cycling4freaks.com

Come on pussies, show us what you've got, then we can laugh about your worthless tries, and in the end we will all vote for my magnificent creation !

Simple rule: One post per tour (all the profiles + description etc), and the discussion will be in the other topic

My tour takes place in the biggest Island in Japan, Honshu, that's why the tour is called Honshu tour This tour is a tour for everyone (sprinter team, mountain team, TT team, middle mountain team...)
EDIT : I forgot the weather : Extreme cold, windy and rain
13 Stages
5 Flat stages
4 Middle mountain stages
3 Mountain stages
1 Individual Time Trial
1 rest day (I'll ask to the RSF managers to vote for a rest day or not if my tour is selected for the December Tour

Stage 1 : Flat stage (176 km), for sprinters, but strong classic riders can try something at the end
last cat 4 : 1/2/2/4
last 10 kms : -1/-8/-3/3/-3/1/-1/0/0/0/0


Stage 2 : Flat stage (184 km), for sprinters again, interesting intermediate at the km 4, and a new fight for red with 2 cat 2 and 1 cat 1 climb, normally mass sprint, weak sprinters could be sieb...
1st cat 2 : 2/3/6/7/5
2nd cat 2 : 1/0/8/2/8/4/-1/4
cat 1 : 3/2/4/2/2/6/7/7/6/6/6/2
last 10 kms : -1/1/4/-2/-2/3/-3/0/1/0/0


Stage 3 : Middle Mountain stage (196 km), For hill sprinters or strong classics riders, but the sprinters have to fight to keep the yellow (could be lose in this stage, but they can have it a bit later), 1 cat 2 and 3 cat 3 as difficulties for this stage
cat 2 : 4/7/7/3
2nd cat 3 : 1/6/7
3rd cat 3 : 2/6/3/1
last 10 kms : -7/-4/-2/2/6/3/1/-2/-6/-4/0


Stage 4 : Flat stage (239 km), the longest stage of this tour, a good classic race, we will have a really interesting fight here, sprinters against classics riders, but the percentages still raisonnable for sprinters (5% max in the last 20 kms), downhill finish, a sprinter could retake the yellow
cat 2 : 4/1/1/1/7/4/8
2nd cat 3 : 2/1/2/1/4/1/5/4/6
3rd cat 4 : 2/0/0/1/1/2/0/3/2/4/5
last cat 4 : 4/1/4/5
last 10 kms : -1/-1/4/1/4/5/0/-1/-6/-7/-2


Stage 5 : Middle Mountain stage (222 km), another long stage, but a stage for a strong classic riders or a 80/70, the winner will surely take the yellow
1st cat 2 : 3/5/3/1/8/3/10
2nd cat 2 : 2/1/5/7/5/2/4/6/4
2nd cat 3 : 5/4/7
last cat 2 : 2/8/6/4
last 10 kms : 4/7/-5/-4/-10/0/2/8/6/4/0


Stage 6 : Mountain stage (188km), this stage should be the 1st big battle between climbers (and maybe favourites) if this tour, intermediate at km 3 for a little battle for green before the mountains, surely a new leader again at the end of this stage, but beware of the tomorrow's time trial!
1st cat 2 : 3/0/1/6/4/1/6/9
2nd cat 2 : 1/1/2/1/1/0/5/8/4/6/6/5/1
3rd cat 2 : 1/4/0/3/0/0/2/0/9/7
cat 1 : 2/4/1/6/8/0/6/5/7/4/5/7/5/3/7/4/2/4/4/1/0/5/3
4th cat 2 : 5/4/10/6/3/3/4/2/6/4/5
last cat 2 : 3/1/3/4/6/8/8
last 10 kms : 1/-3/-1/-2/3/1/3/4/6/8/8


Stage 7 : Individual Time Trial (29 km), a good TT guy with a bit mountain will surely win, and take the yellow by the way, probably another leader change
0/2/2/1/0/0/4/2/1/-1/2/0/1/0/-1/0/3/-6/8/-6/-3/-2/-1/-1/0/1/1/-4/0


REST DAY (I'll put a vote for this, but I think we really need this rest day after 2 long stages, a mountain stage and a TT)

Stage 8 : Flat stage (205 km), for sprinters, the fight for green continues
1st cat 4 : 4/3/4/5/4
last cat 4 : 1/4/5
last 10 kms : 0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0


Stage 9 : Middle Mountain stage (169 km), for hill sprinters, or a strong classic with good downhill
cat 2 : 4/4/3/5/6/3/7/7
cat 1 : 2/2/7/0/3/3/3/7/5/4/9/5/6/7
cat 3 : 8/3
last 10 kms : -5/-8/-7/-6/-4/-5/-5/-2/-1/0/0


Stage 10 : Middle Mountain stage (211km), for hill sprinters, or a strong classic with good downhill (should be better for a strong classic than the stage before)
2nd cat 3 : 1/3/1/2/4/4/1/2/3/2/5/9/1
5th cat 4 : 5/7/2/1/3
6th cat 4 : 5/6/1
last cat 4 : 8
last 10 kms : 5/-5/-1/-6/-1/8/-8/0/1/0/3


Stage 11 : Middle Mountain stage (138 km), one of the shortest stages, it will be hard for sprinters, but they could do it with a strong team, interesting stage, should be very important for the green battle (between sprinters and hill sprinters)
cat 3 : 1/7/3
cat 2 : 2/2/2/2/2/2/3/2/2/3/3/3/6/4//6/5/3/6/3/6/6
last 10 kms : -2/-2/-2/-1/-1/0/1/1/2/1/2


Stage 12 : Mountain stage (185 km), the king stage, 3 hard climbs, with an uphill finish, the most important stage of the tour so far! we should see different tactics, some strong teams can explode the peloton from Zao Mountain and make his climber in a good situation, or maybe some teams will wait the last climb for fighting for yellow...
1st cat 1 : 1/2/2/2/5/0/4/3/4/5/5/5/6/6/7/4/4/5/5/6/5/4/6
HC : 1/2/4/3/4/7/8/6/8/6/6/7/6/7/6/8/7/5/6/6/6/5/7/5/7
last cat 1 (and the 11 last kms) : 2/2/6/12/4/8/2/6/10/7/0/5


Stage 13 (Final stage) : Flat stage (129 km), shortest stage, for sprinters, no big difficulties
just a 5% at km 42
last 10 kms : 0/2/-1/-1/0/0/1/-1/0/1/1


My predictions :
Green : A sprinter I think, but we should have a nice fight with hill sprinters...(could depend also on the size of the field) intermediate sprints at the start of mountain stages could be important also
Red : for a classic rider with reg, this jersey will surely change nearly all the days in the 1st week of this tour
White : A Climber I think, or a 75+ mountain with 70+ TT but will be hard for them
Yellow : really don't know, an Huber (like Nasawa) can win it or a Trondal, or a climber with a bit TT skill (a Pambele)

Wish you that this tour is good, I wanted to do a tour with lot of suspens, with lot of jerseys changes, lot of fights (for green and GC especially), didn't wanted to draw too much mountain stages because we don't have lot of suspens with it, lot of riders can win this tour (but this rider needs at least 72/73 mountain)

Enjoy!

Závod míru, Wyścig Pokoju, Corsa della Pace, Friedensfahrt, Peace Race or as the French call it: Course de la Paix. The most important bike race in central europe had many names. I will refer to it as CdlP out of lazyness. Others refer to it as the "Tour de France of the East", because it was the season's biggest event for every cyclist from East Germany, Poland or the Soviet Union. The first edition was held in 1948, the last in 2006. Unfortunately the race is dead now, financial reasons made it increasingly difficult to keep the tradition alive for the organisation. What's left is an annual UCI Nations Cup event for Juniors with an incredible list of winners: Menchov, Cancellara, Velits, Kreuziger.

When I started thinking about a December Tour the idea of recreating a historic version of the CdlP came to my mind. I looked at several editions of the golden age of the race in the 60ies and 70ies, but many editions did not have the right tone I wanted for my December Tour: 100 Km TTTs (there's been plenty of TTTs this season, in fact there was one in all GTs), seemingly ridiculous semistages (30 Km ITT plus 180 Km en ligne), too many stages in general (at some times 15-18 stages). The edition that came closest to my liking was one from a very special year: 1968. Looking at the key stages of this edition more closely I realised the mountain stages would be too easy by modern standards. Mountain top finishes were unusual at the time, the most difficult stage was into-the-mountains-out-of-the-mountains with 40-50 Km flat in the end. A difficult stage at that time, certainly, just like Cuneo-Pinerolo was a difficult stage at Coppi's time. But nowadays such stages are too easy to control and more often than not the favorites watch each other and a breakaway gets the win.

So I decided to keep the gist of the race as a structure and make a modern edition of the CdlP from Berlin via Prague to Warsaw. Berlin-Prague is very traditional, city to city. Prague-Warsaw features a rest day transfer and modern mountain stages. Nevertheless I must admit the mountain stages are not super hard for lack of roads over the really high mountains. The Carpathians are not nearly as well accessible as the Alps or the Pyrenees. So I scrapped a second ITT near Warsaw to keep the balance. This also helps to put the GC stages into the – in my opinion – best order: Time trials first, then mountain top finishes and mountain stages without mountain top finish at last. Races should be decided on the road, not against the clock. Put the good time trialists in the lead and make them defend it. No speculation on how much you may gain or lose in that TT looming towards the end.

