A post by the notoriously ill-tempered Donkey! Better run away, hide, don't read, ignore, safest thing to do? Or not? Anyway, due to the hypersensitivity of the fcp when it comes to Donkey posts there will be no insults, but they are very much implied, feel free to fine me for them anyway.
Giro design, fast, but... yes, as often is the case imprecise.
Today's stage:
Twice pavé: 1km before 1 km after the last intermediate in Biancavilla. Today in the train I had some time... little research:
In the center of Biancavilla there is indeed some pavé. But it's the "big platten" kind of pavé, don't know how to say that in English. It's a bit over 1 km.... . The map on the Giro site (on the mobile at least) is rather unclear where the route passes exactly, so if we pass there...? From google street view it's it's MAXIMUM *. Possibly 0. But if we go to la flamme rouge, they design the route as going off that road before this kind of pavé starts, and there is exactly 0 km of pavé. 0 meters. It's perfectly fine sicilian asphalt (sicilian asphalt of course includes potholes and lots of "risse" etc). Actually I'm not sure why we have pavé there, couldn't find any info on pavé being there? Maybe Gipfel can enlighten us?
Another problem with today's stage: Last kms 6-3-0. It should be 6-5-0. Looking at the excellent Girosite-info....
Exhibit 2:
Another ** pavé. And street view confirms. There is pavé. Around 300 meters. Easy city pavé. With a non-pavé band. At times 2 non-pavé bands. So... clearly should be no pavé for us. Even without the band (which makes it 0 pavé anyway, regardless of length) it's *, considering the length 0. Here the Giro organization wrote in the description: "breve tratto di pavé"... but better check how short. And how hard. ** is very very clearly wrong here. Completely wrong.
So: Gipfel is a bad designer, let's insult him. Due to his sloppy work actually today's stage might change considerably, a 2** pavé before a climb? A single climber ending up behind the second climber of a team with 2 climbers? Will potentially cost energy, thus time. Very bad. So,
down with Gipfel! Right? Right????
No, wrong. Well, partly, down with him, yeah, but not only.
Why did nobody check, he posted it early enough. RKL/Donkey as calendar assistant, isn't that his job? Actually not really, no, not his job to check every race, but while of course others had as much reason to check, let's concentrate on the Donkey. At least he's interesting.
The Donkey didn't check because....
a)
Robyklebt wrote: ↑Mon Apr 25, 2022 5:15 pm
Any complaints about the Giro design? (
I don't have the energy to check, even if I'm sure I would have stuff to complain about)
b) He was planning to make a point, which he's doing now... He didn't check, but was sure that Gipfel would as usual ignore the Giro climb infos, at least at times, for reasons that are a bit a mystery to me he does that every year... Why ignore such a great source? So knew I was going to have something to argue later on...
Back to a)
The Donkey didn't have the energy. Poor weak whiny Donkey. Yeah...
Since the Donkey took over the job as "calendar assistant" in late 2017 I think, he has been designing more and more 1 day races. Right now it's at 100%. Earlier occasionally we would get somebody that would design a one day race, this year not, and I'm pretty sure last year neither. 2020 possibly? Yes, but it's your job Donkey, don't whine!
Actually, it's NOT my job.
The job is:
- Send 1 or multiple calendar proposals to Luques.
- Keep track of the suggestions in the forum
- Send and updated proposal to Luques
- Put the races online
You could add:
-Organize the designing. Make sure everything is designed.
I intereprete that as. Design as a normal designer, but do the leftovers too. But for the last x years the leftovers has been... every single one day race. And quite a lot of tours too.
This year we've had Gipfel designing all stage races in February and the whole Giro. Excellent job, thanks. OF course Gipfel should be the last one to help me designing, he has a more important job nowadays. Work on the react conversion.
Now I don't even mind designing a lot, although every single one day race... that's a bit too much. But ok. But what makes it worse this year is: WE have no more sprint fantasy races. And..... yes, you guessed it, almost nobody is designing them. Hansa and Falkenbier did fantasy races this year so far. And Big Donkey. Who has been left designing flat(tish) races regularly because otherwise we simply wouldn't have them for the calendar.
So, that's why the Donkey didn't check. He simply spends too much time checking if a race has a different route this year, then designing it, then designing 2 sprint races because we need them. Not in the mood to spend another hour checking Gipfel's Giro design. (Which in general of course is good, his refusal to use the Giro source (or at least not always) is puzzling, his addition of pavé this year a bit surprising, but in general good. But yes, the Donkey still should have checked, he didn't. So,
Down with the Donkey! Right! Right?
No... actually it's down with the rest of you. Because it seems to be a case of: Nobody gives a fuck.
Good.
Planned this as a nice August surprise, but can say it now. From August on the calendar will change. Since nobody bothers designing, from August on we will have a maximum of 10 real races in the calendar. In August + the Vuelta. Which I can help design if necessary, but won't design if others do it.
For the rest, 10 stages, sorry, not races. So for sure either Benelux or Poland won't be in the calendar. Maybe neither. Neither Plouay nor Hamburg will, don't enjoy designing those too, will choose 10 others. Not design means no checking if there's a route change either. I choose my 10 races, I send the preview to Luques or post it in the forum, then design or check those 10 races. (A number that still can change)
You really really want a category 5 race like Plouay in the calendar? Easy. You check. A good thorough check takes 3-5'. Not much (why don't you do it Donks? Well, if it involves checking 20+ races, as sometimes happens, that's 1h to 1h40'), so everybody should be able to do it. Everybody that cares... Then if nothing changed, you write that in the forum and I will add it to the preview and put it online (if it's early enough) If it changed, you design it. Or if you can't, find somebody else to do it, since not many people have access to the editor anymore, some password bug. Can't find anybody? My turn to give a fuck, I design my 10 races nothing more. I will check your designed races and if they are too bad, sorry, no, refuse to put that online.
Harsh Donkey? Yes, but after most people didn't care at all for years now... good job, we won't continue like that, I do my job (calendar assistant, not designer), your turn to work. See May calendar, it's mentioned what is missing, as I have regularly over the years, it's being ignored.. ok, as you like, I might go down to 5 races until August, I might go up again, depends on the amount of designing done for May/June/July and the stupidity of the reactions here....
