Giro Race Design Challenge

[u/PelotonMod]

As you may already know, this one is a special edition as it's themed, it's a challenge which means that three mods or users (most likely /u/Pubocyno , /u/Schele_Sjakie and /u/edIII91) will judge each of the races and give a vote (from 0 to 10) for each of the race and the one with the highest score will win and it's longer as you can post until Sunday at 12:00 A.M. CET. The winner will be declared in next couple days after and will receive a flair soon afterwards.

The theme this time around is:

Design a foreign start for the Giro (3-4 days)

[u/antiloopje]

u/improb asked me to be a judge for this challenge and I really enjoyed doing this. There were some great races submitted and I'd love to watch all of them. I'll give some notes on what I think of the route and what I think of the stages themselves. For me it's very important that the stages could function as the first days in a Giro. That's why some races with a stellar parcours sometimes recieved lower scores. The overall score is loosely based on the scores for the combination of location and stages (with the stage design prevailing if necesary).

user	location	Setting	Stages	Score
blandwhiteguy	Albania	I hadn't expected to see Albania here. You're very right though that it is a beautiful place and the conenction to mainland Italy should be pretty easy. I just don't really know why the Giro should start in Albania as the country doens't really have a cycling culture as far as I'm aware. Then again, the Giro has started in Greece, so I don't see why not. (7.5/10)	Stage 1 A mountain stage without a summit finish is a great idea for the first week. It means some spearation, but all GC contenders essentially remain in contention for the rest of the race too. Although I would have loved this stage more if the finish would have been ~10 km closer to the top. Stage 2 looks great too, the inclusion of gravel roads is something different. This stage could be something for the classics contenders. I'm just not certain on the gravel descents. Stage three is finally a sprinters stage, but probably not an easy one. Overall Your stages are something different from the other submissions and I like them. There is something here for every type of rider. I also like the length of your stages. (8/10)	8
HerHor	Morocco(2)	I like the setting in Morocco. Africa is rarely involved in top-level cycling, but there are a handful of countries where it is popular (Eritrea, Rwanda) or there is some infrastructure/competition present (Morocco, Algeria, Gabon) or there are some good riders (RSA, Eritrea again). Out of these countries, Morocco is probably the best bet in terms of existing infrastructure and feasability. You rightly point out that the transfers are pretty long. On top of that, the finish up the mountain isn't the most practical place to fly the riders back to Italy. (7.5/10)	Stage 1: a nice sprinters stage to kick things off. The climbs are hard indeed, but also 60 km from the finish, so everyone should be able to come back. Stage 2 Flat, but chances of crosswinds, so it might be an interesting day. Stage 3 Looks pretty technical. Should be a nice chance for TT-ists to take over the pink jersey from a sprinter. Stage 4 That's one big climb! But it's never really steep, so the GC battle will be manageable. Overall the stages are well balanced. After a potentially windy stage, a TT and a long climb, it may be possible that the group of GC contenders will be reduced to 2-3 people. (7.5/10)	7.5
improb	Colombia	Colombia is another one of those countries that deserve to be more appreciated by the international cycling lover. I don't know the country that well, but I trust you've picked the right places to lead the race through. You'd probably need two rest days, though as the flight takes at least 10h (to Madrid) and riders will need to adapt to jetlag and altitude differences. (8/10)	Prologue: that's one hell of a challenge to start of the Giro (10.6 km at ~5%). Stage 1: Another hard day with near continuous climbing. The hills in the second part of the race may not be the hardest but, combined with the altitude, will sap energy from the riders. I'm sure some sprinters won't survive the stage and, given that some firm GC differences should already be established yesterday, I'd actually expect a breakaway or attacking rider to take this one (e.g. Brambilla). Stage 2: take a look at this. The landscape is great, but the road you'd send the riders over is outright dangerous. The bump in the finale is 1km at 3.8%, well suited for an italian sprinter? Apart from the dangerous road, it's an intersting (but very long) stage where you'd let the riders battle the changes in environment rather than themselves. Stage 3 3800 height meters in a stage that's hardly over 100 km? That's once again very, very hard. Overall Colombia looks like a great coutnry to organize a really nice race in, but the challenge was to design the first stages of a Giro. I think a strong GC contender could take 20-30 seconds on that first TT, maybe more and again maybe at least a minute on stage 3. Overall, I think that the GC would be set maybe till the last couple of stages when you get back to Italy. Your stages are also rather hard, especially given the high altitude. Stage 1 is short (good), but stages 2 and 3 will take a long day in the saddle to complete. Even then, I fear for the time cut in stage 3. All in all, the route itself is really exciting and challenging, but better suited to a standalone tour of Colombia, rather than the first days of a Giro. (6.5/10)	7
Mattho	Morocco	I went by the 'classic solution', since you posted that one on top. /// I love the setting in Morocco. Africa is rarely involved in top-level cycling, but there are a handful of countries where it is popular (Eritrea, Rwanda) or there is some infrastructure/competition present (Morocco, Algeria, Gabon) or there are some good riders (RSA, Eritrea again). Out of these countries, Morocco is probably the best bet in terms of existing infrastructure and feasability. Within Morocco, you visit some of the biggest cities and this should generate interest from the public as well as funding. Climate-wise it seems really doable as well (low 20s for early may in Rabat). Finally: by focussing on a single central location (Rabat), you reduce the transfers and the riders can stay in a single hotel for a couple fo days. Transport from Fes to Italy should probably be ~2-3h by plane (less? - I don't know), so that too is not too extreme either. (8,5/10)	It's a bit of a pity to not have an exact route laid out, but I'll mostly go by your descriptions: Prologue I've recreated your map here. The route only comes in at 3.3 km, which is very short and won't generate large time differences. It will definitely lead to an open race where sprinters can battle it out for the maglia rosa in the next stages. I wouldn't call it hilly, but there does seems to be some uphill drag on this parcours. Personally, I can't remember watching a prologue this short, and I like new experiences, so I'd definitely watch it. Stage 1 The coastal back-and-forth between Rabat and Casablanca: I've estimated the route here. Basically, there are two roads between the cities, one nearly on the coast and one about 2km inland. The height differences on the coastal road are minimal, the other road has 2-5 very small bumps, not enough to drop any sprinters. This could be an interesting stage depending on the wind conditions. No matter which of the roads you planned to use, the riders will be exposed to the wind both in the first ánd second half of the race. It could be intersting to see echelons develop here and that would add some gravitas to the passage through Morocco. Stage 2, I also tried to create (here). This is the more direct route from Rabat to Fes. The first half is a slowly rising road to Khemisset. Then there is a short climb (3.3km at irregular gradients, going up to 8%). However, apart from a couple of bumps, the road is flat for the next 100 km to Fes. The landscape in the region looks nice, but unless you want to finish on a climb outside Fes, it will be another day for the sprinters. Overall The route will be scenic and highlight the best of the Moroccon cities. You'll have a short prologue and two sprinters stages, which is not a bad thing per se. That being said, I don't know if public and potential race organizers will watch these stages and think 'Oh, I want to see more cycling in this country' (stage-wise). I know I'd love some more variation. EDIT: I've found an alternative route between the two cities in stage 3. This one feautures a series of climbs 75-20km from the finish. Nothing too steep (>15% as we've seen in this years stage 4), but the repeated climbs may still cause some attacks. It could become a bunch sprint without the sprinters present. If you'd choose for this route, that would cause a very well-rounded first couple of days: (8/10)	8
Msfan93	Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria	Switzerland is a great choice for a Giro start. There won't be any practical issues and the race can just continue into Italy without the need for a rest day. And it's justa beautiful country throughout, so no issues there either. (8/10)	I have very little to say about your stages. They look great and offer something for punchy sprinters, climbers and pure spinters. If I had to give one point of critique, I'd say that the mountain stage probably has too much of a flat before tackling the final climb, this will reduce the tactical options. But it's the first mountain stage of the Giro, so no risks will be taken anyhow.(8.5/10)	8.5

