December Tour 2019: presentation

Moderators: systemmods, Calendarmods

Post Reply
Robyklebt
Posts: 9986
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:50 pm
Contact:

December Tour 2019: presentation

Post by Robyklebt » Tue Oct 01, 2019 3:30 pm

Post your proposals for the December tour 2019 here in this thread.
For rules see here: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7352

1 tour in one post, don't split it into x posts please.
And no discussion here, discussion, comments/praise/criticism of tours is more than welcome in the thread linked above.
Kraftsystemrevision! Include the distance!
Basics reform: Give blue a chance!
Don't punish bugusers. We all have to use bugs, since most of them are declared as "features"!

Robyklebt
Posts: 9986
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:50 pm
Contact:

Re: December Tour 2019: presentation

Post by Robyklebt » Thu Oct 03, 2019 2:52 pm

I'll start then. Hopefully seeing the superb high quality will inspire others to try to come up with something better.

4 ciudades de Colombia

What better year than 2019 to finally honor Colombia? The first Tour de France win for this great cycling nation this year, the Donkey knew it already in November 18 when he started designing. Rigoberto Uran was going to win in 2019, no doubt. Ok ok, was some minor guy, not the superstar himself, but we'll take Egan Bernal. Anyway, Viva Colombia.

Let's get to the Tour. It's a concept tour! Whatever that means, but sounds good. The 4 biggest cities in Colombia get 3 stages each. Bogota, Medellin, Cali and Barranquilla, but the order will be Bogota, Cali, Barranquilla, Medellin here.


We start in Bogota. It lies on a plateau, the city itself is at roughly 2600 meters. For those interested in more, here the wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogot%C3%A1

Stage 1: A 52 km Team trial, mostly flat, but with 2 hills, the first right after the start, the second shorter one after km 30.

Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... ades19_01a

Stage 2: After having to wait for their slower teammates in stage 1, we have something for the time trialists too. An individual time trial. 35 km against the clock, the leaders that managed to limit their time loss thanks to their team mates on the opening day won't be able to that today, Mostly flat, but with a small cat 4 climb at km 17. Very likely we'll have a change of the yellow jersey, possibly in the same team, but that's not sure either.

Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... dades19_02

Stage 3: The time trial specialists that went too fast the day before will suffer today. On the other hand those that kept some energy or have excellent regeneration will strike today. A 16 km flat time trial. The yellow jersey has good chances to stay on the same shoulders.

Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... dades19_03


With that our 3 days in the capital, Bogota, for those who already forgot our over. The time trialists will be sad to leave, the others most likely rather happy. It will be 3 tactical days as well of course. Dropped riders on day 1, the TTT might have problems getting their energy back for Cali. For whom do you wait, for whom not. The weather of course, how much energy will the TTT and the first ITT cost? Do you go all out in the longer ITT or do you save energy for the shorter one? Anyway, on to Cali!

Santiago de Cali, or Cali for short, the third biggest city, is located in the Valle del Cauca at an elevation of just above 1000 meters. To the west there's a mountain range which we will get to know a bit in the coming days, to the east a plain in the rather large valley.

Stage 4: A middle mountain stage, 190 km and 3480 meters climbing. Basically 3 climbs, the last one a double climb, so 4 if you want, with first a long downhill, after the second climb a flat part, after the last mountain at km 154 the 10 downhill and then flat to Cali again. A change of leaders jersey seems likely here, it will be difficult for a pure time trialist to stay up with the best here. Most likely outcome is a sprint of classic group here.

Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... ades19_04a

Stage 5: Another middle mountain stage (the clever ones among you maybe now start to see a pattern?), but a much easier one. 159 km 1650 m climbing. We cross the Valley to the east side, a short but quite steep climb there, go back to the west side of the Valley and climb to hills just before or already in Cali before the finish. The differences for GC today should be minimal, and since the final climbs are not all that difficult another biggish group should fight for the stage win.

Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... dades19_05

Stage 6: The third middle mountain stage, and the toughest one, 3240 meters climbing in only 131 km. But most of it is until km 81, after that it becomes much easier, flattish/down, downhill and then twice the easy climb of San Antonio (6%) in the city. Differences can be made in the first part, energy can be spent, since after that we go to Baranquilla for some sprinting. A change in the yellow jersey... depends a lot on how it's ridden in the end. The stage? Another group looks likely. If somebody wants to argue that RKL sucks at designing middle mountain stages in stage races, I actually fully agree....

Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... ades19_06a

So 3 middle mountain stages next, the idea was to have a first real clarification on stage 4, those that don't have enough mountain lose time already, a classic TT guy or already a climber with TT takes over. Then an easier stage 5, and the idea was to have a harder, but not hard enough to see climbers winning on stage 6, which can make some differences in GC again. That was the plan at least.

Barranquilla, the fourth biggest city, on the caribbean coast, welcomes the sprinters.

Stage 7: 254 km, the longest stage of the Tour, by far, A km at 6% at km 32, the sprinters will then have 222 km to catch the classics again. That scary looking little hill in the profile at the end is max. 2. btw. If the sprinters work together should be a rather easy affair for the sprinters, the question is if they are fit after stage 6. And how many sprinters show up, probably a pure sprinter team doesn't make much sense in this tour, one with 6 helpers and a 3 man train. A sprinter team with at least one classic and preferably not the full train on the other hand.. The stage is that long because we had to visit Cartagena, the 5th biggest city in Columbia, not much smaller than Barranquilla, just over a million inhabitants too. And since they were left out (5 ciudades de Colombia with 2 stages each, pavé for Cartagena for 2020?) they get the only intermediate sprint of the tour.

Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... dades19_07

Stage 8: The hardest sprint stage, after the lengthy, possibly energy sapping stage 7. The climb to Piojo is 6 7 5 4, a 7 at km 84, then the last kms: 5 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 0, so with that 5 chances for classics too maybe. Not an easy stage for sprinters, maybe too difficult due to the fact that with only 3 sprint stages maybe they won't show up in great numbers? But having a fit classic for the last 5 and the team to bring back it's sprinter in the 56km after the 7% can still be expected of sprinters.

Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... dades19_08

Stage 9: 162 km, only 110 meters climbing, normally an easy stage for sprinters. Maybe tired teams after stage 8? But many GC teams will want to safe energy for stage 10-12 (spoiler alert, it's mountains), can't expect too many hard attacks. We go west, to Cienaga on a road between a lagoon or swamp and the sea, turn aound in Cienaga and back the same way, and add a little detour somewhere, to get more than 0 climbing... Cienaga seems to mean swamp in spanish btw.

Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... dades19_09

So 3 sprint stages, 1 long, 1 difficult, 1 easy. But the question is, will there be sprinters? Or even sprint teams? It's still 3 chances in the most important tour of December ,so some should show up. But a pure sprint team makes it boring, either a TT guy or a classic or 2 to have some fun in other stages is recommended.


Medellin, at an altitude of 1500 meters, so after gradually going down to sealevel, now we go back up. How will the riders body react, how will they adjust to these sudden altitude changes? Some might have problems, especially since these 1500 meters will be close to the lowest point in the next 3 stages. Mountain stages, for those that haven't read the spoilers.

Stage 10: 122 km, 3480 climbing, 2 big climbs, downhill, a small climb and we finish on a small hill inside Medellin. The first stage where the climbers, be it with TT or without can hope to really gain back time. There is a 15 km plateau after the second, very hard climb, so classics can come back, On the other hand, superclassics can keep away chasing classics with potentially a yellow jersey with them. Only 4 flat km in the finale, 3 before the cat 3 climb, one on top. Time can be gained, the question is how much and how much do you invest.


Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... dades19_10

Stage 11: At 223 km the second longest stage of the tour, one of only 2 at over 200 km. 6180 meters climbing, a relentless sequence of climbs in the south of Medellin. Stage 10 is in the north, stage 12 will be in the west. The finish is downhill, today we finish at Parque Berrio, where we start all three stages (for Bogota, Cali and Barranquilla the start and finish are always the same). Here again, a potential TT classic can lose time of course, but like in stage 10, the attack to make a big difference will have to come early, waiting for the last 10 km won't be enough.
Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... dades19_11

Stage 12: 147 km, 4450 meters climbing, this time with a long climb to finish. The winner of the Tour will be decided here. Maybe, could be already decided as well at this point.

Image
www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/popupdat ... dades19_12

So:

12 stages
1 TTT
2 ITT
3 flat stages
3 middle mountain stages
3 mountain stages.

No intermediates except the one in Cartagena
Leaders jersey: Yellow
Mountain jersey: Blue
Points jersey: red
Winner of the Cartagena IS jersey: green
Well, it will be the usual, but we'll imagine that it is like that.
Mintact forgot, might add it later, but the usual 30km minimum anyway.
Rather short stages for a RKL-tour, only 2 over 200. The 9 road stages 1528 km, so 169,77 average.

The winner will be? Somebody with TT and reg. And a good team. A good TT team and a good tem in the mountains. Most likely a climber, on the last 3 days they do have the terrain to get time back from the classics, but of course a strong classic with TT has his chances, he will only lose time automatically on the last mountain stage, in the ones before it's possible to limit the time loss. Or to force the climbers with TT to work early.
Kraftsystemrevision! Include the distance!
Basics reform: Give blue a chance!
Don't punish bugusers. We all have to use bugs, since most of them are declared as "features"!

Tukhtahuaev
Posts: 255
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 7:07 pm
Contact:

Re: December Tour 2019: presentation

Post by Tukhtahuaev » Fri Oct 18, 2019 2:17 pm

Philippines Tour

No fancy concept, just a tour on the two biggest Islands of the Philippines. The first half is set on Mindanao, the second half on Luzon.
9 riders per team, 13 stages with one rest day, 4 Flat, 5 Middle Mountain (though 1 of them is for climbers), 3 Mountain and 1 ITT. 1 Intermediate Sprint per stage and completely arbitrary classifications for the climbs. A lot of climbs are on narrow and shitty concrete roads, but I think I managed to avoid dirt roads completely

Stage 1: 154km, Flat
Image
Stage 1 should be nothing more than a warm up. The only categorised climb isn't worth mentioning, the organisers just wanted someone to get the climbers jersey on Stage1.
Final 5km: 1 0 0 -1 0

Stage 2: 158km, Flat
Image
Stage 2 is slightly more difficult, but should still go to the sprinters without problems. Only 1 km at 6% gradient on the first climb. The slightly rising road towards the finish will make for an interesting finale.
1st Cat 4: 2 6
2nd Cat 4: 5 4 3
3rd Cat 4: 5 3 3
Final 5km: 2 1 1 2 2

Stage 3: 217km, Hilly
Image
Now the warm up is over and we get to the first real challenge, a 217km long stage with two difficult climbs. The climb to Sitio Mainit in the beginning is 24km long at 5.6% average gradient, but with lots of sections at 8 or 9%. The final climb is not quite as long, but 10km at 7.4% should be enough to eliminate lots of riders, though a few of them may come back in the 29km that are still left to the finish.
Cat 4: 3 3 3 4 4 5 3
Sitio Mainit: 2 3 3 5 6 8 8 9 7 8 9 5 6 4 9 7 8 6 3 5 7 0 2 4
Cat 2: 5 5 6 7 6 8 7 9 10 11
Final 5km: 0 0 0 1 -1

Stage 4: 180km, Flat
Image
Stage 4 is another flat stage, but a lot more difficult than the previous two. Hilly terrain with a lot of opportunities to hurt sprinters in the first half, but completely flat until the final few kms. With the first mountain stage coming up I doubt that anyone will try something against the sprinters here. The final km have a bit of up and down, but nothing steep enough to worry any sprinters.
1st Cat 4: 4 7 6 6 5
2nd Cat 4: 9 -2 -1 8 4 1 5 2 2
3rd Cat 4: 9 7
Final 7km: 4 -3 2 -3 1 -2 0

Stage 5: 202km, Mountain
Image
Finally the first mountain stage, but gaps shouldn't be too big here. The Cat.1 is irregular, with a few very steep sections, but there's too much flat afterwards to do a lot of damage. The mountain finish isn't very steep. With decent control only the final km will create little gaps.
Cat 4: 5 4 4 4 5 5 4 4 5 3 2 2 1
Cat 1: 3 4 4 12 13 8 9 9 4 7 1 4 8 3 5 9 5 1
Cat 2: 2 4 6 6 6 8 5 6 6 -4 7

Stage 6: 198km, Hilly
Image
The last day of week 1 starts with a few hills here and there, but the real challenge is 17km long the final circuit around Cagayan de Oro. Strong classics should fight for the win, but GC riders shouldn't lose any time
1st Cat 4: Never over 4%
2nd Cat 4: 7 8 3 4
Final circuit: 0 0 1 4 7 9 1 2 -2 -3 -5 -4 -6 -3 -1 0 0

Now we can use the rest day to transfer from Mindanao to Luzon. After the first week GC should still be very close, but that is going to change soon

Stage 7: ITT, 30km
Image
Week 2 starts with the only Time Trial of this tour. The 30km are mostly flat, but there is one steep section towards the end. Maybe it'll be worth saving energy for that

Stage 8: Hilly, 170km
Image
Now we have a difficult Middle Mountain Stage. Two steep, but not extremely long climbs in the first half and lots of very short, but steep hills in the final 45km. The final doesn't have any long flat sections anymore, so there is no time to relax
Mount Sungay: 6 6 1 4 3 4 5 11 10
Tagyaytay: 7 10 11 6 2 12 20
1st Cat 4: 4 7 6
2nd Cat 4: 9 5
Cat 3: 7 9 3 6 6
Final 5km: -6 0 0 0 1

Stage 9: Hilly, 214km
Image
Stage 9 is classified as Medium Mountain, because it barely goes over 600m, but it should go to the climbers.Similar to the day before the final part has a lot of short climbs, the only real difference being the finish that's up the extremely steep road to Mount Mataba.
1st Cat 4: 6 2 6 2 -1 -5 -4 11
2nd Cat 4: 6 14 -6 0 7
Mayagay: 2 4 3 6 2 1 1 2 7 7 9 -4 -2 3 5 4 5 3 4
Mount Kaymayuman: 5 3 6 2
Antipolo: 4 7
Silangan: 11 6
Mount Mataba: 10 17 -2 8

Stage 10: Flat, 190km
Image
Before we get to the great final, we have one day were the GC riders can rest and the sprinters get their final chance. The only real difficulty is still 71km from the finish, so it shouldn't be difficult to get a sprint
Cat 4: 6 2 4
Cat 3: 7 8
Final 5km: 0 1 -1 0 1

