Looks like we are basically saying the same thing!
It is entirely plausible that we are both in violent* agreement.
Regarding Hungary, it has been on TCR routes in recent years and there is guidance on routing in the country in the manual so it is clear there is no veto on going there. The reason they haven't routed there is that Romania is not in Schengen - so there would be border controls wherever you went to the south.
As I said before, we saw border controls spring up within Schengen pretty quickly back in March, so I'm not sure that it means much, but that's clearly the reason.
A basic principle of travel is that you are a guest in someone else's country and you have to take it on those terms, and fit in with their values, their dress codes, their laws, etc.
Yes, however the rules and laws in Hungary have changed since it was last on the route of the TCR. Part of being a guest in another's country is not turning up where you're unwanted... I would not do a TCR if it went through Hungary.
The ferries are basically a lot of stress. Especially when they open up other routes, which will likely happen if the race is able to go ahead at all. Partially this is my comfort zone, in that I don't like to have to make complex decisions when riding but it's not entirely that.
Firstly you have to make a call when you make a booking. If you make the booking early, more likely to get the wrong time. Leave it late and there might not be space.
When you've made it you have a hard deadline which = stress.
How does the check-in process work? How long do you need to allow? More stress.
One approach is to throw money at the problem and make 3 or 4 bookings to be sure of the optimal crossing, but that would be expensive and not open to all riders.
What will actually happen is that a lot of riders will get their partners to do the booking for them. Mostly these are not bad people and will probably otherwise obey the rules, but this kind of complex decision creates circumstances which invite cheating into the race.
Missing a ferry in Bari and riding 6-7 hours to Brindisi is unlikely to be a winning strategy.
Agreed, the ferries are regular, but I wonder how much capacity they run at. I've used them in the past on my way to Krete, but I did so booking in advance. It's going to be an interesting element.
A brief search on greece-ferries.com shows that there are two a day from Bari to Igoumenitsa, but they are only 30 minutes apart in the evening. So missing a ferry would mean upto a 24 hour wait for the next departure. Where as from Brindisi there are two a day, at 1300 and 2100. Obviously this may change nearer the time, it may be the timetables aren't finalised. But if you miss the 2000 from Bari, then getting to Brindisi for 1300 the next day seems distinctly plausible. You'll arrive in Greece about the same time you'd be leaving Bari if you waited...
It could be tho that you get to Bari after say 0500, you're unlikely to make it to Brindisi for the 1300 sailing. So is it worth continuing for the 2100? or get a hotel room for the day, and rest, eat, etc...
A lot of very stiff, but well rested cyclists are going to roll off the ferry in Greece...
I'm not a fan of the big off-road sections.
I think on this we are in agreement.
Again, I accept that it is partly my comfort zone. I appreciate that they are very pretty (especially if you get there in daylight) and they are, in principle, a good test of bike handling skills, but I think there are serious safety issues with them.
They are great for someone who knows what they are doing to ride on a mountain bike, on a sunny day. But there will be lots of people with little off-road experience riding them on the wrong bikes with the wrong tyres, with luggage which impairs bike handling who will be going up regardless of the weather and time of day but with inadequate clothing if the weather turns bad - as it does at 2750m - especially at night. With a high col on road, you can get back down to safety if the weather closes in, but on one of these you are stuck.
FWIW these sections were not part of the race when Mike ran it, other than the Strada dell'Assietta in 2015, which he put in because Ultan Coyle was riding a TT bike. When I did it in 2016 it was possible to ride entirely on tarmac.
The Strada dell'Assietta is classed as gravel, but it's very different from the gravel sections that were in the Balkans on the last two editions. You can take a pro tour pelaton along the white roads. You wouldn't do that on either of the recent Balkan sections. At least one rider in 2018 took his tracker off the bike, walked up the parcours, and then reattached the tracker before continuing, that should never be the preferred option... I do feel that the route should be safe to ride for anyone on a road bike. In that respect CP3 is a little bit outside that. But in the grand scheme of things, it's only 16km, so I'll largely swear at the mountains and hope. But I have some knowledge and experience of being on foot in mountains like these (just not with a laden bike). One thing I will be adding to my pack tho is a compass. The free section near the summit, I will feel more comfortable with a compass, but that's me. I am pretty certain I am going to do the route west to east. I think I want to climb up those switch backs, not try and ride down them. Esp as I'll be on GP5k tyres... That also means that the descent at the other end is on tarmac. I don't know if this will be quicker, but I think it will be safer.
I notice there is an Alpine hut at the western end of the route. There are also two drinking water sources on the parcour, and one at the western end.
J
* for values of violent