You can find a map of the traditional course here.
This is a rough drawing of my edition's course. Not precisely the roads the race takes, stages 2 and 4 don't use the same roads, the mountain stages are different... the map is just here to give some idea where the race takes place.






Berlin - Halle

We begin with a flat stage heading south from Berlin to Halle, which is already a change to the original. In 1968 the race started with Berlin-Frankfurt/Oder-Berlin, but I found that stage somewhat unnecessary. In Halle the sprinters will battle out who gets the first yellow jersey.



Race info: Flat stage.
Finale: 0 0 -1 -1 0 0 0 0 -2 0



Halle - Suhl

On the second day the race heads further south for the hills. In Erfurt the race will tackle the Arnstädter Hohle, which is not exactly a traditional part of CdlP, but a monument of German cycling from the now defunct Rund um die Hainleite . After one lap through the Thüringer Wald (Oberhof, Grenzadler) the finish is set in Suhl.




Race info: Medium stage.
Großer Beerberg: 1 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 8 5 9 6 2 3
Finale: 6 6 -5 -5 -8 -4 3 0 -5 5 -1 -3 -1 -3



Suhl - Ilmenau

The only ITT is also a tough one. The riders head out of Suhl straight up the mountain. Once at the top it won't get much easier, the course stays bumpy and rolling until the final descent into Ilmenau.



Race info: Difficult ITT
6 8 8 2 6 6 0 3 -3 -3 -3 -5 0 5 0 2 1 1 1 2 0 -5 -3 -2 2 1 -3 -8 -9 -6



Ilmenau - Aue

Now the peloton turns it's way east, towards the Czech Republic. Underway we pick up cycling history once again, this time it is the infamous Steile Wand von Meerane. The Steile Wand was a regular feature in the CdlP and to this day it still is a place where legends are born . The finish is on a little hill at the stadium of Erzgebirge Aue . Actually the CdlP often finished inside stadiums which usually caused crashes because of the fight for a good position before the narrow stadium entrance.



Race info: Medium stage.
Finale: 2 0 4 0 6 3 4 3 6 -2 -4 -4 -3 -2 2 4 -4 -8 3 0




Aue - Praha

Stage five starts difficult and nervous until the peloton leaves the Erzgebirge and enters the Czech Republic. Travelling over smooth little hills we reach Prague only to do an extra lap around the city's hills to make the finale once again difficult and nervous. The uphill finish takes the riders to... yet another stadium.




Race info: Medium stage.
Finale: 7 1 1 3 1 0 -5 -1 4 -1 -2 0 0 -3 -3 -2 4 4 3



Praha - Ještěd

From here on we take serious detours from the original. In 1968 the race went on eastward with a couple of easy, slightly hilly stages. Instead we go up north for the Riesengebirge for two days in the mountains before the rest day . The first one finishes on top of the Ještěd, just a stone throw away from the next day's start, the famous wintersports town Liberec.




Race info: Mountain stage.
Jested: 1 1 2 2 4 2 7 5 3 2 3 8 4 7 8 4




Liberec - Karpacz

Here we go. The rest day looms, but first one of the most difficult stages awaits the riders. Lots of climbing on little roads before the final climb of the Karpacz. It was first introduced in the CdlP in 1980 and was also one of the features of the new Tour of Poland until they moved the GC fight to the Zakopane area. It's not a super hard climb, the winners list of this mountain includes Johan Vansummeren and Steffen Wesemann. Definitly a stage where a strong team is needed, either to defend or to attack.



Race info: Mountain stage.
Last three climbs: 7 7 7 4 -1 -1 -7 -5 -3 -7 -5 -1 0 5 7 2 8 0 -5 -2 -6 -3 -4 -2 2 0 2 3 -1 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 5 4


Rest day, transfer from Jelenia Gora to Ostrava




Ostrava - Brno

Well regenerated a stage like a mixed bag waits for the riders. The terrain between Ostrava and Brno isn't easy, but it's far to the finish from the climbs. It might be a chance for the sprinters, but they have to work hard for it. The finish is – as it is tradition – once again at ... not at a stadium, but at the Brno Velodrom.



Race info: Medium stage.
Cat 2: 1 5 4 4 6 4 3 6 3
Last Cat 3: 5 3 5
Finale: 4 2 -3 -1 -3 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 1




Zlín - Banská Bystrica

Zlin, from 1949-1989 known as Gottwaldov, was the start of the queen stage through the Outer Carpathians in 1968. The finish was in Karvina near the Polish border and from there on it was mostly flat to Warsaw. We take a "shortcut" over to Slovakia, deeper into the Carpathians. On the way we climb the steepest mountain of the race (16%), maybe a nice place for a surprise attack?



Race info: Medium stage.
Cavoj: 5 3 4 9 16
2nd last climb: 3 1 2 2 6 5 4
Sturec: 1 1 1 2 0 2 4 3 0 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 1
Sturec to finish: -3 -3 -8 -8 -2 -4 -6 -6 0 0 -4 -1 -3 0 -1 -2 0 -1 -1 0




Banská Bystrica - Zakopane

After the Karpacz stage, this is probably the second one worthy of the label queen stage. The Zakopane area is well known to those who watched the Tour of Poland in the last years. In order to get there the peloton needs to cross the Tatra mountains. The riders not only need to watch their opponents, but also wolves and bears.



Race info: Mountain stage.
Certovica: 4 4 3 6 2 5 4 4 7 6 7 6
Tatranska Magistrala: 4 4 6 4 6 4 5
Finale: 3 8 5 3 5 4 6 6 -3 -1 0 -4 -5 -5 -5 -2 -4 -1 -1 -2 -3 4 4 6 4 5 1 -2 -4 -5 1 -1 -4 -3



Zakopane - Bielsko-Biała

Leaving Zakopane we transit Slovakia and head north. Back in Poland the steep climbs of the Beskids offer a last opportunity for the climbers. The finale reminds me of the traditional last stage of Paris-Nice with the Col d'Eze, only with a shorter way to the finish.



Race info: Medium stage.
Finale: 3 4 4 7 8 5 -5 -6 -6 -4 -5 -2 -2 -1 -1



Katowice - Łódź

In 1968 Katowice was host for the finish and the start of a stage. From here the race took a lengthy loop through eastern Poland visiting Rzeszow and Lublin. Because of our detour into the mountains we have to cut that part. Via Lodz we head straight for Warsaw. The flatish countryside offers good chances for the sprinters if their teams have the energy to control this long stage.



Race info: Flat stage.
Finale: 0 0 0 1 -1 0 0 0 1 1



Łódź - Warszawa

Tour d'Honneur in Warsaw. But it certainly isn't a walk in the park. In reality the last stage of the CdlP was often the time of desperate last minute attacks, which sometimes even succeeded. After all this isn't the Tour de France where everyone is busy sipping Champagne on the Champs Elysee. It ain't over until it's over.



Race info: Flat stage.
Finale: 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Vuelta America Central 2011


The Vuelta America Central 2011 is located in Central America and will start in the capital of Panama - Panama City. From there the course heads north through all 7 central american countries and their capitals and will have his finish in Belize City after 14 stages over all in all 2149 kms. The course has a 8 km long part of unpaved street at stage 8 while the rest of this tour is on normal streets which are easy rideable. While this tour the riders will often follow the big highway Panamericana which is the longest "rideable" street of the world and connects Alaska and the "tierra del fuego" with only little gaps in it.
The 14 stages are declared as 3x HC mountain stages, 1x TT, 5x flat stages and 5x middle mountain stages. Each stage has one intermediate sprint and several mountain classifications on its way. The TT is a quite short one located after a hard mountain stage so that climbers should be the favorites in this tour but a strong Huber will also have his chance. A good regeneration is necessary and the middle mountain stages are very hard so that the winner needs a good team to control the race for him.
As it is summertime in Central America the riders will have a worm and wet tropic climate which can make the tour much more difficult sometimes.

Stage 1: Panama City - Colón (122 km)

Stage 1 starts as already said in Panama City and goes directly on more or less flat terrain to the harbour city Colón, which is located on the coast and on the Panama-Channel, one of the most important seatransport ways in the world. The stage should be a clear sprint so that the winner of this stage will also take over the first leader jersey. On there road there will be also crowned the first "King of the mountain" as there are 2x Cat. 4 hills on the way. With only 122 kms it is a short stage so that every rider has the chance for a relaxing start in this tour.