Stage 11: Mountain, 171km
Image
Stage 11 brings us to the most difficult climb of this tour. The final climb to Mount Santo Tomas has an average gradient of 6.9% over 30km. With a few flatter sections it means that i goes over 10% quite a few times. This will push every single rider towards his limits.
Baguio: 4 2 5 5 5 3 6 -1 3 4 3 3 3 2 3 2 4 5 7 7 9 8 4 9 1 6 3 6
Cat 3: 2 8 7 9 8
Mount Santo Tomas: 4 2 4 3 12 5 9 8 5 9 11 11 10 9 9 1 12 8 5 -1 3 7 11 8 9 9 -5 7 8 15

Stage 12: Mountain, 165km
Image
Today it goes even higher and while the climbs on their own are not close to what we had on the day before, the number of them and their quick succession should more than make up for it. Any climber with low regeneration could be in big trouble today and whoever has lost out before, could win it all with a long range attack.
Cat 2: 5 9 15 11 -7 4 5 6 9 7 9
1st Cat 1: 5 7 -1 8 8 8 7 9 7 8 9 8 10
2nd Cat 1: 8 15 14 7 10 -3 12 11 11 -3 -3 14
Mount Osdung: 7 10 9 11 6 10 6 10 3 4 8 4 7 6
Mount Data: 3 4 4 7 8 9 10
Final 5km: -2 -2 -2 -6 4

Stage 13: Hilly, 180km
Image
The final day starts as difficult as the two days before, but the gets a lot easier over time. AThe two mountains at the beginning could lead to a desperate attack to gain some more time, but with over 100 flat km following and only two more short hills, this can only work if the other teams are still extremely tired.
Tadian: 3 1 3 2 2 4 3 2 4 4 5 7 4 6 10 7 8 7 -3 2 5
Bessang Pass: 4 6 8 7 6 8 7 8 9 7 9 9 8 10
Mount Lusong: 8 8
2nd Cat 4: 10 8 -1 10
Final 5km: 0 0 0 1 0

User avatar
Pokemon Club
Posts: 3184
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:37 pm
Contact:

Re: December Tour 2019: presentation

Post by Pokemon Club » Mon Oct 21, 2019 2:03 pm

Volta a Brasil : "Uma chance para todos"
Yes, a chance for all. During this Volta, we try to give a chance to win at all kind of riders, because it what is cycling : diversity.

Stage 1 : Flat, 198 km.
The first stage of the Volta will be between Argentina and Paraguay. This 2 countries will participed in the first quarter of the Volta. The only hill is in the first half of the stage. The breakaway will surely fight for the first mountain jersey. Waiting for a big battle between all sprinters at the end which is totally flat.
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 2 : Flat, 200 km.
Another day for sprinters, this time between Paraguay and Argentina. The stage isn't really hilly but is never totally flat. But normally no influence and we will have a fast massive sprint at the end (-1 for the last km)
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 3 : Hilly, 220 km.
The longest stage, fully in Argentina. Which teams will control ? At 19 km of the end, the pack will face Paraje Villa Union Hill, with 1 km at 6%. Sprinters can face it, but after 200 km will they keep enough teammates fresh to control and eventually comeback at the end ? hillsprinters or even classics will maybe take advantage of this difficulty, but only in the case if the breakaway stay reachable !
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 4 : Hilly, 195 km.
A day for strong and fast men. We arrive to Brazil and we are waiting classic-sprinters at the end. My bet is a for a 25-30 riders group fighting for the stage this day.
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 5 : Flat, 202 km. Probably the last chance for sprinters. It will be quite hilly, not enough to sieb them but it will be hard to control for them.
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 6 : Hilly, 191 km.
This arrival at Apiai isn't enough hard for climbers, but the strongest classicmen have a good opportunity to show their value.
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 7 : ITT, 62 km.
A long TT, quite hilly, and before the restday. The first opportunity to create big gap between the GK containders !
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

RESTDAY

Stage 8 : Hilly Cobbles, 166km.
2 paves km at 15% average. 3 times. Rio Piracicaba climb in Ouro Preto is a monster. A lot can happen during this stage. Only one thing is sure, some will lose a lot of time.
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 9 : Hilly, 186 km.
An Ardennaise in Brazil, this is how looks this stage. But how will react riders after the stage of the day before ? Impossible to know but big offensives are possible this day.
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 10 : Hilly, 190 km.
Hilly, but a finish for climbers. An hard one. 7 km at 8.2%, the 2 last km at 12% average...good luck !
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 11 : Hilly, 199 km.
2 long climbs in the first half, than it is always hilly until the end...perfect for a breakaway ?
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 12 : Hilly, 175 km.
Hilly, hilly, hilly ! I don't know how will be the fight for GK, but for the mountain jersey we can expect the last battle here !
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

Stage 13 : Flat Cobbles, 174 km.
The last battles will be a war in cobbles ! Impossible to predict how will be the race, without a strong team, some will lose all their illusion in this exciting and unpredictable act !
Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

whisbone
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2014 11:49 am
Contact:

Re: December Tour 2019: presentation

Post by whisbone » Mon Oct 21, 2019 5:55 pm

In order to improve diplomatic relations between Burundi and Rwanda (which the whole world is worried about), do not you ?????? it was decided to organize a cycling race that will mark the roads of these 2 countries. BURUNDI and RWANDA Tour
Image
Here is the proposed route:
Burundi and Rwanda Tour
Stage 1a Bujumbura – Muramvya 60 km
Stage 1b Bujumbura TTT 21km TTT
Stage 2 Bujumbura – Nyanza Lac 127 km Flat
Stage 3 Nyanza Lac – Rutana 139 km hilly
Stage 4 Rutana – Butaganzwa 154km Flat
Stage 5 Ruyigi – Kirundo 191km hilly
Stage 6 Kirundo – Kabarore 181km Mount
Stage 7 Kabarore – Murwi 181km Mount
REPOS
Stage 8 Muhanga – Kibuye 192km Mount
Stage 9 Kibuye – Kibuye 23 km ITT
Stage 10 Kibuye – Mont Karongi 217km Mount
Stage 11 Gisenyi – Rushashi 163km hilly
Stage 12 : Rushashi – Kigali 168km Flat
Stage 13 : In the streets of Kigali 120 km


Stage 1a : Short stage but hilly in the middle
Image
From km 30 to 47 : 5% 5% 2% 2% 2% 4% 6% 11% 0% 5% 8% 7% 3% 7% 6% 6% 8% 2%

Stage 1b : TTT in the streets of Bujumbura
Image

Stage 2 : flat stage
Image

Stage 3 : First half, hilly. Second half, flat
Image

Stage 4 : Flat stage
Image

Stage 5 : Hilly stage
Image

Stage 6: Mountain
Image

Stage 7 : Mountain
Image
Last 10 km : -3% -13% +10% +7% 0 -13% -5% +13% +9% +9% +11%

Rest Day and Transfert to Rwanda
Image
Stage 8 : Mountain
Image

Stage 9 : ITT lighty Hilly in Kibuye
Image

Stage 10 : The Hardest stage of this Tour
Image
Last km :4% 3% 6% 6% 7% 8% 6% 8% 8% 9% 6% 9% -2% 2% 8% 8% 4%

Stage 11 : Hilly
Image

Stage 12 Hilly then Flat
Image

Stage 13 : In Kigali (Mur de Kigali )
Image

NoMoreIdols
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2015 11:03 pm
Contact:

Re: December Tour 2019: presentation

Post by NoMoreIdols » Thu Oct 31, 2019 11:02 pm

SAF TOUR 2019

Today I present you my december tour, I present you the South Africa tour or the Abolish Vuvuzela tour, those things have been a plague for the last 10 years. :D. Teams start with 9 riders each

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f

We start of this tour with a classic stage around cape town, something different then those sprint stages. Yellow can be kept until team time trial with good controlling.

