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2021 Tour of America route revealed
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 25-08-2021 02:13
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3265
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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And finally it is the people's grand tour, the 21-day sufferfest for those who weren't genetic lottery winners, or the beneficiaries of massive training investments by super rich teams or have just moved a year or two beyond their sell-by dates. It is the race where everyday riders dare to dream of honor and glory: The Tour of America.
The 2021 Tour features a southern twist to the usual North American focus. While the race will once again be concentrated in the USA, the last week will feature 6 stages through Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica. As usual the route features multiple summit finishes, but this year's edition offers a little for the all-rounders with 50km of flat TTs, no MTT and 5 hilly-rated stages.
Last year Dominik Nerz and Kraftwerk enjoyed a magical Tour of America, with the race moving them to the verge of promotion. Inspired by their success, perhaps 2021 will see more of the Pro Continental teams take a strong interest in the race. The race has featured 9 different winners in its 11 editions with Andrei Kashechkin being the only 2-time winner. Despite being the home grand tour of the American continent, the race has never been won by a rider from the Americas.
The race has 3 distinct geographic sections. It starts among the partiers and NASCAR fans in Daytona, Florida, and spends its first 9 days working up the east coast of the USA to stage 9 which will start with a run across the 28km long Chesapeake Bay Bridge. On the first rest day the riders will move west to the Rocky Mountains of Utah and Colorado. Unsurprisingly this section will be packed with climbing. On the second rest day the race will move further west to the Pacific Coast of central Mexico. From there it will work south to Guatemala and Costa Rica with the finish coming on the streets of the Costa Rican capital of San José.
Week 1: The Eastern Seaboard
The first week of the race belongs primarily to the sprinters. Stages 1, 2, 6 and 7 should be safe ground for the sprinters. In between are 3 stages that may begin to sort out the GC situation.
Stage 3 features a 15km time trial in Atlanta. The all-rounders will hope to maximize their gains over the climbers but the distance is not longer enough for major gaps. Stage 4 includes multiple climbs around the city of Asheville, North Carolina but with a long descent at the finish it seems unlikely to be selective. Stage 5 includes two ascents of Black Mountain in Kentucky with the stage finishing at the top of the 2nd ascent. At only 4.5km, the climb won’t cause major gaps but with an average of 9.6% a climber with balanced skills should be able to seize a small edge. The rider who holds yellow after stage 5 will likely be able to hold it all the way to stage 11.
Week 2: The Mid-Atlantic and the Rocky Mountains
The first two stages of week 2 are both flat and are probably the last chance for the sprinters until stage 21. Then the race heads to the Rocky Mountains. Stage 10 includes two long climbs, but with the second one summiting a long way from the finish it is unlikely to trouble the GC riders. Stage 11 represents the first true mountain stage, it wraps with two 12km climbs, the first over Guardsmans Pass and the second to the finish at the Snowbird Ski Resort.
Stage 12 is a brief break from the mountains as the punchier riders will get to show their skills on the Bountiful Bench. The climbers should not be threatened but will need to pay attention.
Stages 13 is the first of 3 consecutive stages featuring the kind of long, steady climbs for which the Rocky Mountains are famous. It finishes with a 26km climb to Bakerville, which is preceded by the 8km climb of Saxon Pass and a 20km climb up Warrior Mountain. Stage 14 includes the 10km Guanella Pass and the 26km Loveland pass before a descent to the finish.
Week 3: Rocky Mountain Wrap and Southward Ho
The Rocky Mountain stages end with a bang, with a 7.5km climb at 10.1% to Mid Vail on Stage 15. Moving to Mexico, Stage 16 is a 225km mini-Milan-Sanremo along the Mexican coast. While rated flat, the tough climbs coming in the last 20km’s mean the peloton will likely choose to leave this one to the breakaway. That will certainly be the wish of the GC riders as on Stage 17 they face a long day of climbing.
The stage heads inland from Coahuayna in the Mexican state of Michoacán and immediately start climbing. Las Morenas (7.7 km at 8.1%) is followed by the climb to Villa Victoria (5.1km at 7.9%) and then almost immediately by the Meta de Montana (8.0km at 9.5%). The riders will turn right and head back across the valley via the climb to La Lima (11km at 6.6%). After descending La Lima they will repeat the earlier trio before turning left at the top of the Meta de Montana for a short descent to the finish.
For Stage 18 the peloton moves to Guatemala for a 130k hilly stage. The stage features 4 ascents to Colonia Puerto Rico, a 2.2km climb at 11.2%. While this shouldn’t cause issues for the GC riders, if the stage is ridden aggressively, some of them could be struggling on the short climb to the finish.
Stage 19 is the second time trial of the race, while it slopes gradually up for all 34kms, the gradients are never more than a few percent. The GC riders with strong time trial skills will have a chance to gain significant time on their rivals.
Stage 20 shifts the fight to Costa Rica for one last mountain stage. Any riders feeling the pain from 19 days of racing could quickly be in trouble as the race opens with the 39km long Cerro de la Muerte. With an average gradient of 6.1% it is definitely steep enough to cause some damage. The riders then have a long descent before the Cerro Alto climb (6.5km @ 9.1%) and the finishing climb to Llano Grande (6.2km @ 9.5%).
