do they repair the roads for the tdf?

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

or are they always good enough to do 55mph downhill? try that in the uk and you'd pothole and die, probably.

 

[psmiffy]

Some of them - I have ridden sections in the alps that are to be used for the TdeF a couple of months later and they were out busily redoing the surface and repairing the barriers - big sign saying that they was why it was happening

 

[maurice]

I rode to Nice a couple years ago and the vast majority of roads were extremely well surfaced compared to what you get in the UK. It's one of the reasons why France is such a great place to ride.

 

[guitarpete247]

Do they get as much frost damage to their roads as we do

 

[psmiffy]

I suspect that in the Alps they get rather more than us plus there is a little bit of abrasion due to snow ploughs and chains on the roads they keep open in the winter

 

[Globalti]

When you consider the prestige of having the Tour pass through and the competition that takes place to get it, I'd imagine that well-surfaced roads are part of the deal. European roads are so smooth anyway; far better than in this cash-strapped country.

 

[raindog]

I live close to the TTT circuit of last year. Part of it is way out in the sticks on a narrow, twisty, little used road. Three weeks before the Tour, to everyone's amazement, they started resufacing it - they finished off the last bit a few days before the race. It's really weird now to see this narrow black ribbon snaking across the countryside. Ironic really, because without the Tour, that road wouldn't have had any attention paid to it for years.
No potholes here? ha - I ride on roads that can be downright dangerous on the descents. And it's difficult to see the holes because they're under trees and are disguised by the dappled shadows. If the roads these days in the uk are worse than here they must be bloody horrendous.

 

[ufkacbln]

or are they always good enough to do 55mph downhill?

They did!

try that in the uk and you'd pothole and die, probably.

They didn't

1974 - Plymouth-Plymouth (163.7km)

The Tour's first visit to English shores, to celebrate the UK's entry to the Common Market, for the second stage of the 1974 race, was a low-key affair. With most of the route on the windswept Plymouth bypass, it did not prove the most enticing of prospects for competitors or spectators. Holland's Henk Poppe won the stage while Belgium's Joseph Bruyere retained the yellow jersey.

1994 - Dover-Brighton (204.5km) and Portsmouth-Portsmouth (187km)

In contrast to 1974, the two stages of the 'Tour en Angleterre', marking the opening of the Channel Tunnel, were a roaring success. Inspired in part by Chris Boardman's victory in the prologue a few days earlier, over three million spectators packed roads along the south coast. Unfortunately, the Barcelona gold-medallist could not hold on to the yellow jersey long enough to wear it on home ground. Francisco Cabello of Spain won the stage into Brighton while Italy's Nicola Minali was victorious in Portsmouth.

 

[Arch]

No potholes here? ha - I ride on roads that can be downright dangerous on the descents. And it's difficult to see the holes because they're under trees and are disguised by the dappled shadows. If the roads these days in the uk are worse than here they must be bloody horrendous.

It's swings and roundabouts. I'm just back from 2 weeks in France, and I don't know that I found the roads lots better surfaced than in the UK - we had some really rattly rough bits (worse for a small wheeled trike I think, than 'smooth but with potholes'). In previous years I have felt they were better in france - it might just be the luck of the draw on our route - plus being more familiar with the local roads I use most round here. Overall, I have a slight feeling that France was better.

I think one thing that seemed better in France was that in villages and towns there wasn't the huge number of patched bits where utility trenches and so on have been filled in - here in York there are some junctions where the whole junction is a mass of patched bits - with all the edges breaking up. Maybe the French are better at coordinating utility work.

I went out past the new Uni campus last week, and I used the nice big wide smooth cyclepath running through it, instead of the road alongside. Lovely surface, in a golden sand colour,only built in the last 9 months. But already, and the site isn't fully open yet, there are two trenches dug across the entrance, patched in with black tarmac. Joined up thinking?

 

[raindog]

It's swings and roundabouts.

Obviously, and here, it varies from commune to commune. Some village roads are really badly maintained, others not. A big problem we're starting to get here is with speed bumps. All villages have them now and they're constantly adding to the numbers, but some are well made and slow down the traffic and yet you can fly over them on a bike no problem, others, even if you slow right down, feel as if you've broken your frame in two.

Just out of interest, where in France did you go Arch?
(sorry if this thread drift is out of order)

 

[rich p]

I'm just back from 2 weeks touring in la belle France too and I would say that the state of the roads in general was far better than the UK but that's a subjective and anecdotal.

 

[frank9755]

I did Manche to Med in May. I felt the French roads were miles better than the UK.

In 900 miles I only encountered a couple of the 'ratty' bits. What I particularly noticed was the standard of patch repair. In France I could generally not feel the join where roads have been patched up, but in the UK you have, at best, a significant bump.

On my ride this morning I was on a section which has been re-surfaced, but not very well, with the cracks that were there beforehand, stretching across the road, having been tarred over but not filled in - great!

I agree with comments about utiility trenches - don't seem to get those in France but here they can be like crossing tramlines.

The standard does vary across Britain. In part because of the heavy traffic, London and the South East are generally bad. However some councils do try harder than others. The Chilterns is apalling, but Essex seems to be better with, I imagine, similar traffic levels.

FWIW I was in Albania a few weeks ago. Some of their roads are very bad, but the overall average is better than the UK too!

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

the roads from rossendale to manchester are appalling, that said tho, bury does seem to have slightly better road quality. the local roads in rossendale are absolutely terrible and rattle your teeth loose in parts and the utility repairs are awful and haven't stood up to last years summer / winter well.

the country roads around nelson are excellent but narrow. so i suppose i see what you mean about quality varying from area to area.

back on topic, i just noticed the road quality on tdf today does look ropey, but that's just judging from the tv.

 

[rich p]

the roads from rossendale to manchester are appalling, that said tho, bury does seem to have slightly better road quality. the local roads in rossendale are absolutely terrible and rattle your teeth loose in parts and the utility repairs are awful and haven't stood up to last years summer / winter well.

the country roads around nelson are excellent but narrow. so i suppose i see what you mean about quality varying from area to area.

back on topic, i just noticed the road quality on tdf today does look ropey, but that's just judging from the tv.

Armstrong's rode quality was a bit ropey!

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

[/quote]


Armstrong's rode quality was a bit ropey!
[/quote]

+1 and clever apt play on words