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage two finishes in Stellenbosch. Mont Rochelle (4 5 5 7 5 6 5) provides a real challenge for sprinters and collaboration after this hill might determine the winner of this stage. Mintact starts at km 189.

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Seems to me this is more a stage for sprinters, last possible sieb is a 6% at km138. Finish is slight uphill.

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Another possible sprint stage.

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Penultimate stage for sprinters, another uphill finish to make sure no turd wins the stage. Gc teams might want to save some energy for what's coming.

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Rather hilly team time trial in Durban, this was designed to make sure the strongest teams can get an advantage. Regeneration might be important for the next days.

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
One of the more important stages. Upon arriving in Pietermaritzburg the riders will have to climb the town hill before doing a local short circuit twice. The intermediate sprint on the hill of the local circuit is there to motivate gc attack. This is normally a stage where climbers and classics fight it out for the win.

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
The first real mountain stage, the Hela Hela climb is short but steep (5 8 9 9 10 11 11) while the penultimate climb isn't too hard.

:!: :!: :!: RESTDAY :!: :!: :!:

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
This stage should is designed to be a hard stage for sprinters. This due the length of the stage and some hills in the Rustenburg area. Mintact starts at km208

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
A classic race in Johannesburg. The uphill finish (4) gives good possibilities to the stronger classics.

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
At the end of the tour we have a hilly time trial, the question will be which riders will have regeneration problems in the next two days.

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Today we visit Swaziland! The climb out of Barberton is really hard ( 11 13 11 11 8 3) and provide possibilities to exploit riders with less regeneration. MIntact starts at km196.

Image
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Last stage to Pilgrim's rest, the last 30km of this stage can be decisive to determine the winner of the tour. Mintact at km180

All in all I think this is a tour where regeneration and a good team time trial might be decisive. This tour might not be too mountainious but the hilly itt and ttt might compensate that and motivate some strong climbers.

User avatar
Falkenbier
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:08 pm
Contact:

Re: December Tour 2019: presentation

Post by Falkenbier » Fri Nov 01, 2019 2:30 pm

SOUTH EAST AFRICA TOUR (SEAT)

I'm a bit late... and there is already a Tour in this region, bah... but let's present the SOUTH EAST AFRICA TOUR. We will visit the 4 countries Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho. 12 stages are waiting for the riders, while stage 9 includes 2 half stages.

Time Trials: 2
Flat: 4
Middle Mountain: 3
HC: 4


Stage 1: Maputo (Mozambique)
TT (8 km)

An 8km long and flat prolog to start. A pure TT guy can take the lead (if there is any…)

Image


Stage 2: Maputo – Malelane (Mozambique / South Africa)
Flat (186 km)

A first stage which is made for sprinters. The end is a little bit hilly, but nothing more than 4%. We also have 2 categorized climbs during the stage, but also, nothing steeper than 4%.

Image

Last 5km: -2 -2 -1 1 1


Stage 3: Malelane – Bulembu (South Africa / Eswatini)
Middle mountain (149 km)

The 3rd stage will give an opportunity to all the guys who like some up and down. There are some really steep climbs to do. Sprinters will have no chance, it’s more about Classic riders or even climbers. Maybe someone tries to gain some time in GC ?

Image

km 29 : 7 9 6 5 6 6 (Cat. 2)
km 34 : 5 5 (Cat. 4)
km 114 : 5 11 13 10 11 7 (Cat. 1)
km 128 : 5 5 8 5 1 6 -3 6 (Cat. 3)

Last 5km : -4 -6 -7 -6 3


Stage 4: Bulembu – Mbabane (Eswatini)
HC (204 km)

First chance for the climbers here, as we end in a mountain top finish. The stage starts hilly, some steep climbs followed by a long downhill part. After the middle of the stage was more or less flat, we go into a hard finish. Two climbs in the last 20 km.

Image

Km 5-6: 10 13 (Cat. 3)
Km 190-196: 5 13 9 4 3 11 3 (Cat. 2)
Km 203-204: 7 11 (Cat. 3)

Last 5km: -8 -4 -1 7 11


Stage 5: Mbabane – Ermelo (Eswatini / South Africa)
Flat (148 km)

Another possibility for the sprinters. The difficulties are during the first 10 km. Then the race is more or less flat until the end.

Image

Km 5-8 : 7 9 8 3 (Cat. 2)
Km20-26: 3 3 4 4 4 3 3 (Cat. 4)

Last 5km: -3 -1 2 -1 1


Stage 6: Ermelo – Newcastle (South Africa)
Flat (185 km)

The next chance fort he sprinters. Everything flat on these 185km. Nothing more than 4% during the whole stage.

Image

Km 121-123: 3 4 3 (Cat. 4)

Last 5km: -2 -1 2 1 2


Stage 7: Newcastle – Harrismith (South Africa)
Middle mountain (185 km)

Hmmm not sure if pure sprinters will have a chance on stage 7. Probably the end is too hard for them. We have a last climb 35km before the finish and another 6% 15km from the end. Good for sprinters with some hill skills and a strong team. But maybe also a good stage for an escape…

Image

Km 42-44: 3 1 5 (Cat. 4)
Km 138-150: 4 5 2 5 2 3 5 4 3 6 6 2 7 (Cat. 2)
Km 171-172: 6 3 (Cat. 4)

Last 5km: -1 -1 -1 -1 1


REST DAY


Stage 8: Harrismith – Mahlasela Pass (South Africa / Lesotho)
HC (213 km)

After the restday we start to our longest stage of the Tour. And in the end of this stage, some really hard climbs are waiting. It’s the start of the hard days we’ll have in Lesotho. The finish line will be on top oft he Mahlasela Pass. With 3222 meters above sea this ist he highest point oft he tour. The final climb is the only one with HC category.

Image

Km 58-60 : 3 9 6 (Cat. 4)
Km 62-63 : 3 3 5 (Cat. 4)
Km 96-101 : 5 4 4 3 3 2 (Cat. 4)
Km 164-167 : 12 1 4 5 (Cat. 3)
Km 179-189 : 3 8 7 1 7 12 9 10 9 12 11 (Cat. 1)
Km 202-213 : 6 5 7 2 6 9 6 -3 4 12 10 7 (Cat. HC)


Stage 9a: Mapholaneng TT (Lesotho)
TT (12 km)

Half stage ! After the hard finish from yesterday, todays program isn’t much easier. We will first have a short, hilly TT. This one is ridden as a half stage.

Image

All km: 7 -8 2 2 -1 6 2 -8 -8 6* 4* 0


Stage 9b: Mapholaneng – Mohlanapeng (Lesotho)
HC (115 km)

2nd part oft he day, a hard mountain stage! Who’s still fit for this hard, but short trip through Lesotho ? We’ll find a lot of dirt roads today (If I remember right downhill and intermediates are buggy with cobbles, so no cobbles at these km). It’s all * except Menoaneng Pass where we got **.

