Wednesday 24 March 2010 at 23h59

In December 2009 I already announced here that the Critérium International 2010 will take place in Corsica, in and around Porto-Vecchio. After 9 editions in the French Ardennes, this will be a first for the French island.

Today you can discover, as usual for several cycling races now, the Critérium International 2010 route on Google Maps and in Google Earth and the route and time schedules of this race which will take place this weekend.

If Jens Voigt (Team Saxo Bank) won the Critérium International for the 5th time in 2009 (of which 4 times in the Ardennes, in 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2004 and once in the Vaucluse in 1999) it was far from sure that this year's route in Corsica will allow him to add a 6th victory to his list of victories. Finally his team, Team Saxo Bank, doesn't participate and he can thus not defend his title.
After his victory on Paris-Nice 2010, Alberto Contador (Astana) decided to also participate in the Critérium International and this race will thus be the first in 2010 in which he will battle with his former team mate and one of his biggest rivals, Lance Armstrong (Team Radioshack).

The route and the time schedules of the Critérium International 2010

1/ Saturday 27 March 2010 - stage in line - Porto-Vecchio (harbor) > Col de l'Ospedale - 175,5 km

The first stage of the Critérium International 2010 is a mountain stage which will be quite selective right from the start in Porto-Vecchio with the climb of the Col de Parmentile in the south point of Corsica. This will be followed by a loop, to the west going through Sartène and Propriano, before going back east by visiting Sainte-Lucie-de-Tallano and Levie before the climb of the Col de Bacinu. After a short visit to Porto-Vecchio, the Col de l'Ospedale, on top of which the finish line will be drawn, will probably allow a climber to take an option on the final victory of this Critérium International.

The start of this stage will be in the Port de Plaisance of Porto-Vecchio at 11AM and the riders will follow the Avenue Georges Pompidou, the Rue Giudice Di Cinarca, the Avenue du Maréchal Leclerc, the Rue Jean Jaurès, the Rue Maréchal Juin towards the real start on the N.198. The finish will be at the top of the Col de l'Ospedale on the D.368 at the Lac de l'Ospedale on the left, at the end of a 450 m straight line and after a final climb of 14.2 km at 6.2%.
3 intermediate sprints are on the programme, in Pianottoli-Caldarello, in Sartène and at the crossing of Porto-Vecchio before the riders start the climb of the Col de l'Ospedale. The feeding zone will be in Propriano.

Below you can find the route and time schedule, the stage profile and the route of this stage on Google Maps. Click on each of the images to zoom in on them.

2/ Sunday 28 March 2010 morning - stage in line - Porto-Vecchio > Porto-Vecchio - 75 km

The second stage will take place on Sunday morning and forms a double loop around Porto-Vecchio.
On the only 75 kilometers a leading group could well break away until the finish and offer the stage victory to one of the riders of this group. It could thus be enough to seize the right moment to take a lead and, depending on the time gap, maybe even take an option on the final victory.

The start of this stage will be on the Quai Pascal Paoli in Porto-Vecchio at 9.10AM and the riders will follow the Rue Commandant l'Herminier, the Voie Romaine, the Rue du 9 Septembre 1943, the Rue Maréchal Juin, the N.198, and finally a road without a name where the stage will really start. The finish will be in the Rue Maréchal Juin, at the end of a 1 km long straight line.
1 intermediate sprint is on the programme, at the crossing of Porto-Vecchio after the first loop on the south side of the city. The only climb in this stage is the one in Pagliaggiolo.

Below you can find the route and time schedule, the stage profile and the route of this stage on Google Maps. Click on each of the images to zoom in on them.

3/ Sunday 28 mars 2010 afternoon - individual time trial - Porto-Vecchio > Porto-Vecchio - 7.7 km

On Sunday afternoon the last stage will take place in Porto-Vecchio: an individual time trial on a very technical 7.7 kilometer long route. A time trial specialist could thus well use this last opportunity to win back some of the time lost in the previous two stages and maybe even get away with the overall winner's title of the Critérium International 2010!

The start will be on the Rue John Antoine Nau, where it crosses the Quai Pascal Paoli on the right, while the finish is planned on the Avenue Georges Pompidou at the end of a 400 meter long straight line.
The first rider will start at 1.40PM and the last one at about 3.40PM. Based on a 48 km/h average the time it will take the riders to get from start to finish is estimated at about 10 minutes.

The Critérium International 2010 route in Google Earth

You've just discovered all details of the stages of this 79th edition of the Critérium International with especially the route and time schedules (itinéraires horaires), the stage profiles and for each of the stages the route on Google Maps.

If you would like to see the full Critérium International 2010 route at once on a map, you can download the file below and open it with Google Earth.
> Download the Critérium International 2010 route in Google Earth

This file will not only allow you to see the full route in Google Earth, but also to do a virtual fly-over over the route of one or more of the stages. To do so, you can of course use the default settings of Google Earth gebruiken, but if you want to do a fly-over which really gives you the idea you were on your bike riding on the roads of the Critérium International 2010, I recommend you the following settings: in the menu Tools > Options choose the tab Touring and fill in the following choices on that tab:
- Camera tilt angle : 80.0 degrees
- Camera range : 150.0 meters
- Speed : 500.0 (if this makes you feel dizzy or if your computer or Internet connection don't allow you to get clear images with these settings, you can try lowering the speed)

Follow the Critérium International 2010 on www.velowire.com

I will be on Corsica to assist to the 3 stages of the Critérium International 2010 and this weekend I thus propose you to follow this race with summaries of the stages in the Critérium International section of this site and with photos of the Critérium International 2010.

door Thomas Vergouwen
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this publication is published in: Critérium International

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