder what info they get off this that they otherwise wouldn't get from the smaller 520/520+ ?

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MichaelB
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Tue Jun 12, 2018 10:49 am

On a separate note, the full maps & profiles are now officially up at sites like Steephill

2018 TdF Route, maps & profiles

Sharkey
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby Sharkey » Tue Jun 12, 2018 4:38 pm

It's getting close now. My wife and I fly to Paris on the 11th and then down to Lourdes for 5 nights where I am planning on doing a couple of rides - hopefully the Tourmalet one day and Borderes, Soulor, Aubisque the next. That ride looks pretty good in this recent Col Collective video:

Then we spend 5 nights in Carcassonne. Our last night there is the Sunday so we will be there for the finish of stage 15 and for some of the rest day. Next we head further east to the village of Uzes for 5 nights and I plan to do a day trip to climb Ventoux (did this in 2016). We return the hire car to Avignon and catch the TVG back to Paris on the Saturday to see the final stage on the Sunday. We then have the rest of the week in Paris before flying home on Friday, August 3rd.

To say I am looking forward to it is an understatement.

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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby vosadrian » Tue Jun 12, 2018 4:47 pm

I'm in Europe on a family holiday in July and cycling is not the main game for this holiday, but as luck would have it, we were going to be in the Alps when the tour is there, so we will be watching the Alpe d'huez finish. Should be hectic!! I might try and find a bike to ride it while we are there.

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MichaelB
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Tue Jun 12, 2018 9:01 pm

Col Collective was a great source of info and makes me drool !!

Have a great time and share some pics !!

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MichaelB
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby MichaelB » Fri Jun 15, 2018 12:15 pm

Whilst there are some really good stages like 9 with the cobbles, and the trio of 10, 11 & 12 after the rest day, Stage 17 will be REALLY interesting given it's only 65km longa nd has 3 climbs !!

Image

How many metres before the Grupetto is formed ?

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DavidS
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Re: 2018 TdF route

Postby DavidS » Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:45 pm

MichaelB wrote:Whilst there are some really good stages like 9 with the cobbles, and the trio of 10, 11 & 12 after the rest day, Stage 17 will be REALLY interesting given it's only 65km long and has 3 climbs !!

Image

How many metres before the Grupetto is formed ?
Short stage, a few climbs, I like it - the contenders can go for it and try and join a break and stay away. We need more interesting stages like this.

DS
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