Image

Km 13-16 : 5 4 7 6 (Cat. 3)
Km 25-29 : 5 5 6 2 5 (Cat. 3)
Km 35-41 : 5 9 8 7 2 5 3 (Cat. 2)
Km 45-53 : 5 -2 6** 3** 9** 10** 12** 3** 1 (Cat. 1)
Km 69-72: 3* 3* 8* 4 (Cat. 3)
Km 94-99: 4* 7* 3* 3* 6* 2 (Cat. 2)
Km 108-113: 9* 9* 4* 5* 9* 9 (Cat. 1)

Last 5km: 5 9 9 0 0


Stage 10: Thaba-Tseka – Nyakosoba (Lesotho)
HC (158 km)

And again a hard stage… only 158 km but it’s all up and down. Which rider had a good regeneration from yesterday? And is the leaders team still able to defend the GC? At least the roads are asphalted today.

Image

Km 6-17: 6 8 -5 6 3 -3 10 8 4 8 5 (Cat. 2)
Km 49-52: 8 7 4 7 (Cat. 3)
Km 63-76: 9 4 9 8 5 9 12 6 -4 2 3 3 7 2 (Cat. 1)
Km 90-95: 5 8 10 7 2 4 (Cat. 2)
Km 116-120: 3 9 10 7 (Cat. 3)
Km132-133: 6 6 (Cat. 4)
Km152-156: 4 9 10 7 3 (Cat. 3)

Last 5km: 10 7 3 -7 3


Stage 11: Roma – Maseru (Lesotho)
Middle mountain (185 km)

Still a bit hilly today, but far from what we had in the past days. Only some small hills to pass. In the end we will have a 15km circuit in the city of Maseru. The riders need to complete it 5 times. Too hard for sprinters normally. Classics with good sprint skill schould have the best chances.

Image

Km 24-26: 7 9 3 (Cat. 3)
Km 29-33: 4 4 2 3 5 (Cat. 4)
Circuit: 4 2 6 4 (Cat. 4)

Last 5 km -3 1 2 -5 -1


Stage 12: Maseru – Bloemfontein (Lesotho / South Africa)
Flat (192 km)

The final stage and it’s an easy one. If there are still some sprinters in the race, they have the possibility to win another stage. It’s a very flat stage which normally will end in a mass sprint.

Image

Km 10-11: 8 4 (Cat. 4)

Last 5km: 0 0 0 -1 -1

Chense
Posts: 487
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 8:18 pm
Contact:

Re: December Tour 2019: presentation

Post by Chense » Fri Nov 01, 2019 5:53 pm

Tour du Maroc 2019

Ladies and Gentleman - It is 2019 the 10 year Cycling 4 Freaks anniversary for Team Trojer Vellau.

Reason enough to go for the first own (finished) Tour and what would fit better then the December Tour Voting?

So we decided to go for it and went to Maroc to find some nice stages for all riders (okay except pave guys sorry for you you have your own tour!).

The Tour will be ridden with 9 riders and consist of 13 Stages and a rest day featuring 5 flat stages, 4 middle mountain stages,
3 HC stages and one ITT.

The team management hopes you like it´s proposal.
Just some explanation before we start with the tour:

We will name the length of the stage and where the mintact starts before presenting the route and show you the profile.
The "Mountains" thing will for nameless mountains still categorized tell you about the last km of the mountain and the elevation.
Location of the Intermediates, Last +6 and Last 10 kms should explain itself :)

The mountain classifications follow a bit the giro rules so only one HC here called Souvenir Lulei but might also take in context a bit how important a mountain is in the context of the stage decision and more focussing on steepness then on total hm what fits better for Cycling 4 Freaks after the organizing comitees thought.

So lets go!

Stage 1: Casablanca - Rabat
KM: 211
Mintact: 181

Image

On the first day we will see a sprintstage that might only hurt the really weak sprinters without helpers.
The Tour starts in Casablanca by far the greatest city in Maroc with over 3 million inhabitants and situated directly on the atlantic coast while its finish is in the capital of Maroc Rabat not far from Casablanca.
But before that the riders will head a bit inside the land to the Tamasne Dam where the first mountain points of this tour will be given in a Cat. 4, followed of a little hilly part that should not hurt the sprinters to much. Afterwards they go back into the direction of the coast visiting Benslimane a province capital where the first sprint will take place.
Around 30 kms before the finish and after some downhill we will reach sealevel again and from there it goes totally flat alongst the coast to Rabat where we will most likely see a nice mass sprint near the harbour.

Location of the intermediate sprints:
KM 150

Mountains:
KM 85 - Cat.4 - 2km 120 hm 6% average - 6 6

Last km +6: 141

Last 10km: -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1

Stage 2: Sidi Allal Tazi - Tanger
KM: 194
Mintact: 170

Image

After this first little test and a short overnight transfer of about 30km a real sprint stage follows.
The riders start in the small village Sidi Allal Tazi not far from the coast and nearly follow it for the next nearly 200km.
The first sprint will be taken in Oued Loukus not far from the city of Larache.
Now the riders go all the time to north to reach Lakhoua where we will see the next sprint intermediate and after that it goes straight into the center of Tanger Marocs third biggest town and located next to the Street of Gibraltar for another final sprint.

Location of the intermediate sprints:
KM 101, KM 161

Mountains: -

Last km +6: -

Last 10km: 1 3 -1 0 -1 -1 -1 0 -2 0

Stage 3: Tanger - El Jebha
KM: 214
Mintact: 171

Image

This is the first day where classics riders will want to win. Riders will start again in Tanger early in the morning.
While the later part of the stage follows the coast we will head again inside the country again in the beginning to avoid Ceuta well known as a problematic spot and take the way over Anjra that is a little hilly but much shorter reaching the coast again around km 100.
On the way there we will have a some Cat 4 Mountains for example Lake Ecraux another dam and Tetouan for a sprint.
Before it gets a really hilly another sprint waits at Oued Lalaca and in the lack of another road we will follow the street to El Mouhamad / Bou Ahmad where the first higher categorized mountain price categorized as a 2 will be given. After a steep downhill it goes on with very short hills
into the centre of El Jebha located directly at the Mediterranean Sea where most likely a classic with some sprint will win.

Location of the intermediate sprints:
KM 81 Tetouan, KM 156 Oued Lalaca

Mountains:
KM 27 - Cat. 4 - 2km 130 hm 6,5% average - 6 7
KM 45 - Lac Ecraux - Cat. 4 - 4km 210hm 5,25% average - 5 6 5 5
KM 67 - Cat. 3 - 5km 300hm 6% average - 5 8 10 5 2
KM 176 - Bou Ahmad - Cat. 2 - 15km 1010 hm 6,7% average - 10 9 11 8 3 11 8 2 9 7 6 0 5 9 3
KM 199 - Cat. 4 - 3km 180hm 6% average - 10 4 4

Last km +6: 207

Last 10km: 0 4 7 0 -7 -8 -2 0 -2 1

Stage 4: Bni Gmil - Tazaghnine:
KM: 39
Mintact: 1

Image

Oh great we can sleep a bit longer. Thats what some riders might think after yesterdays stage.
But they are wrong as the first and only ITT of the tour follows.
After going the few kms from El Jebha to Bni Gmil (hopefully by bike) another slightly hilly thing but without difficulties as yesterday awaits the riders.
Always away something like 20km from the coast it goes through Sidi Younes but not without having a short Cat. 4 mountain before to finally reach Tazeghine. After this one most likely a ITT specialist with a good mountain skill or a classics rider with good ITT will be wearing the GC Jersey but also most likely only for one day as the first real hard stage follows the next day.

