Heya guys, I've been around the site a while now, and i've tried my hand at most things. However up until now i've never looked at stages. I've played around with some tutorials i found here and decided that i'd throw myself into it by making a fantasy variant to the tour of britain...
The Route
Stage 1
It's hard from the start here, almost 200km travelling from Newcastle to North Berwick. The day follows the Scottish east coast so expect a lot of wind to make things difficult. If they can stay safe it should be a day for the sprinters to start us off, but a powerful team could potentially shred the peloton here.
Stage 2
Stage 2 travels further into Scotland with a 186km ride from Aberdeen to Inverness. The peloton have to cross the Cairngorms and it is during today that we reach the high point on the race. In total today there are 1748 height meters, and there a collection of climbs which will be an early test for the guys with high ambitions towards the GC.
Stage 3
Back into England now, as the riders travel south from Carlisle to finish in front of the famous Blackpool tower. A relatively low total of 800height meters, along with a flat final 80km should mean that today will be another on the sprinters hit list.
Stage 4
A long and hilly day which moves from Manchester, across the peak district before turning south away from Sheffield and finishing in central Derby. A relatively short stage, which carries many threatening climbs in the first half. The main question remaining is whether or not the easier second half will allow the sprinters to come back to contest the win.
Stage 5
After a short bus ride from Derby to Stoke, the riders set off on a difficult day which will surely be key to the GC. The only summit finish of the race which climbs up first the Nant-Gwynant pass, before finishing atop the summit of the Llanberis pass. It'll be likely to decide the GC so expect explosiveness upon the final 2 climbs!
Stage 6
Stage 6 will be another with potential to affect the GC. Whilst it is fairly short, the tough climb up Fish Hill will be tough on the legs, and from there to the finish line in Banbury the racing remains up-and-down. The stage is 164.9km in length, but coming towards the end of the tour, it may cause some splits once more.
Stage 7
The last road stage of the tour travels 155km from Minehead to Salisbury. It's a last hurrah for the sprinters with less than 900m total ascent on the stage.
Stage 8
A time trial in the middle of the capital to finish off the race. 14.7km shouldn't cost anyone too much time, but it'll be a nice finale to the race, starting across Tower Bridge, before completing the circuit in front of the famous Tower of London. After that all which remains is to present the jerseys to there winners, and then begin preparations for the following year.
So...
Couple of things, firstly do you guys like the look of this route? and secondly, any suggestions for route improvement?
I'll look to get going on building the stages in the next few days, to be finished by early April with a bit of luck!
Edited by baggieboys32 on 12-03-2013 21:41
