The fourth is the queen stage of the 2018 Volta a Catalunya. The riders will be facing a very long stage, above 210 kilometers, and 5 categorised climbs. This by itself might not be enough but if the last couple of climbs are HC and the cumulative climbing of the route is close to 4,500 meters, the day has to be really hard. In principle, the small differences that we witnessed yesterday should be nothing compared to the gaps that we should see at the top of Port-Aine, a final climb that is 18 kilometers long at an average gradient of 6.5%.
Astana was not keen on a very large or dangerous group to get away. Therefore, only 5 riders made it onto the break of the day: Peter Kennaugh (Sky), Giampaolo Caruso (FDJ), Edward Theuns (Vacansoleil), Fabio Aru (Trek) and Chris Anker Sorensen (Cofidis). They had a gap of 4 minutes at the Alt de Pedraforca, the first tough climb of the day, but still 143 kilometers to go. Caruso was first at the KoM but the rider that might worry them if they are looking for another stage with Michele Scarponi (Astana) is Kennaugh.
The Alt de Pedraforca was immediately followed by the irregular climb to the Alt de la Josa del Cadi, which top was 126 kilometers from the finish line. In a rather dramatic turn of events, Juanjo Cobo (HTC) had attacked from the peloton as they reached the top of Pedraforca and bridged the gap to the early break. He took the KoM points ahead of the others. Astana had tried to chase him down initially, but they did not have the riders to do it in the climbs and had to let him go. Considering the amount of kilometers in a break that he was facing, it would be difficult for him to make it to the finish line. Additionally, he had lost time in the GC in one of the crashes earlier on.
Euskaltel had to contribute riders to chase Juanjo Cobo and the early break down, given that Michele Scarponi (Astana) did not really have teammates to control a stage like this. Joaquim Rodriguez (Euskaltel) and Hubert Dupont (Euskaltel) were leading the way. Halfway through the climb to the Port del Canto, the gap to the front group was 4' 25''. Meanwhile, Cobo was doing most of the work on the climbs, while Edward Theuns and Fabio Aru had already been dropped from the front group. The pace in the stage was quite high and it was going to hurt in this climb and in Port Aine.
Juanjo Cobo reached the top of the Port del Canto alone at the front of the race. The Spaniard's pace was not followed by any of the riders in the early break, not even Peter Kennaugh, and he was facing 43 kilometers of time trialing ahead. Chris Anker Sorensen and Kennaugh followed him across the KoM sprint 1' 30'' behind but we had to wait 4' 25'' for the group of the leader. This meant that Cobo had conserved his gap in the second part of the climb. Only 42 riders survived in a group controlled by Euskaltel but they were probably managing the gap and Port Aine would be a good opportunity to cut the gap to Cobo.
Daniel Moreno (Euskaltel) crossed the second intermediate sprint, which was placed in Sort, at the first place of the peloton. Michele Scarponi and Hubert Dupont were right behind. Euskaltel was still taking responsibility to chase and they had caught back everyone but Juanjo Cobo. The other members of the early break had likely disconnected from the race once the stage win was very unlikely. The gap to Cobo had barely changed in the descent and there were only 6 kilometers of flat between the climbs so they would not be able to make a big gain. The HTC rider was still the virtual leader of the race.
The first serious attack in the climb to Port Aine was done by Chris Froome (UAE). The British had not attacked in the Tirreno - Adriatico or yesterday in Vallter 2000 but it seems that he has change his strategy today. With 11 kilometers to go he might have felt that the pace in the group of the leader was not strong enough to catch Juanjo Cobo. They were still more than 4 minutes behind the Spaniard, who was doing a really good stage. Both Nicholas Roche (Ag2r) and Domenico Pozzovivo (Trek) tried to react to the attack but they could not follow Froome.
Laurens Ten Dam (Sunweb) took the responsibility to lead the group of favorites, given that Michele Scarponi was not really helping in setting the pace. With 6 kilometers remaining, Chris Froome was the virtual leader on the road and that should start to make others react. He was 2nd in the GC after taking the 2nd place in the stage in Vallter 2000. The British was 3 minutes behind Juanjo Cobo, while the group of favorites was still 3' 45'' behind. Meanwhile, Mikel Nieve (Katusha) was the first significant victim of the change of pace. He had crashed earlier in the stage and he looked a bit bruised.
