Doge

The World Championships come to the USA next year!
Over half of the racers are not professional - or making above a poverty wage. Junior women, Junior men, Women pro...

The course is a circuit where riders will be seen more than once.

I do think the USA junior men have a good shot at podium again in the TT. Maybe the RR.

hokie cycler

Here's a link to the courses. Word around town is that a portion of the road circuit may be adjusted but the bulk of it will remain the same. The collegiate championships tested the courses in May. Courses

I work one block from the courses. This is going to be really cool!

KantoBoy

Where's the "prime" spot in this course?

Having watched TdF this year and GP Mtl, I looking to watch the Giro and this one next year since this is "close" to me.

StanSeven

Glad you posted this. I just made reservations. They are expecting 450,000 people so rooms will go fast.

Dan333SP

I'm in Richmond and did handups for a couple of my collegiate teammates that were in the collegiate national championships in May. I also got to race on the downtown Criterium course in the open 3/4 field, it was excellent.

As far as "prime" spots, that will definitely be Libby Hill Park. It was a great atmosphere for the collegiate races: good crowd, cobbled and steep road, cowbells, lots of dogs and such. For the Worlds, it will probably be completely packed long before the races start as it's an obvious place to watch.



One of our fellow forum members (Zitter) posted this video that he took from a helmet cam during the road race. It'll give you an idea of the route, he enters Libby Hill at about 18:28 into the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D14UhutvImw

I'll be taking that entire week off from work to watch, I can't even tell you how excited I am that this is coming to our back yard.

hokie cycler

Word is that there will be a jumbotron on Libbie Hill that will broadcast the race. 23rd Street is a one block, partially cobbled climb that is brutal.

Strava Segment | 23RD!!!

Doge

That video is a great resource. I didn't know there were cobbles. Boo!
I do not favor cobbles in the RR (or TdF). It adds more variability to an already very variable race. Do stuff like this and the guys that train all year to be the best are putting their wins to chance. Makes training less worthwhile.

Dan333SP

One of the guys on my team prepared all year for that race. He got his Cat 1 upgrade this year, he won a bunch of Collegiate A races in our conference, he got profiled on the local news... He wrecked while leading the crit the day before, and had a little damage to his derailleur mount. 2nd time up Libby Hill in the road race, he dropped his chain because of the damage and couldn't fix it on the road. He took a bike from the neutral support car, but the damage was done and he never caught back on.

Without the cobbles, it might not have happened and he maybe would have stayed in the lead group. He still thinks they're a great addition to the course, and I agree, makes for very dramatic viewing and it presents a unique challenge. I don't think the flat probability goes up all that much, especially if the riders take the gutter line which is essentially smooth concrete all the way up. They'll have to fight for position to get there, though.

Dan333SP

It was also just announced that the building the riders cross under at 17:42 of that video is going to be turned into a restaurant/beer garden for Stone Brewery's new East Coast operation. Their main brewery will be across the street. If it is open by next September, it would make for a hell of a viewing spot because they go under the building, round a hairpin, and then come back around the other side.

Doge

I bet few would think the TdF was better this year without Froome and Contador.
Having our favorite Pro Tour racers crashed at the side/dropped because someone introduced a mild cycle-cross course into the Worlds is not what most want to see.
Leave the cobbles to PR.
Leave cycle-cross to - cycle cross.

Bout ready to give up and focus on track.

hokie cycler

The restaurant is not supposed to be open for two years.

Dan333SP

Gah. Oh well. My office is in Rocketts Landing, so you know where I will be every Friday after work in 2 years.

hokie cycler

The cobbles are Libbie Hill which is pretty bumpy but it is fairly short, 23rd Street is mostly asphalt with a few cobbles at he base and up the right side, Shockoe Slip which is two blocks of granite setts which are smaller and rougher than cobbles. Monument Avenue is asphalt block pavers and are nothing like cobbles. The are somewhat like the Champs Elysees pavers, maybe a little less rough.

Dan333SP

The section that may catch the pros out is at 1:21 of this video-

part 3 2014 Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships Division 1 Road Race 5-4-14 - YouTube

More cobbles, they were hitting them at 30+ MPH so I'm sure the pros would be even faster. I've ridden down that stretch many times and it's pretty jarring on regular 23mm tires.

Doge

My kid's goal is to be racing it. That section changes equipment choices and a whole bunch of stuff. Unlike the guys we watch on the Champs - I pay for a lot of it, as do the other non men's pro racers. I have beautiful 180g tires behind me never raced. I wouldn't put those on that course.

RollCNY

Froome crashed the day before the cobbles, and then in the rain before the cobbles. Contador took a spill days later on a descent. I don't believe anyone crashed out in the cobbles themselves.

To say that cobbles invalidate or reduce the value of training is, IMO, a significant exaggeration, and a bit childish. Bike races are rarely won by the best trained. They are more often won by the best racer.

I am not saying it to be argumentative, but I do think the best racer won the TdF, and would have even with Froome and Contador still racing.

hokie cycler

The Tour and one day road races are very different. They are an integral part of the classics.

hokie cycler

The cobbled sections are all different but I will say that the two block stretch through Shockoe Slip is the roughest one. It's downhill and the riders will be moving pretty quick through it. Use grip tape on the water bottle cages. We saw a lot of water bottles fall out during the women's collegiate road races.

Good luck to him/her and we hope to see you here.

Doge

Guys road the tour (other years) with broken bones. If there were no cobbles do you think Froome would have retired then? I root against Froome. I wanted him healthy to see him beaten. I believe the course beat him.

Being the best trained increases your odd of winning. Introducing snow, mud, cobbles, and extremely tactical courses changes that.

Doge

First - thank you for the great information.
Now to the argument...
This year - there were no cobbles.

Anyone know the last men's RR with cobbles?

BillyD

In before the move . . . to Pro Cycling . . . from Road.

Doge

Why? More non pros are at the worlds than pros. I put that up front. Maybe the monitors don't know that.

dbf73

locals - what are the odds of rain that time of year there?

gsteinb

road cycling is about road cycling, not really racing on the pro or amateur level.

seypat

No way to tell. No real trends at this time of the year. It is at the end of hurricane season. The wife and I have been training for the Richmond Marathon since May. I do the long runs on Saturday and she runs on Sunday. Between us, I think we have a total of 4 days with rain. One of those was this past Saturday. Same for temperature. It could be in the 50's or it could be in the 80's-90's. You never know.