On day 48, youth division of teams will gather in front of the Palace of Khudayar Khan in the Uzbek city of Kokand. Situated in the wide Fergana Valley, Kokand is a major traffic artery and the last major city on the A373 to Tashkent before the Qurama Mountains. These mountains, on the farthest outskirts of the Himalaya, will be the battlefield of this youth race.
While the main objective between the Fergana Valley an...
Read moreOn day 48, youth division of teams will gather in front of the Palace of Khudayar Khan in the Uzbek city of Kokand. Situated in the wide Fergana Valley, Kokand is a major traffic artery and the last major city on the A373 to Tashkent before the Qurama Mountains. These mountains, on the farthest outskirts of the Himalaya, will be the battlefield of this youth race.
While the main objective between the Fergana Valley and the Akhangaran Reservoir will be reaching the Kamchik Pass where the final descent begins, a cheeky attempt might be made early in the race. When the riders leave Kokand on the A373 they are on the open plains of the Fergana Valley, while the winds are usually hitting the peloton diagonally in the back from the southwest, if they change a breakaway might force a breakup in the peloton. Then, slightly before the start of the climb towards the pass, there are a few hills which also pose an opportunity for adventurers.
The actual climb, which is 25 kilometers long and begins in the hamlet of Sarvan, which is one of the many Tajik exclaves scattering this region. The riders encounter this some 60 kilometers after the start in Kokand. The climb itself is fairly forgiving, the start lying at 1.280 meters with the pass at 2.268, making for an average gradient of only about 4%. However, the last kilometer gets fairly steep, and the sometimes worn pavement will pose a challenge both during the climb and the descent. Near the pass, the riders skip the tunnel, instead opting for the bypass route which is both more difficult and more scenic.
Directly after the pass, there are some sharp, successive hairpins which will test the downhilling courage of the youngsters. These 7 hairpins are crucial for any downhiller, looking to get some distance between them and the chasing group. The descent is around 35 kilometers long, and for the most part follows the Angren river to their shared final station. That would be the Akhangharan reservoir, the shores of which will be the scene of a lone victor, or perhaps a small sprint.