Last +5%(or more): km 98 (5%)
Last 10 kms: 0/0/0/-1/1/0/-1/1/0/0
min. tact from: km 97

flat stage



Stage 2: La Chorrera - Toza (204 km)

Stage 2 is still in Panama and leads the peloton from La Chorrera (63,000 inhabitants) to the very little town of Toza, somewhere in the middle of Panama. The winner of stage 1 will lose his leader jersey as this is the first middle mountain stage with the steep Cerro Barón 16 kms before the finish. This is a stage where every rider who wants to win the tour has to be awake. You can't win the tour in such a stage but for sure there is a chance to already lose it. The winner of this stage should be the next GC leader. It is a stage basically for classic riders but maybe there are teams which ride for their hill/classic sprinters who should have a chance as well here. With 204 kms it is also the longest stage of this tour.

mountains:
Cerro Buho (Cat. 4, km 24)
Cerro Colorado (Cat.4, km 121)
Cerro Barón (Cat.4, km 188; 9/9/4)

Last 10 kms: 4/-5/2/0/-4/-2/-2/0/-1/2
min. tact: km 180

middle mountain stage


Stage 3: Santiago - David (197 km)

Stage 3 leads the peloton from Santiago (75,000 inhabitants) to David (125,000 inhabitants) more and more to the border with Costa Rica. It is a very wavy stage with 2 mountains (1x Cat.3, 1x Cat.4), but these mountains are still in the first half of the race and afterwards it becomes more and more flat even if it stays a bit wavy until the end. Actually the stage should be also made for sprinters as the slope wont overcome the 5% after km 77. The Cerro San Cristobal and the Cerro Grande are also not very steep with a max. slope of 6%. Nevertheless the sprinter teams have to be strong and unique here as this stage is not a present to them.

mountains:
Cerro San Cristóbal (Cat.3, km 62)
Cerro Grande (Cat. 4, km 85)

last +5% (or more): km 166 (5%)
last 10 kms: -3/-1/1/2/0/-1/-1/0/0/1
min. tact: km 170

flat stage


Stage 4: David - Vila Neily (127 km)

The 4th stage starts in David, where the stage 3 ended and then it leads the peloton into the second country of this tour - Costa Rica where the riders have to climb the first hard mountain of this tour 2 times. The Cerro Agua Buena has to be ridden on two different routes up, while it goes down two times on the same route which leads them into the small village Vila Neily where the stage ends after short 127 kms. This is the first mountain stage as there will be kms with a slope of 12%. The downhill is also very steep and dangerous so that every rider who wants to win here needs a very good downhill skill and lots of "cohones".

mountains:
Cerro Agua Buena (2x Cat. 2)
1. passage: km 86
2. passage: km 116 (6/10/10/12/6/8/7/4//5/5)

last 10 kms: -13/-15/-9/-8/1/-12/-7/-2/0/-1
min. tact: km 102

HC mountain stage


Stage 5: Rio Claro - Hatillo (129 km)

Stage 5 is a unspectacular sprint stage with only one +5% on the way which could cause some problems for the sprinters, but nevertheless a clear stage for the sprinters. No discussion about it. The route leads the riders into the middle of Costa Rica from Rio Claro directly to Hatillo over the Panamericana on short 129 kms.

last +5% (or more): km 112 (5%)
last 10 kms: -3/0/1/0/0/-1/0/0/0/0
min. tact: 110

flat stage


Stage 6: San Isidro - Volcán Irazú (182 km)

The 6th stage is the king stage of this tour and maybe the most difficult one for all the riders. Start is in San Isidro and after 11 flat kilometers the riders have to climb the first mountain of this 182 km long stage. The Alto San Juan is a Cat. 2 mountain with some very steep kilometers but nevertheless only a little problem compared to the mountains which are still to conquer in this stage. After a short downhill the riders have to climb up to the Cerro de la Muerte which is a very long but not super steep Cat. 1 climb of nearly 50 kms. After that the peloton has a very long downhill to the little town Cartago and after that they reach one of the highlights of this tour. The Volcan Irazú is a over 3000 meters high still active volcano. The climb begins flat on the first 5 kms but then it raises up to kms with 10% slope. All in all the climb is 31 kms long, but the sight from this volcano is just stunning as you can see both big oceans, the Atlantic AND the Pacific from its top. This should make the climb worth it and also the "Gruppetto" should have the motivation to reach the finish in time with this beautiful scenery on the top.

mountains:
Cerro San Juan (Cat. 2, km 25)
Cerro de la Muerte (Cat. 1, km 83)
Volcan Irazú (HC Cat., km 182)

last 10 kms: 9/5/-2/-4/5/7/9/8/7/10
min. tact: km 140

HC mountain stage



Stage 7: San José (23 km)

Just after the king's stage of this tour the riders go down to San Josè, the capital of Costa Rica, which is directly located on the foot of the Irazú where the finish was one day before. This time the stage is completely different. A little 23 km parcours in the city is the scenery for the only time trial of this tour. Mostly short terrain should make the pure time trialists to the favorites but they have to see how the survived the stage before. In the GC it should become very interesting as the favorites have to calculate how much power they can give on the king's stage so that they survive the time trial without losing all the time which they have maybe won one day before. This should make both days very tactical ones and after the time trial the group of potential tour winners should be shortened to only some very strong ones. Regeneration should be an important factor in these days. Sprinters and escapers who survived stage 6 can use this day as a rest day to reload their energy.



Stage 8: Chacarita - La Cruz (186 km)

Stage 8 is still located in Costa Rica and goes from Chacarita to La Cruz. After 150 nearly flat kms the peloton leaves the normal streets for 8 kms of unpaved road up to an unnamed hill with the max. slope of 6%. After that there are still 22 kms to go to the finish line so that strong sprint teams are still able to come back if they have a fit team after the hard days before. Otherwise this is maybe a perfect stage for escapers or ambitious classic/hill sprinters. The unpaved rote is only scaled as 1* so that it should not affect the result that much.

last +5% (or more): km 158 (6%*)
last 10 kms: 1/0/-1/0/0/0/-1/-1/0/2
min. tact: km 161

middle mountain stage


Stage 9: La Cruz - Managua (169 km)

The 9th stage leads the riders into Nicaragua and there to its capital Managua. The profile looks much more difficult than the stage really is. El Crucero a Cat. 3 climb but with a max. slope of 4%. So this is again a stage which can be won by the sprinters quite easily. The only thing they need is good downhillers as the Crucero is much steeper in the downhill. Managua is directly located on the big "Lago Xolotlan" and has about 2 million inhabitants and is therefore the 2nd biggest city in Central America. As all the rubbish of the city has been moved to the lake for years, it is nearly dead and the government has begun to clear the water just a few years ago. There are also several beautiful lagunes in the city which make it to a famous travel goal for mainly backpacking tourists.

mountains:
El Crucero (Cat. 3, km 144)

last +5% (or more): -
last 10 kms: 0/-1/-1/-3/-3/-3/-3/-2/-1/0
min. tact: km 130

flat stage



Stage 10: León - Choluteca (174 km)

Stage 10 is the beginning of some difficult stages which are all able to play an important role for the GC. Starting in León/Nicaragua they leave it directly to Honduras. 15 kms before the finish they have to climb up to the only mountain in this stage, the Cerro Caleros. It is a 7 km long climb with kms of 11%. After they reached the top of the mountain the last 15 kms are made of 2 steep downhill kms and some less steep downhills.The last 8 kms then are flat so that this should be a stage for the classic riders or maybe some really strong classic sprinters. GC compeditors have to be very attentive as there is always a chance to lose some time on such stages.

mountains:
Cerro Caleros (Cat. 2, km 159; 3/3/3/10/2/11/6)

last 10 kms: -2/-2/0/-1/0/-1/0/0/1/0
min. tact: km 150

middle mountain stage


Stage 11: Choluteca - Tegucigalpa (El Tizatillo) (150 kms)

Stage 11 is maybe my personal favorite of this tour. Very open race, very spectacular. Again a short stage, but this is also caused by the high temperatures in this region. The race starts in Choluteca with about 30 flat kms, after that the peloton has to climb the first mountain, the Cerro Bonito. This is the first of 6 classified mountains in this stage. The whole stage is contineously hilly and nobody has the chance the breath easy after the Cerro Bonito begun. The road leads the riders into the direction of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras where the finish of this stage is. This should be again a stage for classic riders which dont have a GC leader in their team and are allowed to ride for their own chances.

mountains:
Cerro Bonito (Cat. 2, km 46)
Cerro la Cebadilla (Cat. 3, km 79)
Cerro Buena Vista (Cat. 3, km 89)
Cerro El Ocote (Cat. 4, km 109)
Cerro Gavilan (Cat. 3, km 116)
La Bodega (Cat. 3, km 139; 3/4/6/4/4/6/6/6/5)

last +5% (or more): 139 (5%)
last 10 kms: 0/0/-4/-4/-5/0/-2/-2/-3/-2
min. tact: km 125

middle mountain stage



Stage 12: San Miguel - San Salvador (El Boqueron) (189 km)

Stage 12 is the last mountain stage of this tour and starts in San Miguel in El Salvador. The road goes along the volcan Chaparrastique into the direction of El Salvador's capital San Salvador where the peloton then has to climb up to the second volcano of this tour. The El Boqueron or also called the Volcan San Salvador as he is directly located at capital city. The climb is 11 kms long and has a slope of max. 12%. The volcano is nearly 2000 meters high.

