The first one is a race through Dagestan: the province where all the Russian villains in movies come from. It's in the very south of Russia, so the race could also be on the calendar in September/October when the need for fantasy races is the highest.
The race runs through the lower parts of the Caucasus and finishes in Makhachkala. Most likely the hilly sprinters will get their chance for victory here.
The other race I designed is a race in the honor of Tamerlane (locally known in Uzbekistan as Amir Temur). He was one of the greatest rulers of all time and ruled an empire that encompassed most of Central Asia and Persia. Temur should be just as famous as Dzhengis Khan and Alexander the Great, but is less known due to the fact that his empire collapsed shortly after he died. The race starts on Amir Temur Street in Samarkand: a beautiful city along the Silk Road. In the first few kilometers the riders will pass by the lovely Registan Square - one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited, Google it if you never heard of it - and then goes through the mountains to the town where Temur was born: Shahrisabz. The finish line is close to the tomb where Temur was buried.
The race should be a very open one: probably sprinters will not survive the mountain, but the final flat part is probably too long to control completely for teams that want a hilly sprint. So we might see some attacks here. Perhaps even some sprinters can come back, because they will most likely only be siebed in the final kilometers of the climb.
