Tiroler Klassiker (Tyrolean Classic)
Good morning,
He's my idea for an alpine race inspired by la Flèche Wallone. I was imagining that the organisers of the Tour of the Alps could make it happen, and it would be at a similar time of the year to the stage race (in the Ardennes block, before or after).
Meran/Merano to Imst (Hoch-Imst). 206 km with 2810 m of climbing, as the profile shows.
For context, la Flèche Wallone is 200 km with 2970 m of climbing.
The start of the race is gently uphill, and builds fatigue. The 59 km to Malles Venosta - Mals are a dragging false flat but with a few steeper sections.
Then comes Reschenpass, 7.7 km at 5.3%. No steep gradients but these first 70 km could be important for the formation of a rouleur-powered breakaway.
I imagine that Andreas Leknessund would do better in the breakaway here than in Flèche.
After the plateau and the crossing into Austria it starts to get nervous. At Nauders, instead of going down Reschenstrasse, the riders cut across to Norbertshöhe and drop down to the valley of the Inn. This descent is technical, with ~15 hairpins in 5 km.
The next section of 7 km is on Via Engiadina in Switzerland, the third country on route.
They cross back into Austria and the next 75 km are down the Inn. The roads are quite straightforward, but do have some modest winding down the valley, beside the stunning blue water.
After 177 km of racing the real action starts. It's been on main roads up till this point, but now the riders go up to the Meiminger Plateau (10 km at 4.7%, summitted with 21 km remaining). On this climb the pace can really be pushed, and it is set up for the final. The descent is moderately technical, with a few sweeping hairpins but not like Martinsbrücker straße earlier.
The peloton then streams down 12 km of flat roads where dropped riders will find it hard to regain contact, and they reach Imst.
Then they take a left turn and the road to Hoch-Imst rises steeply above them.
While the Mur de Huy is 1.4 km at 9.1%, maximum 20%, Hoch-Imst is much harder, as it 2 km at 12%, maximum 26%. Instead of the s-bend, there are 7 different switchbacks meaning that it could be much more aggressive. Riders can easily lose sight of each other, so the dynamic is different.
Unlike Flèche, the riders do not take on Hoch-Imst before the final, so many will underestimate it. Of course, riders targeting it properly will have ridden recons. But, before the final climb, they've barely even ridden on double digit gradients at all. La Flèche Wallone tests who can still put out the power on 19% after having done it several times already. This tests who can do it after 204 km of big ring riding. Many riders will find their legs locking up.
Altitude is also a factor, though not huge. Reschenpass rises to 1504 m, which is significant.
The women's race is different. Instead of starting in Merano, it starts it Bludenz, so it is entirely in Austria. It is a similar dynamic to Milano-Sanremo and Genova-Sanremo.
Relatively speaking, it is actually harder, as Arlberg Höhe is 11.2 km at 6.3% — much harder than Reschenpass. It does feature some extended steep sections so Hoch-Imst is less of a surprise. Altitude wise, the women's race peaks at 1793 m — 289 m higher than the men's race. With 2640 m of climbing over 146 km, it is closer in cumulative climbing to Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes.
The final 72 km of both races is the same. Arlberg pass is 106 km from the finish so will not have an impact on the outcome of the race but it will be important for the breakaway.
I imagine that if Demi Vollering tried her long range move here it'd not have ended up well.
The name is a bit inaccurate as neither race is entirely in Tyrol but I couldn't think of anything else.