Eritrea Ethiopia Peace Tour
For the 4th time already the legendary designer RKL proposes a tour including Ethiopia. After 2007, 2008&2017, now in 2018 there is a big innovation. Not only Ethiopia, but Eritrea as well. This year for the first time since Eritrea's independence the land border between the 2 countries was reopened, we decided to celebrate this event and make our stage race in both countries. Actually to be precise, the border reopened mostly thanks to us. No peace, no open border, no proposal in 2018, we threatened the Ethiopian prime minister. Despite our notorious lack of success with Ethiopia in the December Tour competition (really think some other designer should give it a go in the coming years, the terrain is there..), that threat worked, and the Ethiopian side was very eager to negotiate. On the Eritrean side it was even easier, we include you if you open the borders with Ethiopia. Said and done, RKL the peacemaker brings peace to the world. An additional argument for this peace process was: Help to stop the blatant racism at c4f against Eritreans and Ethiopians. Despite their success in the rival UCI series, where a decent number of Eritreans and one Ethiopian ride for WT teams, here at c4f they are still denied a licence. Get another passport they are told. Scandalous in this day and age, countries like Tuvalu, with 0,000000000001% chance to ever produce a good rider are welcome, but Eritrea and Ethiopia not? Ok, Tuvalu now used their 0,000000000001% chance and hit the jackpot with Fiu Sofiga, so maybe not a good example. Anyway, high time for c4f to be inclusive and hand out licences to Eritrea and Ethiopia. By proposing a tour here, we can highlight the issue, and maybe finally something will be moving.
So, once we got them to talk and finally open the border, the next problem was the name of the tour, number of stages in what country, start, finish. In the end we agreed to start and finish in Eritrea, but a higher number of stages in Ethiopia. Eritrea first in the name, but Ethiopia as official organizer, since c4f demands that one country is listed as organizer.
Some general information
- No intermediate sprints
- Mintact 30km (29-31..) unless written otherwise
- Rest day on a Sunday, to get the votes of people who can't normally ride at their usual time on weekends.
- Not the highest quality design, just gpsies, no cool time consuming google earth for ultra precise following of the roads and so on, so the track might be off at times.
- climbs when in doubt double checked with gps track analyse net.
- Some (but not all) short stages for people who are busy buying christmas presents for RKL
- 5 sprint stages, 4 HC stages, 3 classic stages and 1 ITT
Stage 1:
Start in Assab on the red sea, we head inland towards Ethiopia, cross the border after 81 km. No major obstacles, the toughest climb is the 2km climb at the second GPM, 2 km at 5%, the finish in a valley at a tiny looking settlement called Dedai or Deda'i.
The specialists comment:
Edgar Schmalztorus:
We start at the red sea
What's it gonna be?
Let's be blunt,
it will be a hunt
but the sprinter will prevail
as sure as the mailman brings the mail
Fuck Zürchers, drown the fags before the start
Fuck Zürchers, after drowning them cut them apart
Dead Zürchers are the best
There's no use for the rest
In Assab we'll enjoy the breeze
No danger to freeze
Inland it will be bloody hot
I'd feel llike smoking pot
Dedai I'd win for sure
Against me, there's no cure
Fuck Zürchers, drown the fags before the start
Fuck Zürc..
Ok ok, enough Joggeli Rapper, that's not exactly what we expected, somehow fear this might hurt more than help, even if we appreciate that in his old age the Joggeli Rapper made a whole new song for us.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 2
Another sprint stage, shorter this time 150 km. Start with a 9 km climb, that could put some sprinters and some helpers that rode a lot on stage 1 in trouble. But after that there's 141 basically flat km, there's only 1 km at 5% and one at 4% after that, so normally all the sprinters should contest the win on stage 2 as well.
The specialists comment:
Fabrizio Conti
A bit too easy for my taste, a good start, but then later, another hill would have been nice, and if I was still active, better for me. Like this we'll see a fight for the mountain jersey in the first 9 km, after that maybe an escape, but in the end should be a straight forward mass sprint.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 3
First middle mountain stage. And we come close to 2000 meters above sea level for the first time. The last pass tops out at 1980 meters. Then a short downhill to Kombolcha, finally a bigger town with proper hotels.