The sprinters will be incented to survive the Cerro de la Muerte in the time limit because Stage 21 gives them one more chance for stage glory in San José.
Recap:
8 Flat
2 Flat TT
5 Hills
6 Mt
Acknowledgements: This race is also indebted to a number of stagemakers - the Central American stages are mostly from Il Lince except 21 which is Wings. The Rockies stages pull from Selwink in Utah and Wings in Colorado. The first 9 days include stages adapted from Johostile, Teken84 and the mangame's USA Pro Challenge route plus of few of my stages.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 25-08-2021 03:21
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8059
Joined: 22-06-2009
PCM$: 650.00
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Amazing, amazing route! Sad I'm in the Pro Tour now.
Fun side note: I'm going to Asheville, NC, at the end of the month and I'm bringing my bike to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway up to Craggy Pinnacle, which I'm assuming is one of the climbs on Stage 4 (looking at the gradient, probably the first climb). Very much looking forward to it!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 25-08-2021 04:43
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10438.70
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Very cool route and great write up. Thanks Ulrich! As you wrote, it seems like an opportunity for an all rounder, though the second TT scares me for a TT heavy stage racer. I know it's flat, but I wonder just how steep that final gradient gets, and what impact that would have at the end of 3 weeks.
Obviously I would love to come back here. it's always such a fun race, and Warbasse's performance was the sole bright spot of my 2019 season. Just depends on the personnel I end up with and where I can spare the race days.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| redordead |
Posted on 25-08-2021 07:50
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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Looks like a nice route indeed 
I've never been in this race before. Mostly because I've never yet had a rider suited to it. Maybe that changes after transfers 
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| roturn |
Posted on 25-08-2021 07:56
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Team Manager
Posts: 22246
Joined: 24-11-2007
PCM$: 3900.00
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Beltran is nicely suited I`d say  |
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| redordead |
Posted on 25-08-2021 08:01
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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Sure, just lower his OVL so he can have around 15 more RDs 
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 25-08-2021 08:19
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11677
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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Great route and presentation Ulrich! Awesome stuff
Almost makes me want to send the team here Let's see if transfers allow that.
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| MacC |
Posted on 25-08-2021 08:20
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Sprinter
Posts: 1594
Joined: 15-07-2008
PCM$: 700.00
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Looks like a real CT route. If I were a PCT team I'd definitely stay away
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| DaveTwoBob |
Posted on 25-08-2021 08:34
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2433
Joined: 07-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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Very nice looking race and great presentation. Very tempting for a Kraftwerk return, scheduling 21 days is always a challenge though.
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 25-08-2021 09:36
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4505
Joined: 05-10-2010
PCM$: 900.00
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Love the presentation Might make me decide to race here for the first time ever. It’s always such a fun race to follow.
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 25-11-2024 07:50
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| quadsas |
Posted on 25-08-2021 09:53
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2518
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
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Always a big gamble go here, can either save your season like for Desigual or could be spell disaster if you underperform. Definitely a nice sweaty race for everyone involved
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 25-08-2021 12:06
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3367
Joined: 20-04-2020
PCM$: 425.00
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Lovely route (and write up), that suits my regional focus perfectly with that amazing last week. Normally I wouldn't go here, but as I have nothing to lose I can definitely see Los Pollos Hermanos joining the GT fun.
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 25-08-2021 12:48
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2905
Joined: 07-08-2011
PCM$: 300.00
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Thanks for the write up! Interesting route, still a bit of a crime that I haven't raced here as a North American team for 4 years despite being eligible.
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 25-08-2021 22:48
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3265
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Thanks for the feedback.
Mresuperstar wrote:
Amazing, amazing route! Sad I'm in the Pro Tour now.
Fun side note: I'm going to Asheville, NC, at the end of the month and I'm bringing my bike to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway up to Craggy Pinnacle, which I'm assuming is one of the climbs on Stage 4 (looking at the gradient, probably the first climb). Very much looking forward to it!
Yup that is the first climb. Enjoy the ride.
Nemolito wrote: Lovely route (and write up), that suits my regional focus perfectly with that amazing last week. Normally I wouldn't go here, but as I have nothing to lose I can definitely see Los Pollos Hermanos joining the GT fun
When I settled on the southern focus I thought, hmm, Los Pollos are going to be getting some pressure from their sponsors.
White jersey wrote: Thanks for the write up! Interesting route, still a bit of a crime that I haven't raced here as a North American team for 4 years despite being eligible.
Seems like it is time. Maybe Mac's point will persuade the PCT and we will have a show down of North American-focused CT teams.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 27-08-2021 09:24
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Team Leader
Posts: 6036
Joined: 20-07-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Always an interesting race and this route makes it justice once again.
Perhaps a chance for us to come back after Reis botched our 2019 season.
Thanks UU and all the stage makers behind this.
PS: these PCM2020 profiles are so anoying :/
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