Location of intermediate sprints: -

Mountains:
KM 19 - Cat. 4 - 4km 210hm 5,25% average - 3 4 9 5

Last km +6: 18

Last 10km: 3 3 4 -4 -4 -1 -1 0 -1 1

Stage 5: Ouel Feddal - Kassita
KM: 203
Mintact: 180

Image

Day 5 awaits the riders and it will be the first day for the mountain guys to really show their potential. After a hilly start in Ouel Feddal
and the first little mountain the riders head back to Bni Gmil where the ITT started but on another road then the day before.
There also the only intermediate sprint of the day takes place before the first real mountain of the tour is waiting.
When the riders reached its top and the village of Tizi Itchene a downhill splitted in 2 by a flat part will give the weaker guys some
chance to regenerate and maybe catch up to the peloton again. But it wont help to much as some km before Bni Hadifa the riders leave the main road
to the right and start into a very long but not to steep mountain named after the village of Zouiat Sidi Abdelkader that is also splitted a bit by flatter parts and beeing not to steep all in all.
This might give the riders some interesting opportunities for a long shot to the win but it will also make them suffer then.
The next downhill will give a chance to regenerate if not one of the guys out for the win decided to attack already before the short but pretty steep road will decide who can win the first HC stage in the end.

Location of intermediate sprints:
KM 35

Mountains:
KM 24 - Cat. 3 - 9km 530hm 5,9% average - 5 4 7 5 7 6 7 7 5
KM 62 - Cat. 1 - 21km 1320hm 6,3% average - 3 9 6 6 5 5 3 4 9 10 12 11 11 5 5 6 3 6 4 4 5
KM 148 - Zouit Sidi Abdelkader - Cat. 1 - 24 km 1310 hm 5,5% average - 11 7 9 8 9 7 5 1 3 2 1 4 3 8 8 6 8 8 3 4 2 1 6 7
KM 192 - Arbiou Touariant - Cat. 2 - 7km 680hm 9,7% average - 5 5 16 10 14 14 4

Last km +6: 191

Last 10km: 1 -4 4 -1 4 -4 -7 -7 -7 -6

Stage 6: Kassita - Nador
KM: 153
Mintact: 130

Image

After that first hard day some kind of rest day will be very welcomed by the most guys so give them ... No no rest day but a mostly easy to handle
sprint stage that will not be a problem for the most guys. Starting in Kassita again after a first downhill a intermediate sprint at Ouarduna will take place before the second short downhill starts bringing the riders back to sea level but not directly to the coast.
In Beni Boughafer the second sprint of the day will be ridden out just after half of the stage. After passing two very short non categorized hills the coast is reached bringing the riders to Nador for the last sprint of the day.
But before the stage ends a little round inside the country will lead to Zeghangane and then back again to Nador for the next final (flat) sprint.

Location of intermediate sprints:
KM 42 - Ouarduna
KM 85 - Beni Boughafer
KM 126 - Nador

Mountains: -

Last km +6: 95

Last 10km: -1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

Stage 7: Nador - Oudal El Hammame
KM: 217
Mintact: 185

Image

The riders had a chance to regenerate now a bit so they will go for another long stage before the real rest day where we might see a nice fight
between strong classics with sprint, hill sprinters and maybe even normal sprinters. Starting at yesterdays finish place the riders leave the coast
again and head to the south what also makes that one some kind of translation stage before it goes to another part of Maroc.
Starting absolutely flat with intermediate sprints at Hassi Berkane and Taourirt the riders will also pass the "Mohammed V lake"
in the last quarter of the race a quite long but also not very steep hill will end in Debdou before the last 40km to Oudal El Hammame will go flat and even slightly downhill.

Location of intermediate sprints:
KM 41 - Hassi Berkane
KM 112 - Taourirt

Mountains: KM 174 - Debdou - Cat. 2 - 15km 750hm 5% average - 4 4 6 4 6 7 6 5 5 6 2 6 5 5 4

Last km +6: 171

Last 10km: 0 0 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0

!REST DAY!

Time to keep it cool - Go out - Taste the Maroc food! Transfer to Beni Mellal for the night.

Stage 8: Ouled Bourahmoune - Marrakesch

KM: 184
Mintact: 164

Image

After the rest day most riders will use it as another rest day before the great final starts. So this stage is flat, flat, flat with a little flat and not all too long so it should be a easy sprinters win. Starting at Ouled Bouhrahmoune after the long transfer it will go more far to the south with a first sprint at Es Kelaat Es Sraghna just beeing mentioned because it might be the village with the longest name of the hole tour.
Before the road changes a bit into the western direction we will see another sprint at Ras El Ain and then go straight into the beautiful city of Marrakesch with its great tradition. By the way Marrakesch will because of its beauty also be the the only city to be honoured with a stage beginning, a stage final and beeing visited while another stage.

Location of intermediate sprints:
KM 109 - Es Kelaat Es Sraghna
KM 144 - Ras El Ain

Mountains: -

Last km +6: -

Last 10km: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Stage 9: Marrakesch - Ouneine

KM: 164
Mintact: 133

Image

The riders had 3 rest days now so what does that mean? Right they are fit enough to go to the mountains again. As it is december and cold they begged the organizer to go even more far to the south from Marrakesch into the Atlas mountains.
Before the mountains are reached a sprint will be fought out at Lalla Takherkoust another lake (we could really name this tour of the lakes too) before after one third of the race the action starts with the ascent to ouazguita a small hill compared to the following ones.
A downhill followed by a flat part will lead the riders to the village of Ouirgane located at the samely named lake (another dam can also be found there) where the second and maybe hardest ascent of the day starts up to Ameslane making it a total up of 1400hm in over 25km with some really steep parts divided by flat and even downhilll kms.
A really speedy downhill is following giving some guys the opportunities to regenerate again for the last climb starting near Irjoukak that is totally different as its 700hm will be climbed in just 8 km making it nearly 8% average. Now the last short part to Ouneine follows a downhill with a little flat in the end but much too less for the classics to keep up again, but maybe a strong 80-70 rider could make it with some help.

Location of intermediate sprints:
KM 38 - Lalla Takherkoust

Mountains:
KM 54 - Ouazguita - Cat. 3 - 9km 540hm 6% average - 3 7 8 6 7 7 6 4 6
KM 108 - Ameslane - Cat. 1 - 26km 1470hm 5,7% average - 6 7 9 11 6 0 0 -4 6 5 -1 10 11 9 9 -3 5 3 6 9 7 12 15 9
KM 143 - Cat. 1 - 9km 700hm 7,8% average - 9 11 11 10 10 12 10 7

Last km +6: 143

Last 10km: -6 -7 -5 -7 -5 -5 0 -1 -1 0

Stage 10: Tafingault - Agadir

KM: 174
Mintact: 150

Image

After the mountains the last sure sprinters chance is waiting with a stage starting in Tafingault and going pretty fast downwards again with a first sprint at Ouled Aissa afterwards. Then the route is heading to the west into the direction of Agadir another famous city. On the way there the riders will pass a city with a non less known name called Medina but its not the one you might think of now. The final will be then directly on the beach promenade.