The specialists comment:
Daiken Sekiguchi:
A middle mountain stage, but not a very difficult one. 2 km at 6% on the climb to Bati, then 7-6-5 on the category 3 at km 129. The rest is 5% or less. So a sprint of a restricted classics+climbers group seems likely. Of course a strong classic might be able to get away and stay away on the downhill, but normally should be for a classic sprinter. Hill sprinter? Or normal sprinter, no, the category 3 is too close to the finish, and with climbers and strong classics in the race nobody will come back there normally, so you'll need around 70 mountain for the win I guess.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 4
The GC fight starts. 194 km, 2 HC mountains. For breakfast an unrhythmical climb to Diesse, from there we leave the paved road and go on gravel roads, but not deserving of any gravel status at c4f. Game play issues, 150 km at * or ** kills everybody for days On a false flat up to a little pass, then down the valley along the river, up to the highlands, down to another river on the other side, up to the highland again. The last 22 km then are hilly, flattish, just a +7 km at km 192. Mintact km 158
The specialists comment:
Evaristo Zipoli
A nice stage, I like it. It can be ridden in different ways, depending on who wants to gain time on whom. Since the tour is not that hard generally, some riders might feel the need to drop others already here. A strong group of climbers can make the difference in the last climb. But depending on how hard the first HC climb is ridden, a comeback by superclassics is not impossible either. Personally I'd feel confident dropping everybody on the last climb and then finishing alone, I always felt I could ride the flat well too. But you'll have to pay attention not to spend too much energy too, the next day is another hard one.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 5
The second hard GT stage in a row, this time we finish on the climb itself. Basically a long loop, if we went to Debot (or Babasat, depending on the map) we'd be there in less than basically flat km. But first we go down to the valley, then start the climb up to Lalibela, turn right and head towards Dilb. There we to the downhill to Weldiya, short lap in Weldiya and then the riders go up the same road, but stay on the paved road in Dilb, until the top.
The specialists comment:
Lotfi Zafzaf
The stage is not easy, there's lots of small climbs from the start. But due to the length of the final climb, I don't expect much action before that. Some might try to go for the GPM jersey, but except the cat 1 in Dilb, there's not that many points on the road. Mostly category 4... The final climb is long, scenic, spectacular, but not nearly as steep as the ones we had yesterday. Basically 6% average, so weaker climbers should be able to defend themselves, with proper support.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 6
A sprint stage. From Debot, or is it Babasat? Anyway, from the village itself, not the highest point of the road where we finished the day before, but from the village itself, 1,4 km away. Downhill to Weldiya again. A few hills, and a flat finish, with the last few km slightly rising, the last km is a +2.
The specialists comment:
Michael Creek
The 2 preceding days will be hard for the sprinters, so the downhill at the start will be very welcome by most sprinters. Even if the stage will be fast, by riding a steady, but not hectic tempo in the first 35 km the sprinters should recover nicely. The rise to Weldiya a first chance to test their legs, then the category 4 to Gobiya could put some sprinters into trouble. The hardest km is at km 66, 6%, then 71 at 5%. Those sprinters that will survive that, will stay in the peloton, the only other slight difficulty comes at km 77 with a 5%. The sprinter teams should be able to bring their sprinters to the finish in the peloton, but maybe some of the sprinters that had to help their mountain leaders in the days ahead could suffer here. But expect attacks from the start, after all with the rest day coming, many riders will spend more than they would normally.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Rest day!
Short transfer to Mekele, where the teams will spend Sunday recovering from their work.
The specialists comment:
Aodaghan MacBradaig
I love rest days. Mekele culturally isn't so interesting, no Irish stuff. Churches, but not Catholic, fortunately no Church of England either. Some Ethiopian orthodox stuff. I'd go for a beer instead.
Stage 7
214 km, middle mountain stage. Long, but not too tough, the first third is the hardest, then there's a flat stretch in the middle, and only at the end we have short climbs again. Should be for classics, or an escape.