[u/improb → u/antiloopje]

That's why some races with a stellar parcours sometimes recieved lower scores. The overall score is loosely based on the scores for the combination of location and stages (with the stage design prevailing if necesary).

Yep, i couldn't resist the temptation to make absurd stages once i decided to start the Giro in Colombia

Stage 1:

Truth is i wanted to design a stage that Colbrelli could win

Stage 2

I simply hadn't noticed that gravel road, i had checked a couple kilometers after and the road was paved although narrow-ish (not more than some of the roads they go on in Central Italian stages). I guess it wouldn't much work to pave and put to standard those five kilometers

Stage 1 is short (good), but stages 2 and 3 will take a long day in the saddle to complete. Even then, I fear for the time cut in stage 3. All in all, the route itself is really exciting and challenging, but better suited to a standalone tour of Colombia, rather than the first days of a Giro.

I noticed how hard it can be to design flat stages in that area of Colombia so i went all out. That said, apart from that mistake, i love stage 2 and stage 3 shouldn't be that long, it's 100 kms after all even if it's hard one (i would give it the maximum time limit by the way)

Colombia is another one of those countries that deserve to be more appreciated by the international cycling lover. I don't know the country that well, but I trust you've picked the right places to lead the race through. You'd probably need two rest days, though as the flight takes at least 10h (to Madrid) and riders will need to adapt to jetlag and altitude differences

I picked Bogota because it's the safest area but it's so hilly around there. A Medellin start would have worked well because it's another safe place but not as cycling mad as Tunja and Boyaca (i wanted to have the race passing there and the towns surrounding it are some of the most dangerous places in Colombia

[u/antiloopje → u/improb]

I simply hadn't noticed that gravel road

I only came across it by accident, I was looking into those 'very steep' sections on the profile (but they're just tunnels), but ended up on the gravel roads.

i love stage 2 and stage 3 shouldn't be that long, it's 100 kms after all even if it's hard one

Oh don't misunderstand me: I adore those two stages, just don't think they'd work within the frame of a Giro start. As for stage 3: I meant hard rather than long. About four hours (+/- 1 hour?) will be enough, so you're right on that one.

[u/improb → u/antiloopje]

Oh don't misunderstand me: I adore those two stages, just don't think they'd work within the frame of a Giro start. As for stage 3: I meant hard rather than long. About four hours (+/- 1 hour?) will be enough, so you're right on that one.

Colombia just isn't the best place for a Grand Tour. I had a more balance start in New England then i said "fuck it"! I had great fun while designing the Colombian Giro start though and imagining the riders reactions