mountains:
Chaparrastique (Cat. 2, km 52)
unnamed (cat. 2, km 140)
unnamed (Cat. 3, 145)
El Boqueron (Cat. 1, km 189)

last 10 kms: 6/9/7/8/11/12/9/1/10/10
min. tact: km 125

HC mountain stage



Stage 13: Acajutla - Guatemala City (200 km)

On the 13th stage the riders turn to Guatemala for the last difficult stage of this tour with 4x Cat. 2 climbs and 1x Cat. 3 climb short before the end. The stage is the last chance to make some changes in the GC. Starting in Acajutla the first difficulty is the Cerro Apaneca (cat. 2). After a more or less unspectacular interception the peloton is back in action with the climb up to Tecuamburro and and right afterwards with the climb up to the beautiful Lago Amatitlan in front of Guatemala City. After that the peloton heads into the city with a last steep part up to the airport La Aurora right in the middle of the city. From there the riders start the only big transfer of this tour when they have to take the plane for a short flight to Belmopan in Belize.

mountains:
Cerro Apaneca (cat. 2, km 46)
unnamed (Cat. 2, km 123)
Tecuamburro (cat. 2, km 146)
Lago Amatitlan (Cat. 2, km 174)
Airport La Aurora (Cat. 3, km 197)

last 10 kms: 1/2/-1/-1/4/9/3/0/2/2
min. tact: km 140

middle mountain stage


Stage 14: Belmopan - Belize City (97 km)

Stage 14 is the Tour d'Honneur as usual in the Tour de France. A short and completely flat stage from the capital of Belize to the harbour city Belize City on the Atlantic Ocean. The riders took the plane for this transfer from Guatemala City to Belmopan while the material and bikes went by bus. Therefore the stage starts later but this is no problem as it is a very short stage. The last chance for the sprinters and a very easy one if there are enough sprinters left in the peloton.

last +5% (or more): -
last 10 kms: 0/0/-1/0/0/0/0/1/0/-1
min. tact: km 70
flat stage



Hope you like this tour. Vote! See you in December in Central America!!

„Pura Vida“ (pure life) is a common expression in Costa Rica. It means „This is living!“ or „Awesome!“. The people use it as a greeting and a farewell, simply to say „Hello“, „Thank you“ or „You're Welcome“. It expresses the Costa Rican way of life and it sums up the idea of this tour.
The 12 stages will lead the peloton through beautiful landscapes, nevertheless the riders will have to overpower some hills and mountains. It's a tour for time trialists, sprinters, hillsprinters, classic riders, mountain riders and for breakaways. But the most important part: It's a tour for teams, in which everyone works for a shared aim. So it needs a strong team with an excellent manager.

The Map


The Facts

• - 12 stages + 1 rest day (between stage 8+9)
  • - 1 ITT
    - 4 flat
    - 3 middle mountain
    - 4 mountain, HC
  - Distance: 1.828km (24.950hm (metres in altitude)); 1.121min
  - Climate: Tropical
  - mountains classification:
  • - 2x HC category
    - 4x cat1
    - 5x cat2
    - 5x cat3
    - 12x cat4
  - 1 Intermediate sprint per stage (except last, first + TT)

The Stages
Stage 1 (middle mountain)

114km (1050hm); 76min
circuit in and around David: 1,0,1,0,0,1,0,2,2,3,1,1,2,1,2,-1,-1,1,2,3,2,1,1,-3,-2,-1,-2,1,-2,6,-7,-5,1,-5,-2,-2,-1,-1

Stage 2 (flat)

220km (1.620hm); 116min
cat4-climb: 4,7,4,6,0,7
cat4-climb: 2,9,7,4,-2,5,9
last 10km: 1,0,0,0,1,0,0,1,-1,1

Stage 3 (middle mountain)

140km (2.020hm); 88min
Boruca: 7,8,8,5,7,5,4,8,7 (cat2)
cat4-climb: 2,3,5,4,5,4
Alto San Juan: 6,10,10,7,3,6 (cat3)
last 10km: 1,-1,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,-1

Stage 4 (mountain,hc)

175km (3.180hm); 105min
Costaucia: 5,8,8,7,9,7,5,9,10,11,10 (cat1)
Bajo Castillo: 7,10,11,13,12,10,12,11,5 (cat1)
last 10km: 1,-2,-7,-8,-11,-12,-11,-15,-2,-1

Stage 5 (middle moutain)

202km (3.000hm); 126min
Esperanza: 3,5,7,9,11,12,13,12 (cat2)
Santa Elena: 5,6,8,9,11,10,8,2 (cat2)
Monte Remo: 7,11,11,8,4,2 (cat3)
last 10km: 3,-1,-3,-5,-4,-5,-6,-2,1,0

Stage 6 (flat)

144km (740hm); 83min
last 10km: 0,0,0,-1,-2,2,1,1,0,1

Stage 7 (ITT)

26km (370hm); 26min
complete stage: 2,-1,0,0,1,5,5,-4,8,-4,-7,-2,-2,3,5,-6,-1,1,-1,1,-2,-1,3,1,1,2

Stage 8 (mountain, hc)

190km (3.910hm); 110min
cat2-climb: 5,7,9,10,9,5,10
cat3-climb: 3,5,5,4,3,2,1,1,3,3,4,6,3,-2,-1,0,1,4,7,7,3
Rio Chiquito: 6,6,5,3,1,4,4 (cat4)
Quebrada Grande: 8,9,8,6,6 (cat4)
El Dos de Tilaran: 9,8,7,5,4,6,9,6,7,-11,8,10,7 (cat2)
cat4-climb: 7,5,6,5,3,3
Monte Verde: 4,7,8,6,4,4,3,1,0,3,1,2,2(cat3)
last 10km: 2,2,-7,-9,-10,-10,-9,-9,-8,-3

---one rest day---

Stage 9 (flat)

151km (1.160hm); 87min
La Palmera: 5,0,4,3,4,5 (cat4)
cat4-climb: 3,4,4,2,2,3,3
San Ramon: 2,3,2,3,4,4 (cat4)
last 10km: -3,-3,-2, 2,3,2,3,4,4,1

Stage 10 (mountain, hc)

179km (2.720hm); 120min
cat4-climb: 3,4,2,3,4,5,7,8,6
Bonilla Arriloa: 10,11,9,10,9,10,6,9,9,10,11,8 (HC)
cat3-climb: 5,7,7,7,6,4,6,3
last 10km: -3,-4,-5,-8,-9,-9,-6,-7,-4,-1

Stage 11(mountain,hc)

156km (4.600hm), 103min
Pastora: 5,6,5,4,7,9,8,8,4,6,6,4,5,3,5,5,1,3,4,2,3 (cat1)
cat4-climb: 3,3,8,9
Llano Grande: 6,8,11,11,7,8,11,8,7,4 (cat1)
Irazú: 8,9,8,3,6,5,7,5,6,9,11,9,7,7,9,8,7,7,2,-4,2,5,9,9,8,8,4 (HC)

Stage 12 (flat)

113km (520hm); 87min
circuit in San José: -1,-1,0,1,1,0

Interestingly you have already presented two proposals for the December Tour in Central America. I add a proposal in the Caribbean Sea, precisely on the isles of Jamaica and Hispaniola. The tour is called Vuelta a Caribe, abbreviated VC. The first five stages will take place in Jamaica. After the fifth stage the peloton will be transferred from Jamaica to Haiti (flight table says two hours by plane). Here in Haiti two high mountain stages will take place. After day one (stage six) in Haiti a rest day is planned. The rest of the tour (stages eight to thirteen) will take place in the Dominican Republic with a grand finish in Sto. Domingo. Most sprint stages are found in the second half of the tour and the ITT is planned in stage three.

Tour facts
Three countries - three capitals - three languages
flat stages: 5 (stages 1, 8, 10, 11 and 13) with 3 intermediate sprints each
low mountain stages: 4 (stages 2, 4, 5, 9) with 2 intermediate sprints each
high mountain stages: 3 (stages 6, 7, 12) with 1 intermediate sprint each
Time trials: 1 ITT (stage 3)
rest day: after stage 5 or 6
Total length: 2218 km
shortest stage: 151 km (stage 12)
medium stage length: ~170 km
longest stage: 225 km (stage 9), ITT: 46 km (stage 3)
intermediate sprints: 26
H.C.-climbs: 6
cat.1-climbs: 4
cat.2-climbs: 7
cat.3-climbs: 6
cat.4-climbs: 5
climate: tropical in Jamaica and Haiti, slightly different climate zones in Dominican Republic (tropical in the north, drier in the south, colder in the mountains)


STAGE 1 (Kingston - Kingston): 196 km
We begin with a flat stage. Start and Finish will be in the capital of Jamaica, Kingston. The first part of the course goes to the west, in the city of Free Town the direction changes back to Kingston. There is only one pro forma king of the mountain sprint at kilometre 53.

cat.4-mountain: [4 5]
mintakt: 176 km


STAGE 2 (May Pen - Montego Bay): 172 km
The second stay starts in the city of May Pen and directs to the northwest of the island. The finish is in Montego Bay. Today we have the first real hills to climb, so sprint teams would have to work hard to get the final sprint royal. Therefore it is more likely, that a classic rider or hill sprinter will win this stage. The last descent's got a maximum slope of 14%!