Location of intermediate sprints:
KM 47 - Ouled Aissa
KM 90 - Medina

Mountains: -

Last km +6: 24

Last 10km: 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -1 0 -1

Stage 11: Agadir - Assif El Mal

KM: 223
Mintact: 193

Image

Classic riders not beeing so good in sprint might have felt a bit lost in that tour until now so what would be better to change that then the longest stage of the tour starting directly in Agadir again. The riders will head back to the north again passing Ismide and shortly after that the first long but not very steep hill of the day just followed by one of two intermediate sprints of the day at Abdelmoumen dam reservoir (as you see really much dam reservoirs all over maroc).
Now it goes up for a second time over a nameless pass nearly Afalla Issen. As flat as all the uphill was as flat is the downhill giving an escape group
the chance to save some time and the classics to save some power. After the second sprint in Sidi Ghanem the action will be directly starting with a hilly finish. The last steep part then will indeed not so steep but with a siebkm in it followed by 2 flat kms into the finish at Assif El Mal.

Location of intermediate sprints:
KM 78 - Abdelmoumen reservoir

Mountains:
KM 57 - Cat. 3 and Cat. 4 - 17km 640hm 3,8% average - 4 6 6 6 4 3 2 1 -1 2 7 4 3 3 5 4 4
KM 127 - Afalla Issen - Cat. 4 - 5km 210hm 4,2% average - 5 4 4 4 4
KM 221 - Assif El Mal - Cat. 3 - 6km 270hm 4,5% average - 7 3 4 3 5 5

Last km +6: 216

Last 10km: 1 2 7 3 4 3 5 5 1 1

Stage 12: Gmassa - Barrage Moulay Youssef
KM: 195
Mintact: 154

Image

The final is near so after a long stage yesterday where some teams might have really suffered today anything can happen.
Will the classics teams able to hold the field together? Will some brave escapers go for the win? Or will someone move early for a gc attack before tomorrows kings stage?
The riders will start in Gmassa not far from yesterdays finish and head towards Marrakesch for a third time, this time not taking the main ring street around the city but going through the narrow historic center with also some paved roads and also going for the first sprint before leaving town again. After that historic lesson it goes to the east and always slightly upwards before passing Ait Ourir for the last intermediate sprint of the tour.
From Ait Ourir the road gets a bit steeper reaching its top nearly Toufliht. A short downhill is followed by the last and steeper hill of the day then leading the riders to a plateau followed by a pretty long downhill with only a few flat parts in the finish at Moulay Youssef dam (And we promise its the last dam of the race!). So who will win today?

Location of intermediate sprints:
KM 66 - Marrakesch
KM 101 - Ait Ourir

Mountains:
KM 131 - Cat. 3 - 13km 510hm 3,9% average - 6 6 -1 -4 -2 2 4 5 5 5 6 6 7
KM 159 - Cat. 3 - 10km 520hm 5,2% average - 5 4 4 2 6 5 9 8 5 4

Last km +6: 157

Last 10km: 2 3 2 -1 1 -1 -4 -3 -4 1

Stage 13: Lalla Takerkhoust - Oukamaiden
KM: 140
Mintact: 108

Image

Starting at Lalla Takherkoust the last lake (we said the last dam before!) of the tour just 140km sounds like a short and nice rollout for the riders but indeed it will be the king stage also using some km from stage 9 again but with a totally different finish.
So the riders will again have to ride the Cat. 3 up to Ouizguita known from stage 9 but then pretty soon leaving the street we rode before again to head into another direction.
Now it goes up again passing Tansghart where the riders have the final already in view and already reached half of the way to the top ... but
organizers decided to make it a bit harder and go left downhill again to Tahannaout before leaving the main road again shortly before Tnine l´Ourika for the final and maybe not steepest but surely longest climb of the tour that might feel like a TTT under special conditions for some teams from now on as it will not be not controllable otherwise.
So lets go for the final - For the climb up to Oukamaiden the biggest skiing resort all over Maroc and maybe Africa beeing a bit special as it is controlled by the military - So dont be mad to each other in the fight for gc as the lift guys will have a weapon with them!

Location of intermediate sprints: -

Mountains:
KM 18 - Ouazguita - Cat. 3 - 9km 540hm 6% average - 3 7 8 6 7 7 6 4 6
KM 41 - Cat. 3 - 11km 640hm 5,8% average - 3 6 6 6 7 7 5 5 7 7 5
KM 140 - Oukamaiden - HC - 33km 1730 hm 5,2% average - 6 3 7 4 3 6 6 7 6 5 7 7 5 6 5 6 4 6 7 6 7 5 6 6 5 6 3 1 3 6 6 8 9

Last km +6: 140

Last 10km: 6 5 6 3 1 3 6 6 8 9

So after 14 days, 13 stages and all in all 2323 kms what makes an average of 178km per stage the organizing team will be happy to welcome all jersey winners but also the guys that fought hard for the win and may not have been able to finish in the end in Rabat for a big party.
We hope we presented you some nice stages and will see us in december!
Last edited by Chense on Sun Nov 03, 2019 4:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
olmania
Posts: 2566
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:06 pm
Contact:

Re: December Tour 2019: presentation

Post by olmania » Sat Nov 02, 2019 4:56 pm

Hasmonean Tour

Introduction :

The Hasmoneans is a dynasty who lasted less than two centuries and ended in -37 BC when it was reconquered by Herode with the Romans.
That kingdom started small around Jericho and Jerusalem and expanded little by little to finally reach a decent size that would cover today : Palestine, Israël, Western parts of Jordan, Southern part of Lebanon and even a tiny part of Syria.

With the Hasmonean Tour, the idea is to make a 14days cycling race travel through most of the former territory of the Hasmonean Kingdom.
Of course, the idea is a clear utopia as this tour would be totally impossible to exist today, due to geopolitical and logistical reasons.
But that's a fantasy tour for December, so it's going to cross borders and rsf riders will ride in 4 different countries in two weeks. Real roads, real profiles, real cities, but fantasy as this would never be possible IRL indeed. At least now. You can take this design for a hope for peace, multicultularism and so on; or just for a damn fine design. It's up to your interpretation.
In this Hasmonean Tour, there is no checkpoints on the road with surroundings walls, no armed borders that requires a 6h queue to cross, no bike search for guns or knives, no speed limit when crossing some neighbourhoods, no tanks or rock throwers to welcome the cyclists. But a real race for determined RSF managers !

The Design :

The design covers greatly the former Hasmonean Kingdom with a few changes according to different reasons :
- Not travelling too West and South to the Egyptian border, cause no real interest for elevation and transition in the general design.
- Stages in Amman cause that's the main big city in the surroundings, originally a little bit outside of the Kingdom
- Going up North a bit outside of the original borders of the Hasmonean kingdom to Lebanon, in order to have an exciting end of tour in big mountains.

This tour is designed for strong teams and it's hard to imagine a team with low recovery skills able to win it. Also, the balance between stages and the repartition of key stages is designed in order to create suspense and possible moves.
The TTT comes quite late during the tour, but it's hard to imagine the teams missing many riders before that TTT.
Sprinters and breakaway riders are not forgotten as many stages could be taken by them.
But design theory is a thing, managers and riders do the race, and who knows what could really happen !

13 Days, 14 stages (2 half stages), on rest day (after day7).
5 Flat stages
4 Hilly stages
3 Mountain stages
1 ITT (16kms)
1 TTT (36kms)

2 IS (intermediate sprints) per stage, placed in strategical spots. Which means GK leaders or green jersey contenders might go for it sometimes (often?) !

