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West Brigidna prepares for 1595 Tour of Florinthus
By Pia Chamberlain
Published: Fein, 1595


Tour of Florinthus, 1594.


Kondag, Galeae - The longest and most international edition of the Tour of Florinthus will start today in Kondag, Galeae, surrounded both ambition and doubt.

For first time, the Tour of Florinthus will cross six countries -Florinthus, Galeae, Vienland, Oslandburg, Ostland, Kave- and expand from the traditional six individual stages to eleven stages - the longest Tour of Florinthus since the race was started in 1556.

The aim of the organizers is even more ambitious, though, as they aim to expand the race to a three-week race for the 1596 season, rename it as the more generic name of "Tour of West Brigidna", aiming to becoming at least in the third Grand Tour behind the Tour de Valland and the Ceribian Tour.

Critics in the cycling world have been skeptical about such move, claiming that it will increase unnecessarily the total number of competition days, that such grand tour would lack the prestige and identity that Tour de Valland and Ceribian Tour, and more often, that the West Brigidnan countries lack the mountain ranges that countries like Ceribia and Valland have, which make high mountain stages so competitive in those  grand tours.

Ostlander Andreas Strasser, who won the Tour de Valland in 1567 and the Ceribian Tour in 1569, has declared that "Florinthus and Oslanburg have certainly a wonderful terrain for demanding hilly stages and a few interesting isolated climbs, but I don't feel that they will be able to compete not even with Ceribian Tour".

FDT Sport, the organizers of the race, has a clearly different opinion, and they are certain that their proposal will be a success. The proposal, however, despite criticism from the media and a few teams, received the support of the Sioran Cycling Association, which probably will assure that -unless this season edition results in a complete failure- that the project is likely to continue and becomes a reality.

Despite the ausence of some of the favourites for the Tour de Valland -including four-time Tour de Valland champion Adwestene Eden Grace Weatherhead, who won the Tour of Florinthus in the last two previous season, who is having a more reduced cycling calendar early this season in order to prepare better for what it could  be his fifth Tour de Valland- the West Brigidnan fans are clearly enthusiastic about this project - if we trust the regional media and the Galeaen fans who are receiving the Tour. FDT Sport's decision has, however, clearly political overtones, as the move follows Florinthus, Oslanburg, Galeae and Vienland decision to form the West Brigidnan Union, and the race is understood as a step to increase ties between cycling fans of those countries. Despite this, the official ceremony in Kondag lacked any kind of political references, and most cycling teams and riders seem unaware or uninterested about such motivation.

The race will start in Kondag to cross Galeae, Florinthus, Vienland, Kave, Oslanburg, and Ostland in the following days (4 of the stages won't actually step in Florinthus soil a single kilometre), only to return to Florinthus and end in Denil, as it has been a tradition since 1566.