cat.3-mountain: [2 1 5 6 5 5 1 3 -1 3 5 5 4 3 3 2]
cat.1-mountain: [1 5 5 11 5 7 4 3 6 7 3]
mintakt: 152 km


STAGE 3 (Montego Bay - Wakefield): 46 km
Today the riders have to fight a lonely race against time: the ITT of the tour takes place. The course of 46 kilometres goes from the north coast to the south coast. At the intermediate time at kilometre 16, few king of the mountains points are awarded.

cat.3-mountain [9-9-9-2]


STAGE 4 (Ewarton - Port Antonio): 176 km
After the transfer from Wakefield to Ewarton (~ 3 hours, 180 km) the fourth stage starts in the city of Ewarton. Today's course directs to the northeast through the Blue Mountains to the town of Port Antonio.

cat.1-mountain: [2 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 4 6 6 4 6 6 4 6 5 6 -3 5 10 11]
cat.2-mountain: [6 6 11 1 4]
cat.3-mountain: [2 4 6 4 6 5 2 5]
mintakt: 152 km


STAGE 5 (Morant Bay - Spanish Town): 180 km
The last stage in Jamaica will start in the south at the Morant Bay. It is again a low mountain stage with three king-of-the-mountain-sprints of the second category. After a ride through the Blue Mountains the riders will arrive in Spanish Town. After the anti-doping controls the peloton heads directly to the airport of Kingston and flies to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where the next two stages will take place.

cat.2-mountain: [11 11 12]
cat.2-mountain: [2 3 4 2 2 5 7 3 9 7 7 7 5]
cat.2-mountain: [1 9 8 3 2 1 7 10 8 5]
mintakt: 146 km


STAGE 6 (Jacmel - Port-au-Prince): 185 km
Today the first high mountain stage will start in the south of Haiti, namely in the town of Jacmel. In the cordillera the riders will have a hard day with two HC-mountain climbs and one cat.2- and a cat.3-mountain.

cat.2-mountain: [1 1 3 3 6 12 12 11]
HC-mountain: [4 3 6 7 9 4 9 14 17 9 8 4 9 7 5 9 12 9 8 7]
HC-mountain: [13 8 8 12 10 7 10 13 17 15 12 12 6 8 5 9 10 6]
cat.3-mountain: [6 8 8 7]
mintakt: 148 km


STAGE 7 (Port-au-Prince - Col de Montrouis): 154 km
Today we will have again high mountain climbs in Haiti and the first mountain finish. The stage will start in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince goes straight to the north to the Col de Montrouis.

cat.2-mountain: [2 2 2 3 4 7 10 9 10 4]
HC-mountain: [2 3 4 10 8 6 9 12 13 13 14 15 10 2]
HC-mountain: [3 6 10 11 13 11 7 9 12 14 12 5]
mintakt: 137 km


STAGE 8 (Barahona - Barahona): 211 km
Today the first stage in the Dominican Republic will take place . It will be the first flat stage and something else as a mass sprint would be a surprise. It will start and end in the southwest of the Dom. Rep. in the city of Barahona. The stage goes around the Lago Enriquillo, a large salt lake in a desert-like environment.

cat.4-mountain: [4 -1 3 4]
mintakt: 200 km


STAGE 9 (La Descubierta - Dajabón): 225 km
After yesterday's sprint finish we will have another low mountain stage today and the longest stage of the whole tour. Already after the beginning the riders face a not very steep but long climb (and therefore HC-category) to a summit in the Sierra de Neiba. Behind the next hill the peloton reaches the Valle de San Juan and the terrain becomes more and more flat.

HC-mountain: [2 9 9 6 10 7 7 -2 2 3 3 8 8 13 -1 10 -3 8 5 7 2 5 2 3 3 11 3 7 10 7 9 9 1 4 1 4]
cat.1-mountain: [9 14 6 13 10 8 -2 2 9]
cat.3-mountain: [14]
mintakt: 205 km


STAGE 10 (Monte Cristi - Puerta Plata): 172 km
Today we'll have a kind of a sprinters' paradise. The course heads along the northwest coast of the Dominican Republic from Monte Cristi to Puerta Plata. No difficulties should occur on that stage and a mass sprint should be programmed, though weaker sprinters could be sieved at the last hill.

cat.4-mountain: [1 1 4 5 3 2 3]
mintakt: 155 km


STAGE 11 (Puerta Plata - Nagua): 181 km
Again sprinters' paradise. Today's course leads along the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The riders start in Puerta Plata and head for Nagua, which is situated in the northeast. In the end, the final circuit around Nagua must be completed two times.

cat.4-mountain: [4 4]
mintakt: 168 km


STAGE 12 (Santiago de los Caballeros - Alto de la Lechuga): 151 km
The GK- and mountain riders and teams should have collected enough energy for today, even we face the shortest stage of the tour: the last high mountain stage with a mountain finish on the Alto de la Lechuga in the Cordillera Central. Here we must pay attention to the weather forecast: In winter the temperature can drop to 0 °C. The climbing abilities are very important on that stage, whereas the downhill skills were not useful.

cat.1-mountain: [2 9 13 7 5 6 5 5]
cat.2-mountain: [3 9 6 8 8 8 4 5 0 8 0 3 3]
HC-mountain: [14 15 2 7 10 11 9 2 6 5]
cat.3-mountain: [2 2 3 3 6 7]
mintakt: 117 km


STAGE 13 (Azua - Santo Domingo): 169 km
Definitively a tour d'honneur. No difficulties at all. A last category 4 hill in the beginning and afterwards a flat sprint finish in Santo Domingo. The city circuit must be passes five times.

cat.4-mountain: [1 3 2 2 1 2 4 8 3]
mintakt: 144 km


And now, fire free: Disrupt it!

British Islands (BI):The largest island country in Europe is a union of formerly independent states England,Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom also has several overseas territories. The tour takes you through the most beautiful cities and landscapes of the island.





13 Stages:

ITT: 1x
TTT: 1x
flat: 4x
middel mountain: 4x
mountain: 3x

km´s: 1718 km

cat. 4: 14x
cat. 3: 5x
cat. 2: 13x
cat. 1: 3x

sprint: 14x

Stage 1: London - London: (8km) ITT

London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. The town lies on the River Thames in southeast England on the island of Great Britain. the 8 km long (TT) road was through the center of London. sightseeing and many are happening!!

km (0/-1/1/-1/1/0/1/0)



Stage 2: London - Bristol: (188km) flat

of the capital city of England takes the stage with many beautiful landscapes and cities. the end of the stage is the eighth largest city of england bristol avon riverside.

last 10km (1/1/2/3/-2/-2/-2/-1/-1/-1)



Stage 3: Cardiff - Telfort: (169km) middel mountain

In the port city of Cardiff will start the stage and leads over the river Taff to the hard end Telfort will be expected. there will be signs placed in the first battle for yellow.

last 10km (-2/-3/-4/-2/-1/-1/4/3/7/0)



Stage 4: Birmingham - Lincoln: (143km) flat

After the last two hard days today to get the sprinter a chance.
on the short piece as part lincoln starts for the sprinter for the first time really the war for the sprint jersey.

last 10km (0/0/0/1/0/0/0/0/-1/1)



Stage 5: Nottingham - Norwich: (132km) flat

The sprinter will come again to their cost. the driver should fight to save their forces in gk today to be very fit tomorrow.

last 10km (0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/1/3)



Stage 6: Leeds - Sunderland: (151km) mountain

Leeds starts in the first mountain stage of the Tour and it will show who is in the battle to yellow to assess the most. on the driver's field of the stages are very fast and a lot of height to meet changing!

last 10km (0/0/0/0/0/0/0/2/4/7)



Stage 7: Glasgow - Montrose: (176km) middel mountain

Today, the rider must travel from England to Scotland. skin in the city of Scotland lead the stages will be very hilly landscapes with many beautiful.
at the end will show whether the sprinter not have lost too many grains in the last days. The allrounder, and the scent outlier will get their chance!

last 10km (0/0/0/0/1/1/4/-5/-2/-1)



Stage 8: Dundee - Kingussie: (189km) middel mountain

Today is a hard stage with many mountains. The battle has begun around the mountain jersey.

last 10km (0/0/0/-2/-1/-1/-1/1/1/1)



Stage 9: Killin - Killin: (137km) mountain

we change the country. the way leads us to ireland! where the goal is not far away but can be lost very much today. can to meet the climbers on the final climb to be curious

last 10km (0/0/2/0/1/0/4/8/6/7)



Stage 10: Dublin - Dublin: (32km) TTT

in the capital of Ireland. Dublin! It takes a good team to lose not too much time!!

last 10km (-1/-1/-1/-1/2/3/2/2/6/4)



Stage 11: Derry - Lisburn: (132km) middel mountain

the last time we change the country and we start in wales! on a very short stage, the driver can again recover from the whole effort of the last day

last 10km (0/0/0/-1/0/0/2/1/-1/-1)