The specialists comment:
Qiao Baoyu
Long, but not too hard. You'll need to be explosive at the end, get away on the last steep hill. Or not lose too much time on the climbers, collect them in the downhill and flat, drop them, win. I'd give myself excellent chances to win here.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 8
The third HC stage, a downhill finish, something that we need too. 112 km, mintact 74. An early climb, that due to the shortness of the stage could be used to sieb and keep away helpers, then the final climb. In 3 steps, progressively easy. Not really what we wanted as a HC stage, too easy, but since there's very litte in Eritrea, we had to do it in northern Ethiopia. We even tried to renegiotate the deal, forget Eritreas finish, but Eritrea threatened to close the border again, so this is it.
The specialists comment:
Yuri Gamov
Tough climb, you really can make big differences in the first part, 5 very hard km, especially the middle 3 ones. Then the second step, easier, then 4 basically flat km, and the easy third step. But you can make the difference in the first step. Downhill, take risk, the top is steep, the bottom easier. For me? 2 climbs in a row would be much better for somebody like me, as I showed in the past, but I'd feel confident to drop everybody here too.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 9
A hilly stage, 182 km. We start going up the pass to the West of Adigrat, the same one we came down the day before, but in the downhill the road splits, we stay on the main road. We leave the main road at Inticho, to cross the second hard pass of the day. In the final then there's 2 more hills, that should prove decisive for the stage. Similar to stage 7, but the last hill is a bit further away from the finish.
The specialists comment:
Nicolas Legrand
Stage 7-9 will be important for classics like me. 2 good chances, and for very strong ones maybe stage 8 can work too. Here I think it will be a classic sprint, even if somebody manages to get away on the last hill, with some flat before the downhill it will be hard to stay away. I'd have had 0 chances on a stage like this, too much downhill, which I never liked much.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 10
No, we haven't forgotten the sprinters. Their fourth stage. 154 km. We leave Adwa, heading north, towards Eritrea, and at the lowest point of the stage we cross the border and leave Ethiopia behind us. After a gradual climb topped by 5 hard km we pass the only difficulty of the day, the cat 2 GPM near Adi Quala. After that there's 81 basically flat km, normally sprinters should manage to get their sprint rather easily.
The specialists comment:
Jamaluddin Ghazali
The stage is short, but the climb is tough. A couple of strong teams with rather good helpers can make the difference here. And the climb is tough, yes, there's 81 km left, but if 2 or so teams decide to try to get the sprint without the sprinters who suffer more in the moutains, it's certainly possible. And this stage could be decisive for the points jersey to because of that.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 11
The 4th and last HC stage. 159 km, mintact km 118. The final climb is long, but not very hard. The pre climb, the cat 2 short and steep, then the climb is under 6% average, first around 6% then lower. A short descent, then the last 8 km are tough again, at least the first 6 of those last 8. We'll finish on top of the climb, near a settlement that's probably called Guritat.
The specialists comment:
Helios Hochuli
The stage is rather short, lots of downhill at first, then the long climb. By it's length, it should create enough differences, the last part then is very hard. Bullshit, I'm not paid nearly enough for this. Differences will be minimal, it will all happen in the last 8 km. The winning attack will come between km 152 and 157, before that simply the climb is too easy. From 136 to 139 there's 1 km a 6%, the rest less. Before at 6% average basically. All strong climbers will wait for the end.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 12
The ITT, 33 km from Guritat to Asmara, where we finish in front of the government palace. The first 10 km are slightly downhill, the rest then basically flat, but undulating.
The specialists comment:
Caius Todea
A TT, not too long, I liked them longer, and with some climbing. Here the climbing skill will be mostly irrelevant, but some downhill skill might make the difference
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
Stage 13
Asmara-Massawa, we go back to the red sea. The 5th and last sprint stage. 117 km, so short. We do a short 5 km lap in Asmara first, then directly down to Massawa. From Nefasit to Gahdelay we'll use the same roads we did 2 days earlier.
The specialists comment:
Eitan Kaniuk
Well, something for the pure strong sprinters I think. Can't really imagine somebody like me, or Sofiga surprising them on a day like this.
http://www.radsportfreaks.de/radsport/p ... ension=c4f
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