David Lopez (Euskaltel) finally attacked with 3 kilometers to go. His team had been setting the pace for a long time and it looked like he was not going to take advantage of it. Michele Scarponi followed him and also Robert Gesink (Ag2r) reacted to the attack. It looked like an attack that came too late as Chris Froome was already 40 seconds ahead of them. The rest of the favorites should not have let him get such an advantage without working themselves. Meanwhile, Juanjo Cobo was losing time consistently but he was less than 2 kilometers from the finish line.
Juanjo Cobo wins in Port Aine! This performance will probably be remembered as one of the best in the season when we reach the winter time. The Spaniard attacked 140 kilometers from the finish line to bridge the gap to the early break and pushed on alone from the Port del Canto to take his second win of the season. He was out of the fight for the GC after crashing on the way to Calella but he will probably finish the day in the top 10. Meanwhile, Chris Froome was still ahead of David Lopez and Michele Scarponi and ready to take over the leader's jersey.
The last attack in the group of favorites was not enough and Chris Froome crossed the finish line in the 2nd position, 1' 27'' behind Juanjo Cobo. The British was able to cut the gap by 3 minutes from the moment he attacked, which is important to realise how much energy Cobo had used during the day. The British had enough of a gap to climb to the first position of the GC. The riders finished one by one behind him, with Michele Scarponi crossing the line 1' 53'' behind. David Lopez finished right behind but Robert Gesink, on 5th, lost 2' 27'' against the winner.
The attack from Cobo clearly changed the way the stage was tackled and meant that the gaps in the final climb were a lot bigger than initially expected. The attack was a clear success for the Spaniard, who was out of the fight for the GC and, even if the podium is still very unlikely, finds himself 6th in the GC after the stage. It is also worth noting the strange outcome of Euskaltel's tactics. They basically did the work for Michele Scarponi but the fact that Hubert Dupont was working for many kilometers and finished 6th in the stage makes one wonder what he could have done had he not crashed earlier in the race.
The last time we talked about Cadel Evans we were wondering whether he would have what it takes to be a regular on the podiums of Grand Tours. He tried to answer to that question straight away by taking the 3rd place in the podium of the Tour de France that year, behind Laurens Ten Dam and Hubert Dupont. However, he has not been able to repeat that feature since then and only a couple of 9th places are clearly not enough for a rider that could have been a reference in those races. Nevertheless, he still has an option to come back to those performances and his 2nd place in the latest Tirreno - Adriatico shows it.
Coming back to 2015, it is clear that the time Evans spent at Movistar was really good for his career. He went from being a decent climber but nothing special to regularly finishing the season in the top 10 of the World Tour rankings. As we know, those points are very valuable for the teams but the problem for Evans is that he had very little to show in terms of wins. One stage in the Vuelta a España, one in the Criterium du Dauphine and one in the Tour de Suisse does not look like what a leader should deliver, especially one that has performed above expectations.
However, all good things come to an end and Movistar had to say goodbye to their leader as he got an offer from the mighty Lotto - Soudal team. Evans was given a leading role in the team alongside Jelle Vanendert and Bjorn Leukemans, which shows how good you have to be to get that role. His performance has not been bad at all and he got a couple more stage wins last year: another stage in the Vuelta a España and one in the Tour de Suisse. However, the lack of wins in stage races or classics is still a pending issue for the Australian. On the other hand, he has as many as 9 finishes in the podium.
The start of the year was no different to other seasons and Evans took the 2nd position in the Tirreno - Adriatico again, this time behind Juanjo Cobo. Considering he will be 34 next season, it is getting increasingly difficult that he will deliver a major win in his career. In order to do that, he may have to choose a clear target and go for it instead of performing that well in so many races around the year.
Many riders will be very happy with the change of scenery today as the race gets away from the Pyrenees and heads towards Lleida, one of the province capitals in Catalunya. The stage is quite easy and will probably have a high average speed, given that the first part of the stage is all slightly downhill. The only difficulty of the day is the Port d'Ager, but it should not pose any difficulties to the riders. Taking all this into account, it should be a day for the sprinters, who are not expected to have any other chance in this Volta.
The break of the day was completely consolidated as they climbed the Port d'Ager, which top was 76 kilometers from the finish line. The start of the stage had been quite quick as expected, with the groups coming down the valley at an average speed above 50 km/h. The group of 5 riders had a gap of 6 minutes over the main bunch and included Warren Barguil (FDJ), Denis Menchov (Tinkoff), Alexandr Kolobnev (Vacansoleil), Jasper Stuyven (Sky) and Fernando Gaviria (Ag2r). Meanwhile, Trek looked like the only team interested in setting a pace in the main bunch but the margin was still manageable for them.