Stage 12: Aberystwyth - Neath: (174km) mountain

on the penultimate stage of the tour is hopefully the driver decided not to have a lot of grains left on the first tour week!

last 10km (-3/-1/0/2/5/5/6/7/4/6)



Stage 13: Swansea - Cardiff: (86km) flat

The drivers will see the finish line!!!

last 10km (-2/0/1/0/0/0/0/1/0/0)

Tour of Yemen

The preparation for this entry in this years contest started already in November 2009. After some preliminary talks with different representative from quite a few countries, everybody wanted to collaborate with the star designer RKL obviously, we decided to cooperate with Yemen for our 2011 tour. The contract was signed within days, the frame of the Tour stood already in January 10 and everything was basicaly finished in September 2010. Then, on the November 1st 2010 the big shock. In an unbelievable breach of contract, we had exlusive rights until 2011, and trust the local Yemeni organizing committee had cooperated with Falkenbier from Schafhausen to have a few stages in his 2010 december competition entry. Unacceptable, we immediately sued them in court. And after a prolonged court battle justice prevailed. The Yemeni organizing committee was forced to pay us 50k credits for breach of contract. So the Tour was saved we thought, but another surprise was waiting for us. Since the contract had been broken the court confirmed that we had to pay another 1 million credits to remake a contract. Thanks but no thanks, we'll design in Ethiopia, they trust us there was our answer, but then the judge informed us that in that case we'd have to pay 50k for breaking the contract and 1 million credits for suing in bad faith, since according to him we seemed to have no intention of honoring the contract. Our protests that the local committee was in breach of contract and we saw no reason to repay them money after they broke the contract somehow wasn't convincing, so in the end we were forced to pay another million. Still, it was worth it, Yemen offers not only outstanding landscape, but also, somewhat surprisingly, lots of paved roads. And with new and better Google earth material we redrew some stages, so weren't completely out of work in the past months.

First let's see an overview of the Tour:




Now a detailed look at the stages:

Stage 1: Aden-Al Bayda

http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_01

The tour starts with a bang. No, not a terrorist attack. The organizing committee in a painstaking 2 year effort has made contracts, drank tea, chew Qat, bribed all the groups in Yemen, from tribal leaders, government officials, terrorist organizations to simple truck drivers to guarantee the safety of the peloton. Not the team staff though, that would have been to expensive. But we have taken out an insurance policy with Herne Insurance Co., the leading RSF insurance company, so everything should be in order. Rest assured, the bang will not be an explosive blast on the side of the road, but purely a competitive one. Some riders might actually have preferred a dynamite detonation after all. The first stage starts in Aden , the former capital of the former South Yemen. The first 100 km are completely flat along the southern coast until Shaqra, where the road heads inland. A 17 km climb, brings the riders to the first GPM of the Tour, cat 2 at 960 meters above sea level. After another 50 mostly flat km, the main difficulty of the day awaits the riders. The Mortirolo and Stelvio of Yemen. Steep like the Mortirolo, 11 Km at over10% (or 10 Km at 11%) and switchbacks like the Stelvio, as you can see in the pictures below. From the top at 2280 pass it will be another 32 Km slighly downhill to reach Al Bayda. A first stage that could see different scenarios at the end, an elite climbers group, a sprint for a strong 70+70 sprinter, a combined superclassic/80-70 group. And the GC contenders of course will have to pay attention too.

Middle mountain stage
Length: 228 Km
Climbing: 2260 meters
mintact from km 186
weather: generally kind of a problem. No rain in Yemen usually in December it seems, temperatures fairly mild, no climate zone fits perfectly. So all is continental summer for the moment.

Pictures: Please click on the links. No direct pictures, since from what I understood that's not allowed by Panoramio unless you do complicated things. So click on the links. No need to read this short presentation. No need to look at the profiles. No need to vote for the Tour. But you have to see those pictures, some of the landscape, architecture, roads is just too beautiful to be ignored.

Aden Overview
Lawder Mountain Pass 1
Lawder Mountain Pass 2
Overview Lawdar Mountain Pass
OverviewAl Bayda





Stage 2: Al Bayda-Ibb

http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_02

After the long first stage, the riders will have to tackle an even longer one, the longest stage of the whole Tour. 260 Km from Al Bayda to Ibb. After a 10 km neutralized start, 2 early cat 4 climbs lead the peloton to Yafa, and to another, milder climate. Due to heavy rainfall in summer it's a very fertile region, which makes it densely populated. A population that seems to love Panoramio too, lots and lots of pictures to be found on google earth. Then follows a long downhill to 550 meters and a slighly rising flat section. At km 150 the second part of the stage starts, with a cat 4 and a cat 3 GPM. But the finale should only start at km 210. 3 cat 4, the last one (6 3) only 8 km from the finish, and one cat 3 climb will lead us to Ibb, where the finish line will be in the old center of Ibb, after after a 3 km climb, 3 4 4. Coming after the demanding opening stage, this stage will certainly favor riders with good regeneration, or riders that saved their power for this second day. There is no long tough climb like in stage one, but a series of shorter ones. Stage favorites are the strong classic riders, 80-70s once again, and again climbers might have their chance to in the uphill final in Ibb.

Middle mountain stage
Length: 260 Km
Climbing 3770
Mintact from km 210

Yafa
Overview Ibb
Ibb





Stage 3: Ibb-Jemel Sabir

http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_03

2 long and hard middle mountain stages so next is obviously a shorter, but not easier, mountain stage. 175 km with 4270 meters climbing. Right after Ibb the first climb, cat 2, from 1890 to 2640 meters in 11 Km. Until Km 102 there is barely a flat km, either it's up or down, 2 cat 3 and 2 cat 4 climbs. At around km 115 the road finally flattens out a bit, the riders will have about 35 slightly downhill, but still flat km to reach Ta'izz. There, a short cat 4 climb to reach Ta'izz castle will lead us to the final climb of the day. The Jebel Sabir: The first and the hardest mountain top arrival of the whole tour. 18 Km, with stunning views over the city of Ta'izz, with an average of 9% to reach 2970 meters above sea level. Here, the stage favorite seems clear, a strong climber. And while in the 2 preceeding stages differences, even important ones, if one of the favorites has a bad day, are possible, but by no means automatic, here we will see the first real GC fight.

Mountain stage
Length 175 Km
Climbing: 4270 meters
Mintact from 144

The first climb of the day
Cairo Castle in Taizz
Climb to Jebel Sabir
Landscape during the climb to Jebel Sabir
Climb to Jebel Sabir with Taizz in the background
The finish





Stage 4: Ta'izz-Zabid


http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_04

Stage 4 will, finally, be the first chance for the sprinters. The first and only GPM of the stage is once again Ta'izz castle after only 3 km. After that it will be a gradual downhill to the Tihama. The 60 km coastal strip to the red sea. One of the hottest places on earth, the main problem is the high humidity, which makes summers in the Tihama almost unbearable. Fortunately and thanks to the immense wisdom of our star designer RKL our riders will be visiting it in december. At the first intermediate sprint of the day, we will turn north. Going west, the peloton would have reached Al Mokka, the port that gave the name to “mocca”. But the formerly most important port of Yemen nowadays is just a fishing village, it wouldn't have had the infrastructure to welcome the rowdy RSF peloton. Not that Zabid. where the stage will end after 177 km is much better equipped. The town of roughly 20'000 people is risking to lose it's inscription as a UNESCO World heritage site. For the managers interested in the whole problem, here a link. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/conserva ... yemen.html. As mentioned, it should be a stage for sprinters. But some might feel the hard beginning of the tour still in their legs, the fight for this stage will already start on stage 1. Only well protected sprinters or regeneration monsters can count as favorites for today.

flat stage
Length: 177 km
Climbing: 510 meters
Mintact from: 146

Overview Taizz
Zabid
Zabid
Zabid





Stage 5 Zabid-Al Qanawis

http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_05

Another stage for the sprinters, this time we'll spend the whole day in the Tihama. All in the eastern part, closer to the mountains, which due to the rainfalls in the mountains is more fertile and much more densely populated then near the cost. It should turn out to be a very easy stage for sprinters, maybe the easiest one of the whole tour. While on stage 4 some sprinters and their team might still feel the fatigue from the previous hard days, stage 5 seems completely hopeless for attackers. The finish in Al Qanawis, an undescript town of probably around 10'000 people so should see a sprint royal, and maybe a sprinter could take over the points jersey here.

Flat stage
Length: 173 Km
Climbing: 400 meters
Mintact from km 142

Tihama
Tihama
Road Tihama
Village Tihama





Stage 6 Al Qanawis-Amran

http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_06

On stage 6 we will head back to the mountains, the second HC stage of the tour. After the start in Al Qanawis after 17km in Radmat Qubarra, where the first intermediate sprint of the day is located, we turn east, and the climbing slowly starts. At first on a very slightly ascending road, then at km 56 there is the first GPM of the day. Right after that, the climb to Hajjah starts.14 Km at 7,1%, Hajjah like many towns in Yemen is on top of a mountain. After the downhill, the second and last climb of the day starts immediately. Longer, but not as steep as the first one 28 Km, 1850 meters climbing, an average of 5,6%. The first part of the climb though is tougher, The first 10 Km at 6,6%, then after 20 Km 2 flatter km, even downhill, passing near Kuhlan, where the second sprint of the day will be contested. Another roughly 10 spectacular Km to the top of the pass near the village of Al Ashmur. From there it will be 24 km to the goal, a short downhill followed by climb to a second highpoint, then the downhill and a few flat km. Here we could see another change in the leaders jersey, depending on the form of the different climbers.

