Plan de Corones trouble

JRMDC said:

see the current state of preparedness on the Plan de Corones as witnessed in these photos. Thanks to Procycling for the link.

ustariaposta.itindex.htmlOpen ↗

WBT just posted it.

thebluetrain said:

WBT just posted it.

Always first with the news ! 🙂

whiteboytrash said:

Always first with the news ! 🙂

Yes you are.

I wonder what gearing will be used at these points? Unless it's a deception of the camera, they'll be off and walking.

Ullefan said:

I wonder what gearing will be used at these points? Unless it's a deception of the camera, they'll be off and walking.

Cunego Danielson et al have said they will use either 34 or 36 X 28-29!!
and these are the best and lightest climbers in the world!!!
Thats what I used on Alpe d"huez last year!!! 🙂

Ullefan said:

I wonder what gearing will be used at these points? Unless it's a deception of the camera, they'll be off and walking.

Yates has confirmed that Disco (at least Danielson) will be using 33-28.

Walrus said:

Yates has confirmed that Disco (at least Danielson) will be using 33-28.

I think it is a stupidity beyond belief to have a modern race on unpaved roads on gradients of a ski slope simply for spectacle. Its not a race at that point but a mountain bike fiasco.

The Green Mountain Stage Race in VT does the same thing in the US over a big gravel road on one of the mountain passes..well fine for local color and all, but when 5 out of 20 riders in the lead pack field get eliminated because of flat tires and theres little neutral access...the race becomes something else. My kid did it a few years ago and the Vermont Road Dept decided to re-gravel the road the week before the race, the organizers didnt know and there was three inches of loose gravel all over a narrow back road. I lost my taste for gravel and unpaved roads watching really good kids pop their tires and sit at the side of the road waiting 10 minutes.

Neutral service and team cars wont be able to have access on Corones. They are trying to turn it into Paris Roubaix of the mountains. Bad idea...or else turn it into an extreme sport with no service, everyone bring their own tubes and pumps and patch kits and do a 24 hours of Stelvio fest like the white trash mountain bikers in the US.

Its the last 5km of the stage so it won't be a problem for the cars.... neutral service motorbikes will be able to reach the riders...... it will be the greatest stage in the history of Grand Tours....

bobke said:

I think it is a stupidity beyond belief to have a modern race on unpaved roads on gradients of a ski slope simply for spectacle. Its not a race at that point but a mountain bike fiasco.

The Green Mountain Stage Race in VT does the same thing in the US over a big gravel road on one of the mountain passes..well fine for local color and all, but when 5 out of 20 riders in the lead pack field get eliminated because of flat tires and theres little neutral access...the race becomes something else. My kid did it a few years ago and the Vermont Road Dept decided to re-gravel the road the week before the race, the organizers didnt know and there was three inches of loose gravel all over a narrow back road. I lost my taste for gravel and unpaved roads watching really good kids pop their tires and sit at the side of the road waiting 10 minutes.

Neutral service and team cars wont be able to have access on Corones. They are trying to turn it into Paris Roubaix of the mountains. Bad idea...or else turn it into an extreme sport with no service, everyone bring their own tubes and pumps and patch kits and do a 24 hours of Stelvio fest like the white trash mountain bikers in the US.

I personally think it's a great idea especially after the Colle de Finestre last year. I can't wait.

[font=Verdana][font=Arial][/font][font=Verdana]This makes very interesting reading for cycling fans and geologists alike ! I’m very excited about the personalized turns… I’m going to get a photo of myself standing in front of the Pantani switchback at turn 1….

The final climb [/font][font=Verdana][/font]

[font=Verdana]The most demanding course section of the 17th stage, and probably of the whole Giro d’Italia 2006“ is the final 5 km leading from the mountain pass Passo Furcia (1739m) up to the summit of the mountain Plan de Corones (2275m). The course runs on the unpaved terrain of a forest trail, which is used by ski lift technicians for transporting materials to the ropeways on Plan de Corones and by farmers for accessing their woods and alpine meadows.

