Hello, everybody. Due to the bad weather conditions in Denmark in the last couple of weeks, I decided to make a Tour de France variant. I will post all 21 stages here, in the first post. When I finish this, you will be able to download the Tour. Now to the facts:
- 3345 km of total distance, visiting Denmark and Switzerland
- 3 ITTs (total distance of 66 km, divided into 3 stages: 8 km in Herning, 16 km to Alpe d’Huez and 42 km in Toulon)
- 3 summit finishes, including the Col du Galibier
- 6 mountain stages (including Alpe d’Huez ITT)
- 4 medium mountain stages (including Toulon ITT)
Stage 1: Herning Prologue
The Tour starts with a flat prologue in the centre of Herning, the hometown of the former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis. Herning came very close to get the “Grand Depart” in 2009, but as you might know, Monaco got the honour. The course suit prologue specialists like Cancellara and Tony Martin well, however it will not leave big gaps between the favourites. It is worth noting that TT-specialists will have a hard time in this Tour, as this ITT is the only one that is categorized as flat.
Stage 2: Herning - Vejle
The first “real” stage of the Tour takes the riders from Herning to the city of Vejle. The area of Vejle is known as one of the hilliest parts of Denmark. Before the riders enter Vejle, the first mountain sprint will take place on “Trehøje”. Trehøje is known as Western Denmark’s Alpe d’Huez. Furthermore, the riders will measure their strength against the Munkebjerg climb, maybe the hardest climb in Denmark, before finishing at the very steep Kiddesvej that annual hosts a stage in Tour of Denmark. Finally, this stage could be a little windy…
Stage 3: Vejle - Tønder
The final stage in Denmark will start in Vejle and finish in Tønder in the southernmost part of Jutland. In the last 80 km, the riders will follow the coast, which is why crosswind will be an interesting factor. With less than 7 km to go, the peloton will enter the famous cobblestones just outside of the castle of Schackenborg, where a bike race for amateurs is held annually. The riders will finish at the same place as the aforementioned bike race. After this stage, the peloton will be transferred to France for an early rest day.
Stage 4: Reims - Verdun
Welcome to France! After the rest day, the 4th stage of the Tour will be a flat and yet very short one, taking the riders from Reims, about 150 km from Paris, to the city of Verdun. This stage is build for a breakaway, as a mountain sprint is placed just 4 km after the starting line. However, it is very likely that the stage will end in a Cavendish-win.
Stage 5: Nancy - Strasbourg
The 5th stage of the Tour will be the last real flat stage for a while, which is why the sprinters should be at their best. The main difficulty of the stage is the climb to Col de Salerne (3.3 km, 6.2 %), situated in the northernmost part of the Vosges. Here, it should be possible to catch the best sprinters off-guard, leaving the last 60 km as a pursuit race. However, chances are that a sprinter ends up with the stage-win.
Stage 6: Colmar - Belfort
Welcome to a week that will decide the Tour’s outcome! The 6th stage will take place in the heart of the Vosges, and the riders will have to climb the Col de Firstplan, Col de Bannstein, Grand Ballon, Col de Bussang, before the steep Ballon d’Alsace is passed with just over 50 km to go. This stage is very similar to the 2005 Tour, where the brave Dane Michael Rasmussen won after a beautiful solo-effort. Similar breakaways should be possible, and the GC-competitors will have to be attentive, as there will be attacks on the famous Ballon d’Alsace climb.
Stage 7: Mulhouse - Lausanne
The 7th stage leads the riders into the Jura Mountains at the border of France and Switzerland. This stage is most likely the best stage to pull off a successful breakaway, as the best sprinters will be eliminated. Despite of this, a “bulky” sprinter like Boasson Hagen should be able to do well on this transfer stage, which ends in Lausanne.
Stage 8: Annemasse – Grenoble La Bastille
Welcome to the first of 3 decisive days in the Alps! This 8th stage takes the riders on a 200 km ride heading south to the famous castle La Bastille close to Grenoble. Before this, the peloton has to pass Col de la Colombiere, Col de la Forclaz (Annecy), and Col de Tamie. Not the hardest mountain passes in the Alps, but they will definitely leave the riders tired before the 90 km flat part to Grenoble. Here, things get serious. Thus, the riders have to ascend the “La Bastille” climb (1.5 km, 14.7 %), just like the Dauphine Libere prologue in 2000. The very steep route up to the castle is very narrow, and with stretches up to 24 %, riders at the back of the peloton can lose the Tour here.
Stage 9: Grenoble – Col du Galibier
If the riders were hoping for a not-so-hard day after the La Bastille climb, I feel sorry for them. The king stage of this Tour is an absolute monster: 3 HC climbs, one 1st and one 2nd category climb in following order:
- Chamrousse (HC)
- Col de la Croix de Fer (HC)
- Col du Mollard (2)
- Col du Telegraphe (11)
- Col du Galibier (HC)
Personally, I have measured my strength against Croix de Fer, Telegraphe and Galibier, and I can confirm that these 3 climbs are absolutely horrendous. The stage contains just over 6200 meters in altitude – a little more than the Val di Fassa stage of Giro d’Italia! This means that the sprinters will struggle to stay in the race.
Stage 10: Bourg d’Oisans – Alpe d’Huez
The 10th stage of the Tour will be a short but decisive one. Thus, the riders have to pass 21 hairpins to reach the top of Alpe d’Huez on the 16 km ITT. All the GC-riders should do a good effort here. Further, all credit for the stage go to the user tsmoha, as he has allowed me to use his TT in my Tour.
Stage 11: Grenoble - Lyon
For the second time of this tour, the capital of the Alps, Grenoble, hosts a “depart” of the Tour. On this this 11th stage, the riders will leave the Alps and finish in one of the largest cities of France, Lyon. Before this, they will pass Col de Porte and Col de Cucheron, which is why it is hard to predict, who will get the stage win.
Stage 12: Lyon – Puy de Dome
The 12th stage of the Tour will mark the end of a very hard week of the Tour. The first 200 km are fairly hilly, and they will definitely leave their mark on the peloton. However, these 200 km are just warm-up. Thus, the last 13.6 km will lead the riders up to the volcano Puy de Dome with an average gradient of 7.6 % - with the last third of the climb at 10 % average. A GC-day!
To be continued…
Edited by Simse on 12-08-2011 16:07
PCM.Daily NFL Fantasy Football Champion: 2012 PCM.Daily NHL Prediction Game Champion: 2013 PCM.Daily NFL Prediction Game Champion: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2021
Thanks for your replies, guys. It really motivates me!
- The route has just been updated with 3 stages, one of them in the Vosges. :-)
Edited by Simse on 09-08-2011 17:51
Yes, the TT to Alpe d'Huez will be the next stage :-)
What is more, I can confirm that the 12th stage of the tour ends on a mythical climb in the Massif Central. Have you guessed what climb I am talking about? Edited by Simse on 10-08-2011 21:53