HC Stage
Length 145 Km
Climbing: 3710
Mintact from km 92

Climb to Hajjah
Hajjah
Kuhlan
Kuhlan
Climb after Kuhlan
Azizi training in Amran



REST DAY:
The riders will transfer to Sana'a Airport in the morning, from there they will fly to Al Mukalla, the capital of the eastern Hadramaut region.

Sana Airport



Stage 7 Al Mukalla-Subaykh


http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_07

After the rest day we restart the Tour in the Hadramaut Governate, the largest governate of Yemen. We start in the capital Al Mukalla. The 4th biggest city in Yemen and another important port. The first 84 Km of the stage look like a HC stage. 6 GPMs, 4 4th category one 1st category and last a 3rd category. But after that it will be roughly 100 mostly flat, slightly descending km to the goal in Wadi Doan. All in all not an easy stage to qualify. Is it a flat stage or a middle mountain stage? Can sprinters compete for the win or will energy the attackers and hill sprinters have be too much for them? We'll see. A middle mountain stage after all, but if the sprinters decide to fight, they could get that one too.

Middle mountain stage
Length: 181 Km
Climbing: 2720 meters
Mintact from Km 150

Al Mukalla
Wadi Doan
Wadi Doan
Wadi Doan
Sobaikh
strange house somewhere in Wadi Doan





Stage 8 Al Hajarain-Al Abr


http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_08

Stage 8 is an easy stage for sprinters. After a short transfer, mostly due to the imprecision of google earth/srtm there, the start will be in Al Hajarain, the lower end of Wadi Doan. After less then 30 Km we will enter the Raslat Al Sabatayn. Another desert, this one a real sand-desert. The finish will be in Al Abr, a small village in a very small mountain range roughly in the middle of the desert. After dismissing the idea of letting the riders sleep in tents, we decided to force them to transfer by bus to Marib, which is at the western end of the Raslat Al Sabatayn, roughly 250 km from the finish

Flat stage
Length 166 km
Climbing 350 meters
Mintact: Km 136

Al Hajarain
Overview Wadi Doan
Raslat Al Sabatayn





Stage 9: Marib-Sana


http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_09

From Marib, the capital of the historical Saba kingdom, we go back to the highland and reach the capital Sana for the first time. Despite 2 fairly steep, but short category 3 climbs in the first half of the stage, it should be another sprinter stage. The second GPM is at Km 105, still 74 Km from the finish line in Sana. From there on it's slightly ascending to the finish in Sana Sana or San'a or Sana'a? Everybody seems to have a different opinion, so we went for Sana for simplicity's sake. The finish line of the 9th stage will be just south of the old city, on Zubayri Street. This stage should decide if a pure flat sprinter will win the points jersey. Here again the hillsprinters, if any show up, could have a chance to drop the flat sprinters, not as big as on stage 7 obviously, but if they manage here they would get the full points.

Flat stage
Length: 179Km
Climbing 2000 meters
Mintact from km 148

Overview Marib
Sana overview





Stage 10: Sana-Al Hudayda


http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_10

From Sana we go once again to the Red Sea coast, actually the first time, but again to the Tihama, but this time all the way to the coast, to Al Hudayda, nowadays the most important Red Sea port of Yemen. The 3rd stage in a row for sprinters, and although the first part of the stage is anything but easy, this one here should safely end in a big bunch sprint. After the start in the outskirts of Sana, the road immediately starts to climb. Until km 88 there will be 3 GPM, then the final big downhill to the Tihama starts. The last 100 km then will be flat, slightly downhill. Still, the sprinter teams won't be able to take it too easy, it will be the 3rd maybe 4th day in a row they are working, plus with the long downhill riders in the attack won't lose too much time and energy. What will be in the sprinters favor though is a)that Al Hudayda seems fairly ugly, so who'd want to arrive there early? b) the next 3 days will be hard, many riders might want to have an easy day before that..

Flat stage
Length 221 Km
Climbing: 1500 meters
Mintact from km 190

Fans preparing early to see the Tour of Yemen 2011
Mountains along the way
Overview Al Hudayda





Stage 11: Al Hudayda-At Tawila


http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_11

The final 3 days, that like the first 3 days, will be very hard The start of the final showdown though is easy. A100 km flat approach to the mountains. But from there the battle for the GC win will be full on. From the first climb to Bani Amr, to the 5th and last one to At Tawila there will be barely a flat km, 4 big climbs, for a total of 4200 meters altitude gain in the last 120 km of this stage. It's of course almost identical to a stage of last years December tour, the difference is that we stop at At Tawila, so the climbers we won't have the a long flat part before the finish.

HC stage
Length 216 Km
Climbing: 4380 meters
Mintact: km 156

Al Mahwit
Al Mahwit
Near Al Mahwit
At Tawila
At Tawila





Stage 12: Al Tawila-Jebel an Nabi Shu'ayb


http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_12

The last mountain stage of the Tour is a short one. Only79 km. The finish though will be at 3650 meters, the highest mountain of the whole Arabien peninsula, so obviously the highest mountain of Yemen too. Well, not that obvious now that I think of it, after all the Mulhacen is the highest mountain of the Iberian peninsula, but not the highest one of Spain. Theoretically it could be the same here, but don't worry, the Jebel an Nabi Shu'ayb is indeed the highest mountain in Yemen. The race very likely will be raced intensly, the approach to Jebel an Nabi Shu'ayb won't be too difficult, but difficult enough to allow to isolate leaders without a strong team. And then of course the final climb, 10 km with 860 meters climbing will be the last chance for a stage win for the climbers, and the last chance to gain some time for weaker time trialists.

HC stage
Length: 97 km
Climbing 1850 meters
Mintact: km10

Somewhere in the region
Road
Near Mathnah
Fans installing their business waiting for the Peloton and Fabulous Conti
Jebel an Nabi Shu'ayb





Stage 13: Sana-Sana TT


http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... yemen11_13

So, after 12 stages, 2200 km, 28'120 meters climbing, 41 GPMs and 24 intermediate sprints it will all come down to this. The final TT. Have the climbers gained enough time on the “Huber”? Are the contenders all fit after the mountainous last 2 days? And can the contenders for the GC win fight for the stage win too, or are there some fit TT specialists around? But it won't be a TT for a pure specialist. A total of 4 climbs will have to be tackled. The toughest one will be from km 46 to 50.

ITT
Length 69 Km
Climbing 960 meters
mintact: Km 1

Wadi Road.
Wadi Road
If it rains...
Pavé, but not worth pavé at RSF
the lower part of the downhill+climb km 40-50
Back to the centre (the roads will be closed to traffic of course, here the riders of team Zauberlehrlinge were visiting Sana. And we pass over the bridge anyway
Back to the Wadi Road
Finish line under this bridge
Between the finish and the start


Overall:

5 flat stages
4 HC stages, 3 mountain top arrivals
3 Middle mountain stages, 2 hard ones, one easier one
1 ITT
2269 km and 29080meters climbing, 4 stages over 200 km, 2 under 150 Average stage length 183,33 Km not including the TT, average climbing per day without TT again is 2343,33

So mein Vorschlag für die Dezember-Tour ist fertig.
11 Tagesabschnitte plus ein Ruhetag, fertig sind 12 hoffentlich abwechslungsreiche Tage durch Pakistan und Indian.

I finished December tour and i hope that it will join the race calendar in December.
11 stages plus one rest day: 12 varied days through Pakistan and India are ready to start.

Etappen/Stages
1. Karachi Time Trial 11km Sonntag/Sunday
2. Karachi - Hyderabad 225km Montag/Monday
3. Faysalabad - Lahore 157km DIenstag/Tuesday
4. Sialokot - Jammu 43km (EZF/TT) Mittwoch/Wednesday
5. Jammu - Darhal 175km Donnerstag/Thursday
6. Khanetar - Dhanwan 105km Freitag/Friday
7. Ruhetag/Rest day Samstag/Saturday
8. Islamabad - Muzaffarabad 205km Sonntag/Sunday
9. Nausadda - Reshian 118km Montag/Monday
10. Srinagar - Kamah 162km Dienstag/Tuesday
11. Srinagar - Dacham Nationalpark 35km (EZF/TT) Mittwoch/Wednesday
12. Rotak - Delhi 100km Donnerstag/Thursday



Los geht die Rundfahrt mit einem kurzen, leichtansteigenden Einzelzeitfahren in Karachi. Vom Hafen geht es hinauf in die etwas höher gelegenen Stadtteile.

The tour begins with an easy, increasing Time Trial in Karachi. From harbour the riders go up to the higher located boroughs.