In winter most of the street is hidden under a 2-3 m layer of snow, upon which the slopes run. The skiing season 2005/2006 officially ended on April 23rd and until this day the street culdn’t even be seen. The organization committee “Al Plan Events” began clearing away the snow on April 24th. Heavy snow-grooming machines moved the snow off the course and layed it bare in order to allow the terrain to dry up. After the melt water had streamed off and seeped away, drainages were installed and a new substructure was built.
The first 1000m from Passo Furcia follow a moderate uphill terrain with an average gradient of 11.6%. This section, like the entire track, will be covered with a special layer consisting of rock debris, taken from the [/font][font=Verdana]Marebbe[/font][font=Verdana] [/font][font=Verdana]Valley[/font][font=Verdana], and stabilized with 4 % cement.

This ecological mixture has been developed by geologists of the Autonomous Province Bolzano in behalf of Danny Kastlunger, technical director of the organization committee. The layer will be characterized by a rather coarse surface and it will be as resistant as a compact gravel road.

The enormous advantage of this kind of surface is that it makes the street resistant to significant weight and promotes good course surface drainage. The course will therefore be well passable even in case of heavy rainfall or even snow. The same material will also be used to pave the last 2 kilometres before the finish, where the gradient is even higher and the climbing harder. The sharp turn at the mountain hut “Geiselsberger Hütte” marks the beginning of the steep section with a gradient of up to 26%. The last 1.15 kilometres follow again a moderate uphill of about 13.3%. Even if not so steep, this course section will also be covered with the special layer in order to guarantee a good climb to the riders and unproblematic access to TV motorbikes.

The new surface will be placed with special machines and left to dry for 5 days until it reaches the best possible consistence. All works on the course section between Passo Furcia and the finish will be completed by [/font][font=Verdana]May 19th, 2006[/font][font=Verdana].

Personalized turns

13 of the main turns on the crushed stone track between Furcia Pass and top of Plan de Corones have been personalized to former winners of Giro d'Italia, which are already dead, to honore them and to improve the orientation in this section of the race. This is the list of names: (13) Gaetano (Tano) Belloni, (12) Costante Girardengo, (11) Giovanni Brunero, (10) Alfredo Binda, (9) Learco Guerra, (8) Giovanni Valetti, (7) Gino Bartali, (6) Hugo Koblet, (5) Fausto Coppi, (4) Gastone Nencini, (3) Charly Gaul, (2) Jacques Anquetil, (1) Marco Pantani.

Turns will be provided with grafic panels, reporting the picture of rider, the turn's number, sponsors and the official name of race. Cycling-fans or souvenir-hunters can try to buy one of this panels on www.ebay.it from 18th of may on, for a week time. It will be an unique chance to become the owner of a part of this historic stage of Giro d'Italia.[/font]
[font=Verdana]
Attention[/font][font=Verdana]:

The course between Passo Furcia and the summit of Plan de Corones is closed to all vehicles and persons until the arrival of the racers. It is therefore not possible to view or to attempt the course on bicycle, except for the professional racers, who participate in the Giro d’Italia. Any presence must be communicated to the organization committee “Al Plan Events” since machines may be operating on the course and put athletes at risk.

The stage finish is set on the summit of Plan de Corones, a ski mountain with a wonderful 360 degree panoramic view of the [/font][font=Verdana]Alps[/font][font=Verdana] and the Dolomites. [/font]
[font=Verdana]The first riders are expected to reach the finish on May 24th around [/font][font=Verdana]5.00 p.m.[/font][font=Verdana] and will be welcomed by the sound of the 18-ton bell “Concordia 2000”, one of the world’s largest free-swinging peace bells.[/font][font=Verdana][/font]

[/font]

El Loto said:

I personally think it's a great idea especially after the Colle de Finestre last year. I can't wait.