The second intermediate sprint was placed in Alfarras, 27 kilometers from the finish line in Lleida. Elia Viviani (Trek) was quickest in the sprint of the peloton, beating Marcel Kittel (UAE) and Stefan van Dijk (Vacansoleil) in the process. However, the big news was that the peloton was not really chasing the break and they had a gap of 7' 15'', which was impossible to close for the main group in the remainder of the stage. Trek had been the only team interested in chasing but UAE seemed happy to gift the stage to the break even if they have Marcel Kittel in the squad.
The riders from the early break started to battle for the stage and Alexandr Kolobnev was the first to open a gap. With 9 kilometers remaining he had 20 seconds over the chasers, who were led by Denis Menchov. Kolobnev was the best rouleur in the break but would not have much of a chance in the sprint, given that on paper, Fernando Gaviria and Jasper Stuyven should be quicker riders. Meanwhile, the peloton was 5' 35'' behind. It is possible that the stage yesterday was so hard that many riders decided it was better to take the day off.
Alexandr Kolobnev kept a gap of 12 seconds over his chasers with 3 kilometers to go. It was going to be a tight call because the Russian is a very strong rouleur. At the chasing group not everyone is contributing and Warren Barguil has been sitting on the wheel of the others for quite a while. He is one of the youngest rider so it would be surprising if he was faking being too tired. The peloton was still 5 minutes behind. It was a major surprise that the stage would go to the break given that the profile of the stage made it look relatively simple for the peloton to control the pace.
Jasper Stuyven was leading the sprint once Alexandr Kolobnev was caught a bit before the final kilometer kite. The Belgian was followed by Fernando Gaviria and both were on paper the quickest finishers in the break. Nevertheless, Denis Menchov and Warren Barguil were trying to come back to them. These sprints between riders from the break are normally quite chaotic as they have spent a lot of energies getting there. The only thing that was clear was that Kolobnev would finish the stage in the 5th place.
Jasper Stuyven wins in Lleida! The Belgian was the strongest in the final sprint as Fernando Gaviria faded at the last meters of the stage. This is the first season as a professional cyclist for Stuyven and he has managed to get a win very early in his career. The Volta a Catalunya might not be the most prestigious of races but he will be very happy with his performance. Denis Menchov edged Warren Barguil to take the 2nd position in the stage. The points that they got are very important for the Pro Continental teams to gain promotion to the World Tour next season. Meanwhile, Gaviria had to settled for the 4th place ahead of Alexandr Kolobnev.
The peloton rolled over the line 3' 48'' behind the break. Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel) led the way ahead of Nacer Bouhanni (Ag2r) and Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar). It will be interesting to see what some of the sprinters think of their teams not controlling the stage at all and essentially gifting the stage to the early break. Only Trek tried to put a bit of pace in the group but once they realised that the effort would be too much to undertake alone, they gave up in setting a pace. It is unlikely that the sprinters get another chance in this race.
On the other hand, the last few kilometers were tackled at a high pace and there was a split in the peloton. It caught Robert Gesink (Ag2r) unaware and he lost some precious time that made him drop to the 8th position in the GC. The Dutch will probably be very disappointed with himself at that lapse in concentration. Other than that, the stage was really quiet for the riders fighting for the GC. Juanjo Cobo (HTC) will probably be happiest, given that he made a big effort yesterday and he could use the day to recover a bit.
The penultimate stage of the Volta is realistically the last chance for the GC riders to make a difference. However, the rider that manages to gain time on his rivals will most likely need a bit of luck or a very good performance. The stage is not that hard and the Alt de Lilla, which top is only 10 kilometers from the finish line, is a climb that has 5 kilometers at a 5.3% gradient. Lilla is a climb where leaving the peloton behind will be relatively difficult and if a break does not make it, a sprint from a relatively small group is expected.
The break of the day was not too big, given that UAE did not allow many riders to join the break in the first kilometers of the stage. The group of 5 was formed by Darwin Atapuma (FDJ), Mikel Landa (Discovery), Janez Brajkovic (HTC), Richie Porte (Movistar) and Rigoberto Uran (Orica). With 110 kilometers to go they were already settled at the front of the race and they had built a gap of 6' 45'' over the bunch. Meanwhile, the pace in the peloton was very easy with UAE at the front. They were not pushing it even though they had 5 riders at the front of the group.