Von Karachi aus geht es auf direkt auf den längsten Tagesabschnitt. Die 225km von Karachi nach Hyderabad sind mit Ausnahme des leicht welligen Beginns durchgehend flach.
Problematisch dürften Wind und die Hitze am Rande der Wüste sein. In Karachi geht es zunächst nach Norden in das angesprochene leicht wellige Terrain, ehe der Kurs einen Knick nach Südosten macht. Er schlängelt sich dann entlang der Nationalstraße 5, ehe es ab 150km auf dieser Straße in Richtung Hyderabad geht. Highlight acht Kilometer vor dem Ziel dürfte der SPrint auf der Brücke des Indus sein, ehe es dann nach Hyderabad City geht.
Ein Massensprint dürfte hier am chancenreichsten sein.

In Karachi the tour begins with the longest stage. The 225km long stage from Karachi to Hyderabad is very flat, except for the beginning. The biggest problems for the riders might be heat and Wind at the edge of the desert. In Karachi the stage goes to the north with an light undulating terrain before the course goes to the southwest.
Until km 150 the stage goes along the National Street 5, after it it goes directly on this street t Hyderabad. A highlight could be the sprint 8km before finish on the Indus Bridge.
A massed sprint will have the biggest chances.




In Richtung Norden geht es weiter sehr flach zu. Die Strecke von Faysalabad nach Lahore ist absolut unspektakulär
und ein Massensprint ist mehr als wahrscheinlich.

Directing to the north, it is totally flat. The stage from Faysalabad to Lahore ist not very spectacular and a massed sprint is in all probability.




Die Favoriten müssen die Hosen runterlassen. Auf dem langen Zeitfahren von Sialkot ins indische Jammu müssen vor allem die nicht
so bergstarken Klassementfahrer zeigen, was sie können. 33 km geht es absolut flach über die Grenze, ehe es dann in die in die zweitgrößte Stadt Kashmirs leicht ansteigend wird.
Mal gucken wie die Favoriten drauf sind.

The favorite riders must show if they are fit. On the long time trial from Silakot to the Indian city of Jammu the riders who are not as strong in the mountains as the others must win several seconds for the classement. 33km from Sialkot to India are very flat, the last ten km to the second largest city in Kashmir it will be light increasing



Es geht endlich, endlich ins Gebirge und auf den 175km zur Bergankunft in Darhal wird es für die sprinter wenig zu lachen geben.
Nach 30km geht es nach Kandi und Bagot leicht bergauf, so dass sich vor allem Fahrer für das Bergtrikot und Ausreißer die Punkte sichern können. Danach geht es wieder flach ins Tal von Rajouri, ehe es ab km 105 leicht bergauf geht. Der Sprint in Rajouri kurz vor Beginn des Schlussanstiegs wird den meisten Sprintern wohl eher nicht schmecken. Danach geht es leicht bergauf auf ein kleines Plateau, ehe die letzten 10km mit durchschnittlich 5,5% Steigung zu bewältigen sind. Hier dürften die Favoriten erstmals vorfühlen, wer stark ist und wer nicht.

Finally the tour goes to the mountains and the sprinters will suffer on the 175km from Jammu to Darhal.
After 30km it goes with small slope to the mountains of Kandi and Bagot. This is the chance for breakaways and mountain-trikot-riders to get the moints. After tha the stage becomes flat into the valley of Rajouri until km 105. Then stage begins to rise with an sprint not for sprinter in Rajouri. The last 10km will be difficult with an avery slope of 5,5%.



Favoriten, wo seid ihr?
Auf der Etappe zurück nach Pakistan sind vor allem die Favoriten gefordert. Viel Zeit kann man beim Auf- und Abstieg auf die Abbaspur Road verlieren. 20km geht es bergauf mit Steigungen von bis zu 12%. Rasant geht es dann auch bergab: maximal 13% Gefälle fordern gute Abfahrer qualitäten. Nach dem zweiten Berg geht es weitesgehend flach weiter, eher der recht leichte Schlussanstieg nach Dhanwan folgt.
Der Ausgang ist recht offen: zwar ist ein Massensprint eher unwahrscheinlich, aber neben den Tourfavoriten haben auch Klassikerfahrer hier eine Chance zu gewinnen.

Favorites, where are you?
On the stage back to Pakistan especially the favorites are challenged. They can loose much time on the ascent and descent of Abbaspur Road. 20km the stage goes uphill with slopes up to 12%. Rapidly the stage goes downhill with 13% maximum. Good downhill drivers are asked to do something. After the second mountain of the day the stage becomes flatter and flatter before the last uphill to the finish in Dhanwan.
Winners could be everywhere: a massed sprint is unlikely, but besides the tour favorites classical drivers can win here.



Nach dem Ruhetag geht es in Pakistans Hauptstadt Islamabad auf die zweitlängste Etappe der Rundfahrt. 120km geht es flach bis leicht wellig los, ehe dann der lange, aber nicht sonderlich schwere Aufstieg nach Attar Sheesha beginnt. Fahrer für das Bergtrikot können mächtig Punkte sammeln, ohne im Hochgebirge ran zu müssen. Nach Attar Sheesha geht es bergab nach Muzaffarabad mit einem kurzen Anstieg kurz vor Ende.
Die Favoriten werden sich schonen, aber Klassikerfahrer ahben gute Chancen hier was zu reißen.

After rest day the stage begins in Pakistans capital Islamabad. The second longest stage of the tour is 120km very flat to light undulating until the uphill to Attar Sheesha, a mountain of the second value. Riders running for the mountain trikot can collect many points for their aim. After passing Attar Sheesha the track goes down to Muzaffarabad with a last uphill before finish.
The favorites will rest theirselves. Break aways have great chances to win.


Die Etappe ins Herzen des Kashmirs hat es in sich. Die ersten 20km fühlen sich für die Fahrer an wie eine Achterbahn: Steigungen und Gefälle von bis zu 15% wechseln sich nahezu auf jedem Kilometer ab. Danach geht es bis Hattian Bala nur leicht bergan weiter, bevor es dann beim Aufstieg nach Reshian zum Showdown kommt.
Dann geht es 34km fast nur bergan und speziell die letzten acht werden eine Tortur. Mit Steigungsspitzen von 20% und durchschnittlich 9,75% geht es auf das Dach der Rundfahrt auf 3000m Höhe.
Eine erste Vorentscheidung kann hier fallen und die ersten Favoriten könnten den Sieg abschenken.

The stage into the heart of Kashmir is very difficult. The first 20km is a rollercoaster for the riders: slopes upto 15% up- and downhill chance every kilometre.
After that it goes light uphill to Hattian Bala with its sprint. Then begins the 34km uphill to the finish of Reshian and especially the last acht km will be a torture. With slopes up to 20% and an average slope of 9,75% the tour goes on its highest point on 3000m above sea level.
The first decisions will be made and the first favorites will lose their chance to win.



Die letzte Hochgebirgsetappe führt in den äußersten Norden Kashmirs.
Nach 26 flachen Kilometern geht es bergan auf den Gulmarg, einen Berg der höchsten Kategorie. Nach dem Abstieg und dem Aufstieg auf den Udur geht es dann flach weiter bis Kupwara. Hier wird das Feld von den Sprinterteams zusammengeführt, um sich in Kupwara Punkte zu sichern. Beim Aufstieg nach Kamah geht es relativ gemächlich zu, einzig die Strecke prädestiniert dieses Gelände für die Bergziegen im Feld.

The last stage through high mountains goes to the north of Kashmir.
After 26 very flat kilometres the stage rises up to the Gulmarg, a mountain of the highest value. After Downhill and updill on the Udur the stage becomes flat for mehr then 50km. The field will be aligned by the sprinterteams who want the points in Kupwara. Then the last uphill to Kamah begins which is very long and a paradise for mountain riders.



Letzte Runde im Kampf um den Sieg. Von Srinagar geht es zunächst nach Süden, ehe man von der Nationalstraße abbiegt und sich dem Dacham National Park zuwendet.
28km geht es zumeist flach, ehe es dann hinauf geht mit Steigungen von 7%.
Bergfahrer mit passablen Zeitfahrerqualitäten oder Zeitfahrer, die am Berg nicht automatisch abreißen lassen haben hier bessere Chancen als reine Zeit- oder Bergfahrer.

Last Round of the fight for the win. From Srinagar the stage goes to the south, but then it is leaving the National Street to the Dacham National Park.
28km are very flat, but the last seven km show slopes up to 7%.
Mountrain drivers with competent time trial qualities oder time trialist which are medium mountain riders have better chances to win then mountain- or time trial-specialists



Zum Ausfahren eine kurze Etappe nach Delhi.
100 flache Kilometer für Sprinter und solche die es werden wollen. Am Ende ist nach 12 Tagen alles vorbei.

For the finish the last stage to Delhi.
100 flat kilometres for sprinters and those who want to become one. The end of 12 days.


Das ist das Ende meiner Präsentation. Ich hoffe ihr mögt es ein bißchen trotz der drei Zeitfahren.

This is the end of my presentation, hopefully you like it