Climbs :
4cat: 4
3cat: 31
2cat: 8
1cat: 3


Stage 1 :
The first stage is a long loop around Medaba and a circuit near the historical city. This city has a long history from the bronze age and was an important city in history, especially in Byzantine and Roman empires. The old town is well preserved and some light urban pavés will be featured in the final circuit. The last km is a 3% and the final circuit is flat (no sieb).
Before that circuit the stage went close to the death sea, under the sea level, and up a few hills and a dirt road. These hills are short but steep enough (7% to 10% average) to make a serious selection. That is why this stage is classified as hilly, and the light hilly final circuit with a few light pavé could allow strong riders to try to avoid a sprint (mass or in a reduced group).
Last 5 kms : -2/-1/1/1/3

Image

Stage 2 :
The second stage is fully in Jordan and sprinters should easily take it this time. Only one categorized climb, which means the fight for red should be on pause that day after stage1. The main difficulty here could be the heat (maybe ?) and the lenght, even if it's not over 200kms. Finish line in Jordan capital.
Last 5 kms : 1/1/1/1/1

Image

Stage 3:
This stage goes down to the Jordan Valley and the death sea. That should be an easy catch for sprinters, again. A few sieb are possible early in the stage (downhill too in case it rains), but then it's all flat and the Jericho circuit with no more than a couple of 3%.
Jericho is a historical city, today in Palestine and riders who still have energy could visit many things after the race !
Last 5kms : 0/1/1/1/1

Image

Stage 4 :
This stages travels all around Palestine and a few israeli roads from Jericho to Ramallah. It starts with a long irregular climb from the Jordan Valley, a dirt road climb and flatish parts before a final kick up to Ramallah. The last climb is not super steep but climbers should make it, except if some moves were tried earlier and happened to be successful. In case of a "classical" end of stage, time difference between GK favos (climbers?!) should not be huge, but in case someone succeeds in a move, that could be a little different ! Ideally placed between two flat stages, this stage allow the GK contenders to fight hardly.
Red jersey fight is highly possible during this stage. The last IS might be a chance for some riders, or not.
Last climb details : 5 6 4 5 -4 1 5 0 1 3 7 6 8 1 3 2

Image

Stage 5 :
Transition from Palestine to Isreal with a flat stage, probably a third great chance in this week for the sprinters. A few hills at the beginning of the stage and then it's all flat to Tel Aviv near the sea. A long stage.
Last 5kms : 1 -2 -2 1 0
Image

Stage 6 :
A quite long and technical TTT. First big differences for GK will appear here. Mostly uphill all way long from the outskirts of Tel Aviv to the old town of Salfit (back in Palestine !). Even if it's mostly uphill, the slopes are light, with only 2 kms at 6% (one is the final km of the TTT).
Full profile : 1 3 3 -2 -4 2 0 0 3 0 3 4 5 2 -1 0 -5 6 1 -2 5 3 3 0 -3 -1 1 -1 1 1 2 2 2 3 1 6
Image

Stage 7 :
After a taking TTT, the last stage before the rest day could create suprises. First real test for weak teams and leaders in terms of recovery skill. It's highly possible that some leaders will loose time, and maybe their ambitions during this hard day to Naplus. Up and down all way long, with sieb opportunities pretty much everywhere. That's an open field for attacks and moves. The last climb is really steep which categorizes this stage as a real mountain stage.
Red jersey fight might continue here. This stage is quite long and most riders will end up totallly exhausted, good the rest day is coming !

Last climb and downhill to the finish line : 3 14 8 10 2 -7 -11 -10 -6 4 -4 -4

Image

restday
Chill day in Naplus for the peloton !

Stage 8 :
A short stage to start the second week of race, to head back to Israel. 3 categorized climbs and dirt road; but sprinter teams should be able to make it for a mass sprint.
Last 5 kms : 0 -1 1 -1 1

Image

Stage 9 :
A short and intense stage in Haifa for this ninth stage. First half is all flat, and then it's up and down in Haifa and its suburbs. Moves are possible, strong classics could do it, climbers too. Basically open, basically a tricky stage where managers and their will is going to decided to outcome of that stage and if GK changes a lot or not. Red jersey contenders could be out for the points ! Riders will be happy to enjoy a sweet sea sunset after the race !
Last 5kms : 6 4 -5 -3 -3
the 2 previous climbs : 4 2 10 4 2 (km152) / 2 4 9 7 8 4 (km142) /

Image

Stage 10 :
The "transition" stage will take the riders to Tiberias, the historical town on the shore of the lake named after the town's name. A few climbs but nothing terrible for sprinters who have here their last chance for a stage win. A breakaway could do it perhaps if teams need to rest after Haifa stage. IS are placed early and late; on purpose for some action ! The finish line is way under the sea level, that's normal, no worries, we're back in upper Jordan valley !
Last 5 kms : 0 0 0 0 1

Image

Stage 11a :
A full day in Israeli mountains and a top finish at the highest mountain top of the country (controversial, for sure). The last km is the military dirt road to take us to the summit, open for the race, as an exception. Stage is short and could be intense.
Beit Jann is a serious climb where things could move. The last climb is in two parts, not so steep. Big gaps or not ? Closed race or not ? Options are here, managers and riders decide. Knowing the other half stage coming afterwards, we could see GC outsiders take advantage of it.
Last climb to the finish line : 9 8 1 3 0 8 6 7 2*
Beit Jann climb : 5 13 7 6 8 8 7

Image

Stage 11b :
The only ITT of the race. Short and a bit hilly. Recovery skills will be important after the first half stage that will leave many riders tired. The historical city of Meron hosts this TT.
Full profile : 2 3 3 1 5 0 -0 -4 -0 -3 -5 -3 7 -4 -1 1

Image

Stage 12 :
The king stage of the Hasmonean Tour comes now : almost no flat section, steep (and less steep) ups and down non stop. The day after two exhausting half stage. A long and terrible mountain stage taking the riders to Lebanon mountain roads. Plenty of categorized climbs for a final fight for red jersey, and also for moves or high tempo to weaken some teams. Plenty of opportunities here and there, but the key climb is the last one. With a tricky downhill, the finish line is revealed in the village of Kefraya, known for its wineyards. Who will start this stage full of energy ? Who will try everything to change the GC ? Will the GC leader have a strong enough team to control ? You bet !
Last climb and downhill to the finish line : 7 9 6 6 3 -1 5 4 8 7 8 9 8 7 10 8 -6 -7 -6 -9 -8 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -6 -6
Haitoura climb : 6 10 7 10 10 7 3 3 6 6 8 9 6

Image

Stage 13:
Final stage of the tour will make us cross Lebanon from East to West to see Tyr and the Mediteranean sea again. The way down to the sea level is not a chill ride for this last stage ! Many short, and sometimes steep, climbs on the way. Would it be enough to allow the last GC attacks and move ? Or will it be a chill day for the leaders team celebrating its victory while a breakaway made of riders who still have energy after the past two days go fight for a prestigious stage win in Tyr ? What about the classic riders with some sprint skill feeling in a good shape ? Will the IS have any importance today ?
Last stage wants to remain open, as many stages of this tour can be.
Last 5 kms : 0 0 -1 0 0
Last 2 climbs (uncategorized) and the few kms inbetween : 6 3 1 -1 -10 -5 1 8 5

Image

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests