http://www.letour.fr/2010/CRI/COURSE/us/100/etape_par_etape.html Profile of the finishing climb of...

http://www.letour.fr/2010/CRI/COURSE/us/100/etape_par_etape.html

Profile of the finishing climb of stage 1 in this year's Criterium International. Not so much of an Ardennes warm-up race this year it seems.

almost 2 years ago Phil H. 12 comments 0 recs |

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Maybe this is why Saxo aren't going

Can Jens do this

by thebongolian on Mar 13, 2010 1:49 PM EST reply actions

Jens said he didn't mind missing it so much this year, since it didn't play to his strengths as much as it has in the past.

It's fun to beat Cancellara--Edvald Boasson Hagen

by majope on Mar 13, 2010 2:56 PM EST up reply actions

then the race needs a new name

"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind

by umwolverine on Mar 13, 2010 3:39 PM EST up reply actions

then the race needs a new name

"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind

by umwolverine on Mar 13, 2010 3:39 PM EST up reply actions

Yes it does. Yes it does. heh

So this is now obviously a climbers race. It also overlaps with Catalunya and Coppi and Bartali so.. we are talking about B-grade climbers and Lance (who I think is doing this) plus Sky has (maybe) Lofkvist and Gerrans and Astana, Pereiro.

by ursula on Mar 13, 2010 8:15 PM EST up reply actions

Catalunya is becoming more of an Ardennes prep type race now

no mountain top finishes this year and many cat. 2 climbs, I wonder if this is a mistake by the crit. It was always a great Ardennes warm-up but a climb like that is not ideal for those classics guys to warm-up on, they’ve already lost their main sponsor in Jens! Voigt.

March 14, 2010: The great one returns!

by Phil H. on Mar 13, 2010 9:24 PM EST up reply actions

Tough neighborhood

Yeah Catalunya’s move is sucking the air out of Crit Int. Since Catalunya is a PT race and Spanish, most of the non-Italian GC guys along with a generous handful of non cobble oriented sprinters are going there. The Italians and a few others, meanwhile, are going to Coppi et Bartali as usual.

There’s no chance for cobbles guys what with GW now on the same weekend (and with E3). So Crit Int is left with B-grade climbers, Lance, Lofkvist, and French teams.

Perhaps it would be best to move the race back in the calendar. The next weekend just has Pais Vasco (no Italian stage races). Perhaps better yet might be the weekend of P-R, a week before AGR. It would again be in competition with Pais Vasco but if it moved back to the Ardennes it would be an even more obvious set up for the Ardennes Classics.Would ASO want to handle two races on the same weekend?

by ursula on Mar 15, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions

This is perfect for Danielson.

The race is so short that there won’t be enough time for his self destruct.

Wouldn’t the Gov. of the Island of Corsica have more to do with the changes than the ASO because of their desire to have a major race on their island. I mean they had to have put up a nice chunk of cash to host the race and ASO just worked with the terrain that was there.

Bicycling is the nearest approximation I know to the flight of birds. Louis J. Helle, Jr.

by flying dog on Mar 15, 2010 12:01 PM EDT reply actions

i guess this explains why conta changed his race schedule

he’s dropped catalunya and pais vasco and added:

criterium internationl
castille y leon
fleche walloone
liege-bastogne-liege

now, will la change his plans? or still ride the crit intl?

"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind

by umwolverine on Mar 16, 2010 1:48 PM EDT reply actions

He dropped Pais Vasco??

dammit that race is awesome, but I’m very happy he dropped Cat and added Crit Int., suites him far more and smoking Lance up a mountain top finish is always rewarding for him.

Proud member of Thuggetz nation.

by Phil H. on Mar 16, 2010 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions

If LA changes his plans then the world would see him as avoiding Bert

by ursula on Mar 16, 2010 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Alberto and Lance agree: holding this race in Corsica is a great decision.

If you’re not an Ardennes contender but you want to target the Tour or the Giro, a real mountain top stage plus a time trial in good weather conditions is just about perfect this time of year. And the rain and 8 degree weather of previous Crits should be a thing of the past.

The l’O’spedale climb is gorgeous…will make great tv. Col de Bavella is even more lovely but probably not as challenging…maybe another year. Hope to see this race in Corsica every year.

by Mr 60 Percent on Mar 16, 2010 2:18 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs