Grande Boucle Féminine/Women's Tour de France 2009

[Skip Madness]

***EDIT***EDIT***EDIT***
For anyone reading this for the first time, we are following the race in the Boucle/Trentino/Zeeuwsche Eilanden thread - this one was started a year ago and is really more about the organisation of this year's race.
***EDIT***EDIT***EDIT***

Over at the Velo Féminin website they have put up a PDF file here outlining vague details for next years route.

Some welcome news is that after only six days this year and five the previous two years, next year's event is set to be up to eight days, a little step back towards to the format of the race's glory years.

But the big item of news for British followers is that, as anticipated, the race will kick off in the south of England. There is still no confirmation in words of the specific locations where the stages will start and finish, but on the map in the PDF document the Grand Départ is clearly shown as Plymouth's location. From there the route heads towards Portsmouth, where the race then transfers over to Brittany. Given the distance from Plymouth to Portsmouth, it is unclear whether or not it will involve a transfer to Portsmouth after Stage 1 or if we will in fact be granted two stages of the race. Either way, it is very good news.

The race finishes in the Basque Country after going over the Pyrenees. The PDF is also touting better media coverage, claiming that it will be relayed in more than 35 countries. It is worth exercising caution with one's optimism given the problems the race has had in recent years, but it does all sounds very promising.

 

[CotterPin]

Thanks for showing us this, Skip. Looking at the pdf it suggests the event is in the UK for three days from the 14th to 16th June. If it does come off, it looks like it may be more than one day's racing.

 

[Skip Madness]

Thanks for showing us this, Skip. Looking at the pdf it suggests the event is in the UK for three days from the 14th to 16th June. If it does come off, it looks like it may be more than one day's racing.

Oh you're right - I missed that bit. There should be plenty of opportunities to see this for those of us in the South, then.

 

[Keith Oates]

If it's 3 days in the UK it will certainly be a good time for the British ladies to show their potential!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CotterPin]

Thinking of it, with three days in England and one day in the Basque region - for an eight day event, that's half of it not actually in France!

 

[Skip Madness]

Some updated information now, courtesy of Le Blog du Cyclisme Féminin:

Pierre Boué, organiser of the Grande Boucle, confirmed to the English site Cycling Weekly that the grand départ of the 2009 event will be in Great Britain. He has been preparing this for at least a year and wanted the race to depart from London like last year's Tour de France, but this was not possible. In tribute to Nicole Cooke he would like to give the départ to Wales, possibly en route to Portsmouth or Brighton. He announced that there will be a big gala on the day before the departure and two stages on British soil. One might already suppose that the Grande Boucle will be the big objective in 2009 for the new Olympic champion.

A couple of things there, then - firstly having initially thought it would be Plymouth that would get the départ there is now the possibility that Wales will get the first stage. The downside looks to be that on the PDF posted in the opening post, the three dates given for the British leg of the race obviously include the gala/presentation as the first, meaning that: a) as Boué mentioned, we "only" get two stages; and by extension this indicates that the race will be seven days long rather than eight.

I am still excited about this, though, and from my point of view an opening stage in South Wales would probably be easier for me to get to than one in Plymouth, depending on exactly where it starts.

 

[Keith Oates]

Plymouth or South Wales, it doesn't really matter so long as there is some action in the UK. Perhaps, just perhaps the UK is begining to make a mark in the rest of the cycling world and that has to be good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Skip Madness]

It is worth exercising caution with one's optimism given the problems the race has had in recent years, but it does all sounds very promising.

I am glad I mentioned exercising caution, because every piece of news about next year's race seems to be another blow. Over at the UCI website they have put up the calendar for the 2009 season, and the Grande Boucle is listed as taking place from the 16th to the 21st of June - six days, another one lost into the ether. It could be a typo, but Vélo-Féminin - the race's organiser - has been having to cancel all of its one-day races this year for some reason (one would presume financial); the Women Cycling Tour, Trophée International, Trophée Vélo Féminin, Trophée des Championnes, Critérium des Cyclistines and Trophée des Stars all called-off.

Six days would be the same as this year's race, and one would presume that in line with recent editions one of those days will have two stages. I don't know how flexible the calendar is - races get shortened at short notice all the time but I don't think I have ever heard of a race having days added when it has already committed itself to a calendar slot, so it may be that Pierre Boué has weighed up the possibilities of next year's event and decided to play it conservatively. I suspect a lot of the other ambitions he had stated for 2009 - much bigger teams, more television coverage etc. - will be scaled back as well. On the other hand, these sacrifices could be in order to assure that they can get more riders and teams, so I guess we will have to wait and see. I really would not be surprised if the British start gets called off at this rate, though, and moved back to France. At the very most I cannot see us getting more than one stage.

Looking at the calendar there is no mention of either the Geelong Tour or the Geelong World Cup, which is surprising. On the other hand the season will open with a new stage race in February, the Tour of Qatar, and the five-day Vuelta a Costa Rica has regained its Elite classification and moved from October to May. The other interesting thing is that once again the Vuelta a El Salvador and Vuelta a Occidente will be run separately - I do not understand why the organisers don't just merge these two races into a nine-stage Vuelta a El Salvador. They will have all of the same riders taking part anyway, stick in a rest day if you think the weather will be a bit much.

 

[Skip Madness]

When the route was announced I was not expecting good tidings, but it is even worse news than I thought:

Four days? Four days? When Boué mentioned all of that stuff I posted up last year, did he have any idea how he was actually going to do it? Maybe sponsors he thought would be on board have pulled out - that is the only thing I can think of. He was organising the Boucle prior to 2003 when it was a two-week event, wasn't he?

This is very disappointing. It was becoming apparent that the British start was not going to be, but I thought we would still see a race run along the same lines as last year, not losing another two days. It doesn't look like there will even be a double-stage day to pad it out a bit, either.

So the British départ will have to wait for another year. Or at this rate, another century. The race will begin in Bressuire on Thursday June 18 with an individual time-trial - I have no idea how far. The next day sees the route go from Bressuire to Niort. Then there is a 340km transfer (look at it!) on Friday evening for the next stage from Hagetmau to Pau. I cannot see any real climbing on those first three stages so it looks like the final stage on the Sunday from Irun (in the Basque part of Spain) to Anglet (in the Basque part of France) will be the only big one. I am guessing, from looking at that diagram, that it will include the following climbs: Puerto Ezkurra (14.0km at 3.4%), the Jaizkibel (7.6km at 5.3%) and the Col d'Ispéguy (8.6km at 4.3%). Those are just guesses as there are no further details at the moment.

 

[Skip Madness]

Bump.

The official parcours has been released along with a stinging editorial aimed our way from Pierre Boué:
[quote name='Pierre Boué][FONT=Verdana' date=' Arial]
Following the painful retreat of the United Kingdom, which passed up the grand départ after more than a year of working and planning, the Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale will not leave from the other side of the Channel. This is an astonishing volte-face that fits in with the peculiar politics of Britain on the European level. On top of that, the Welsh have squandered the opportunity to pay homage to Nicole Cooke, the finest champion in Welsh history.[/FONT][/quote]
So that would appear to explain why it is only four days long - Britain withdrew from the first two and there was not enough time to reorganise.

Anyway, the race:

Stage 1: Bressuire - Bressuire (individual time trial) (18.3km)
Stage 2: Bressuire - Niort (62.5km)
Stage 3: Hagetmau - Pau (92.7km)
Stage 4: Irun - Anglet (128km)

The last stage contains the only real climbs, which are the following:

Cat. 1 - Alto de Jaizkibel
Cat. 1 - Alto de Erlaitz
Cat. 3 - Col de Saint-Ignace
Cat. 3 - Col de Piniodeta
Cat. 4 - Côte de Souraîde
Cat. 4 - Côte de Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle

Altogether it is a bit of a relief to see that although the race is hardly moving forward from its present form, it does not look like it will be moving backward much and this year ought to be a blip.

There is also some preliminary news about the 2010 race. It will be in July instead of June, from the 13th to the 18th - in fact it will probably start only two days after the Giro ends! This may be so that they can get it to clash with the men's Tour and see if they can ride a bit more coverage.

Edit: It is also amusing to see in the race bible that profiles for the climbs on the last stage were just pilfered from Altimetrias.net and the File of the Slopes of Europe.

 

[resal1]

Thanks Skip, that is so disappointing. It used to be a fantastic event. I saw it a couple of times in the late 90's, and again in 2003. It had a publicity caravan. Not enormous but there, sort of like the old Kellog's Tour of Britain caravan. I saw the race in 2005 and it had lost the caravan. It looks like it is just about hanging in there.

Quite what the deal was with BC and how far it got, would be interesting to know. I heard that at one stage they were talking about starting in London but BC came along and told London not to bother.

It is a pity that there isn't a 2 week women's tour. It would really give a focus to the season.

 

[Skip Madness]

It is a pity that there isn't a 2 week women's tour. It would really give a focus to the season.

It is a massive shame. Both the Boucle and the Giro have, I believe, gone a fortnight in years passed - in fact in one year the Boucle had seventeen stages thanks to two days of double-stages. The Giro has had editions of at least fifteen stages, too.

The UCI appear to be stifling the possibility of longer races, though. The following all come from the rule books available on their site to download:

2.6.007
Elite women's world circuit
The maximum duration of each event shall be that of 2004. The duration of new events in classes HC, 1 and 2 is limited to 6 days, unless an exemption is made by the management committee.

This is a little unclear to me, as it could be saying that the maximum allowable duration is that of the rules in place in 2004 (I do not know what those rules are). More likely, I interpret it as saying the maximum duration is that of the longest races in 2004 (10 days, which I think the Tour de l'Aude was the only race to fulfill). I would be interested if anyone can clarify this.

There are ridiculous rules on maximum distances, too.

2.6.008
Women's elite stage races
Maximum average daily distance: 100km (excluding prologue)
Maximum distance for a single stage: 130km
Maximum distance per ITT stage: 40km
Maximum distance per TTT stage: 50km

2.6.009
With a special waiver from the executive committee, organisers may be authorised to include in elite women's races one stage only of 150km maximum.

2.3.002
The maximum distance for one-day road races shall be as follows:
Women Elite
World Cup: From 120-140km
1.1: Maximum 140km
1.2: Maximum 140km

2.4.001
Individual time trial distances
The distances shall be the following:
Women Elite
World Championships/Olympic Games: Maximum 20-30km
Other events: Maximum 40km

Some of those are pretty grim - 140km the maximum allowable distance for a one day classic? 30km the maximum allowable distance for a World Championship time trial, and 40km the maximum allowable distance for a time trial full-stop?

I seem to recall reading (and please anyone correct me on this if I am wrong) that the low distance restrictions are to reduce the event of riders resorting to drugs. Even if it has that effect (which is arguable), the same standards should be applied to the men (adjusted for the quicker speeds, fair enough). But there would of course be outrage if the UCI said that Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Tours had to be cut from 300km to 180km. And yet, in effect, the rules for women's races say that they can't be allowed to go past the equivalent of a 180km men's race in the first place.

To be honest, shorter women's races do not actually bother me in particular since it makes for very aggressive racing. But the option of a longer race should be there if organisers and riders want one. Obviously they don't hold it any more, but when they use to run the Primavera Rosa it would be 120km. Milano-Sanremo is all about the distance - if the men's race is 300km then the women should at the very least have got the option of 200km.

But going back to stage race durations, what I find frustrating about the Grande Boucle post-2004 is that the Tour de l'Aude is able to hold a longer race despite the mountains and the time trials usually being nowhere near as good. Does the fact that the Aude is restricted to the Aude département make it easier to organise? Surely the costs of infrastructure are still considerable? And if the Aude can afford it, why can't the Boucle?

Ah well - I guess we are waiting on the Giro parcours now.

 

[Skip Madness]

Quite what the deal was with BC and how far it got, would be interesting to know. I heard that at one stage they were talking about starting in London but BC came along and told London not to bother.

Interesting. I remember Boué saying he had wanted it to start in London but that, "it wasn't possible." Why that would be at the behest of BC I do not know.

 

[resal1]

I believe Boué was invited to the Mayor's office and they discussed a possible stage start after the Men's tour had the start in London. All going well and then the rumour has it that someone from BC, who had never ever seen the women's tour, turned up and poured cold water on the project and after that it all fell apart.
Thanks for all the info on the race rules. That is fascinating. Its Official - keep the stages shorter to stop drugs creeping in, but we don't want to stop the madness on the men's side.
As you say, in reality the length of the races barely alters the dramatic conclusion. It probably makes the whole thing watchable as opposed to - see the start, go and do something, come back and watch the finish.

 

[andrew_s]

Its Official - keep the stages shorter to stop drugs creeping in.

That's a potty idea. Drugs help you go faster over short distances just as well as they do over long ones. All it takes is one mountain.
(based on the idea that the effect that 3 weeks cycling at 3500-4000m had on me is a good indicator for what EPO does).