The first categorised climb of the day was the Alt de Prades, a climb that was given 1st category but does not really have difficult slopes. UAE was leading the peloton with riders like Fabio Felline (UAE), Alberto Contador (UAE) and Peter Vakoc (UAE). However, they had let the gap to the early break grow to 9' 30''. With 64 kilometers to go, this meant that the stage had a good chance to go to the early break again. Chris Froome (UAE) was probably very happy that no other team was making the race hard as the last climb was relatively gentle and easy to control.
Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff) and Jonathan Hivert (Sky) attacked at top of the Alt de Prades and tried to close the gap to the break. However, that looked like a very ambitious task given the gap that the front group had. With 19 kilometers to go, after the descent, they had reduced the gap to 5' 40'' but it would be unlikely that they get to the front. Meanwhile, the peloton was 8' 10'' behind the leaders and they were not in a rush to catch Brutt and Hivert back. Any battle among the favorites in the GC will have to happen at the Alt de Lilla.
Darwin Atapuma was the first to attack in the Alt de Lilla from the riders in the break. He dragged Janez Brajkovic with him and they did most of the climb together. However, Rigoberto Uran took the lead of the chase and managed to get them back in the group by the time they reached the top of the climb. It was a proof of how difficult it is to break a group in this climb. Meanwhile, Robert Gesink (Ag2r) attacked shortly before the start of the climb and had a 1 minute gap over the main bunch. That is a significant advantage.
Robert Gesink crossed the KoM sprint at the top of the Alt de Lilla with a 55 seconds gap over the peloton. However, he was going to have a hard time maintaining the gap over the 10 remaining kilometers given how organised the chase was. He will gain part of the time he lost yesterday if he manages to conserve the advantage. Xavi Tondo (UAE) did most of the climb at the front of the pack, only sporadically helped by Robert Kiserlovski (Discovery). Meanwhile, the early break only had 6 kilometers to the finish line.
Janez Brajkovic and Darwin Atapuma attacked again in the flat kilometers towards the finish line in Valls and they managed to open a small 10 seconds gap over their chasers as they closed onto the last kilometer of the stage. However, the Colombian looked on the edge of cracking. Meanwhile, Richie Porte was leading the chase with Rigoberto Uran and Mikel Landa right behind. They would have to make a big effort to get to the lead in that final push. Further back, Jonathan Hivert was their lone chaser but still a huge 4' 40'' behind.
Janez Brajkovic wins in Valls! It had been a long time since Brajkovic had won a professional race. We have to go back to the 2012 Amstel Gold Race, at a point where the Slovenian was one of the top riders in the peloton. That wasn't his only prestigious win, given that he also won the Fleche Wallonne and the Vuelta al Pais Vasco. This 6 years wait tells a lot of how much Brajkovic faded. Mikel Landa took the 2nd place with a surprisingly good sprint from the youngster, while Richie Porte took 3rd ahead of Rigoberto Uran and Darwin Atapuma.
The group of the leader pushed on in the descent and they managed to catch Robert Gesink, Pavel Brutt and Jonathan Hivert back in the flat. However, that triggered another attack from Michele Scarponi (Astana) and Laurens Ten Dam (Sunweb). Those riders could not be given any margin, given that Scarponi was only 26 seconds behind in the GC. With 3 kilometers to go, they were a few seconds ahead of the group but UAE was well organised. Even Jelle Vanendert (Lotto) could be seen at the front, which was a bit puzzling as Lotto has no interest in the GC any more.
The last attack was very strong and Laurens Ten Dam crossed the finish line in 6th position. However, there was no time difference as Michele Scarponi and the rest of the group of the leader rolled over the line right behind him. David Lopez (Euskaltel) and Chris Froome were very much aware of the danger and led the group at the finish line. Only 43 riders managed to finish in that front group. Even if the stage had been relatively easy, the last climb was done at a high pace following the attack from Robert Gesink and many riders decided it was not worth the effort.
It is quite surprising that the last couple of stages went to early breaks. The stage finishing in Port Aine was really hard and probably conditioned the behaviour of the riders in the last days. The chances of cutting back the kind of gaps that were generated that day were very slim and it looks like Chris Froome is heading towards another stage race win. Nevertheless, the stage that finishes in Barcelona is not straight-forward and the final circuit at Montjuic could in principle generate a few gaps among the riders.