I've ridden up roads of similar composition to what they are doing on the Plan de Corones in Switzerland. There is a bit of loose stuff on the top, so descending is no good but its not a problem during the ascent, just make sure you have tough tires. As long as the track is made properly everything should be fine, though I don't think climbing out of a saddle is going to be an option on the 24% sections due to the possibility of wheel slippage. If everything goes according to the organisers plans I don't see any problem with this finish, even if it is raining on race day. Mind you, if it rains really hard or rains for a few days leading up to the race then there might be a few issues. Overwise, bring it on.

Eldrack said:

As long as the track is made properly everything should be fine, though I don't think climbing out of a saddle is going to be an option on the 24% sections due to the possibility of wheel slippage.... Mind you, if it rains really hard or rains for a few days leading up to the race then there might be a few issues. Overwise, bring it on.

This is starting to sound ridiculous. How will non-climbers finish?

wicklow200 said:

This is starting to sound ridiculous. How will non-climbers finish?

They'll have to swallow their pride and run a triple, nice 1 to 1 ratio should be good.

bobke said:

I think it is a stupidity beyond belief to have a modern race on unpaved roads on gradients of a ski slope simply for spectacle. Its not a race at that point but a mountain bike fiasco.

The Green Mountain Stage Race in VT does the same thing in the US over a big gravel road on one of the mountain passes..well fine for local color and all, but when 5 out of 20 riders in the lead pack field get eliminated because of flat tires and theres little neutral access...the race becomes something else. My kid did it a few years ago and the Vermont Road Dept decided to re-gravel the road the week before the race, the organizers didnt know and there was three inches of loose gravel all over a narrow back road. I lost my taste for gravel and unpaved roads watching really good kids pop their tires and sit at the side of the road waiting 10 minutes.

Neutral service and team cars wont be able to have access on Corones. They are trying to turn it into Paris Roubaix of the mountains. Bad idea...or else turn it into an extreme sport with no service, everyone bring their own tubes and pumps and patch kits and do a 24 hours of Stelvio fest like the white trash mountain bikers in the US.

I haven't been over Appalachian in particular, but I've never punctured on any of the unpaved roads around here. It wasn't the race oranizers' fault that 5 out of 20 in the lead pack brought the wrong tires. The Giro organizers aren't trying to turn the race into anything. Steep climbs up awful roads have been part of that race since the beginning.

wicklow200 said:

This is starting to sound ridiculous. How will non-climbers finish?

Some of them definitely with HD.🙄

Eldrack said:

They'll have to swallow their pride and run a triple, nice 1 to 1 ratio should be good.

In my opinion, triple is better choice than 33-28 for all riders. There`s plenty of normal climbing before and they won`t need 33-28 there. It will be interesting to see which gear will they choose because it`s a big gap between 33 and 53 (maybe they`ll have smaller one). But of course they know what they`re doing. I think it`s probably a weight problem why they won`t have triple. Sprinters of course won`t care about these few grams.

How many punctures will we have? 3000?

I saw that question before...🙄 Max. few more than usual..check the pictures and you`ll see what they did with gravel.

Virenque said:

I saw that question before...🙄 Max. few more than usual..check the pictures and you`ll see what they did with gravel.

Are they using quick drying cement?

http://www.slate.com/id/2141629/

I STILL think the idea is cool, but wait for the final verdict.
I mean its cool the organizers are trying to shake things up, make it a climbers race, and go retro and old school and all but if a mechanical decided the outcome of the race that would be too bad, I mean like Paris Roubaix and the train--we dont need that.
But if all is good then game on.

I just worry about the outcome if a flat decides the race.
Unlikely.

What I REALLY want to see and why I think Jan will withdraw?
Pictures of Ullrich over the top.
There will be thousands of photo ops at that point.
And he does not need to stress his knee, but he does need to finish the race.

bobke said:

I just worry about the outcome if a flat decides the race.
Unlikely.

But it can happen, and that´s why I hated this idea.

Those tires are made to give these riders max speed nowadays, not durability. Also the ground should be quite slippery, so imagine if Basso falls while making a hard push for the win and eventually misses the Giro and the Tour.

And many guys like McEwen will be in serious risk of not getting there on time.