The week-long race in Catalunya draws to an end today with the shortest stage of the race. The riders will ride from El Vendrell to Barcelona in a 125 kilometers stage that includes a final circuit around Montjuic. This is not the typical final circuit of a stage race, given that all of the circuit is going up and down the hill where the Olympic stadium is placed. It will be tackled 8 times, so the sprinters don't really have much of a chance even if the stage is catalogued as flat. Nevertheless, gaps in the GC are relatively rare.
The break of the day was relatively large but it made sense as the teams of the sprinters were not really controlling the race. The group of 8 included riders like Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff), Cadel Evans (Lotto), Matthew Goss (Movistar), Michal Kwiatkowski (FDJ) and Ivan Basso (Cofidis). At the only climb before Montjuic, the Alt de la Maladona, they had a gap of 3' 30'' over the peloton. UAE and Trek were setting the pace at the main group and they could not give the break a big gap as Brutt was 12 minutes behind in the GC.
As soon as the riders entered the final circuit, Chris Froome (UAE) crashed as they started to climb to Montjuic for the first time. Luckily for him, the crash did not affect him and he was soon back in his back and recovering to rejoin the peloton. No other team wanted to take advantage of the situation and they all basically waited for him to come back. With 51 kilometers to go, the early break had a gap of 3' 20''. It did not look like a big gap but Pavel Brutt and Cadel Evans are good on the climbs. The Russian was also taking advantage of the situation to collect all of the KoM points on offer.
The riders kept on climbing to Montjuic and Pavel Brutt kept collecting points on the KoM. However, the jersey was already mathematically won by Juanjo Cobo (HTC) as long as he did not abandon the race before the finish line. At the 5th climb, with 25 kilometers to go, the gap had decreased to 1' 30''. The pace set mainly by Cadel Evans and Luis Leon Sanchez (Discovery) was clearly not enough to maintain the break alive for much longer. There were quite a few teams that looked interested in the stage win given the profile of today's route.
The first serious attack on the group of the favorites came from Peter Velits (Discovery), Domenico Pozzovivo (Trek) and Jose Serpa (Lotto). Pozzovivo was the best placed rider in the GC, in the 9th position. They attacked with 12 kilometers remaining, in the penultimate climb to Montjuic and it did not trigger an immediate reaction in the main bunch. Meanwhile, the early break had exploded. Pavel Brutt and Cadel Evans were leading the race with Luis Leon Sanchez 15 seconds behind and the rest of the break 35'' behind. Nevertheless, the group led by Velits was getting very close to the front.
The peloton increased the pace considerably in the last couple of climbs and they caught everyone but Domenico Pozzovivo in the final climb. As they closed onto the KoM sprint for the last time, he kept a gap of 5 seconds over the chasers. Julien Alaphilippe (Ag2r) and Nicholas Roche (Ag2r) did a good job of chasing the break down but they still needed to get to the Italian to protect Robert Gesink's (Ag2r) position in the GC. Chris Froome did not want any surprises and was riding very close to the front of the pack.
There were a few attacks in the latter part of the climb in the main bunch following an attack from David Lopez (Euskaltel) at the top of the climb. However, Domenico Pozzovivo pushed on and with a bit more than 1 kilometer to go he had a gap of 15 seconds. Given that it was all descent towards the line, he was in a very good position. Lopez's attack had been neutralised as Robert Gesink and Chris Froome had both followed his wheel. We could also see Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) and Michele Scarponi (Astana) close to the front of the group.
Domenico Pozzovivo wins in Barcelona! It is quite tough to open a gap in this circuit that the organisers make in the Catalan capital but the Italian proved to be quite strong today. This is his first win of the season. Additionally, his reward did not finish with the stage win. The 12 seconds that Pozzovivo managed to grab over the main bunch allowed him to climb 3 places in the GC to the 6th overall place. The sprint of the group was won by Jonathan Hivert (Sky), followed by Tanel Kangert (Katusha), Michele Scarponi and Nacer Bouhanni (Ag2r).
The final stage in Barcelona is typically quite entertaining and there are plenty of attacks. It was the case again this year and it was again very difficult to predict the winner of the stage. In terms of the GC, Chris Froome had no problems to defend his leader's jersey even after suffering a crash in the final circuit. The British is starting to build a proper personal record, with several week-long races in his palmares. He is still missing out on Grand Tours and that may be something he targets this season. Michele Scarponi and David Lopez will join him in the podium of the race.
The cobbles are back after the initial taste we had in the month of February with the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. This week we will have a lot more as it finishes with the Ronde van Vlaanderen. However, it is the E3 Harelbeke that we will race first. The Belgian race is classified as HC and the route will be the same that we had 2 years ago. The key part of the race will feature the Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont. However, those will be tackled in reverse order than in the Ronde. They are also a bit further from the finish line and the riders will have to tackle the Karnemelkbeekstraat and the Tiegemberg afterwards.
There are no riders that have in the podium twice in the E3, while Lloyd Mondory won the 2016 edition in a final sprint ahead of Andre Greipel and Bernhard Eisel. The race is quite difficult to predict as the size of the group that makes it to the finish line is quite variable. Nevertheless, solo riders are very difficult as there are quite a few kilometers from the last cobbles to the finish line. There is also the chance that surprise riders win the race, as it was the case with Sylvain Chavanel in the Omloop.
Favorites:
- Lloyd Mondory (Quickstep Floors): Mondory has been outstanding in the season so far and the E3 Harelbeke is one of the races that fits him best. It is not by chance that he is the last winner of the race, which he took in 2016 beating Andre Greipel in the final sprint. Nevertheless, Quickstep is not only Mondory as they have a really strong team in the cobbles. They let the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad slip through their fingers but they should not do the same in Harelbeke. Johan Vansummeren could be a very good helper for Mondory or a 2nd option for the team.
- Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto - Soudal): Leukemans might not be as good a rider as a few years back in the hills. However, that is not true for the cobbles. The Belgian already knows what it is to win in Harelbeke, which he did in 2013 and his best recent result is the Ronde van Vlandereen win last season. However, his season has been relatively weak so far. His only result was the 3rd place in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. At 33, it is possible that the years are weighing on him already but he probably is picking his targets for the season better lately.
- Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana Pro Team): Maxim Iglinskiy has become the rider that does everything in the peloton. The Kazakh results in 2017 include a podium in the Gent - Wevelgem, a podium in the GC of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and winning the KoM jersey in the Vuelta. It is quite strange for a rider that can climb as well as Iglinskiy does it to be good in the cobbles but a race like E3 is quite good for him as there are quite a few asphalt climbs that will favor him above most cobblers, with the only exceptions of Bjorn Leukemans and Philippe Gilbert.
- Greg van Avermaet (Euskaltel - Euskadi): Van Avermaet is a bit of a difficult rider to predict. The Belgian is in principle better suited to be a cobbler and he states that he is most comfortable in those races. However, he has 2 podiums in monuments: the 2016 Giro di Lombardia and the 2017 Liege - Bastogne - Liege. Nevertheless, even if he is the same age as Leukemans, he has been improving in the last few years and is a much stronger rider than in his 20s. He is relatively quick in a sprint but will need to leave behind many sprinters if he intends to win the E3.
Other riders with a shot at the podium are Johan Vansummeren (Quickstep Floors), John Degenkolb (HTC - Highroad), Gregory Rast (IAM Cycling), Philippe Gilbert and Stefan van Dijk (Vacansoleil - DMC) and Bernhard Eisel (LottoNL - Jumbo).
The E3 is one of the toughest races in the cobbles in terms of climbing as the total climbing is close to 1,800 meters. The part of the race with the most climbing is the middle section. It starts with a climb to La Houppe and includes the cobbled Eikenberg and Taaienberg. However, it will be difficult to see a winning move in that part. The most likely place for that to happen is the Oude Kwaremont, a 1.7 kilometers cobbled climb that will most likely break all the group into pieces. Its top is 37 kilometers from the finish line and only 2 other climbs will be tackled after that.
A group of 5 riders formed the break of the day in the E3 Harelbeke. It was formed by Dylan Groenewegen (Sunweb), Jens Keukeleire (Vacansoleil), Matthew Goss (Movistar), Mauro Finetto (Euskaltel) and Gerald Ciolek (Orica). With 120 kilometers to go, they had a gap of 7' 30'' over the bunch. They had already gone through the first cobbles and climbs but the pace in the peloton was quite easy. Quickstep, Lotto and Astana were leading the group but the battle had not started yet. It would probably be a different story as soon as we get to the halfway point in the race.
The Eikenberg was the first of the cobbled climbs in the race. It was placed with 96 kilometers to go and Gregory Rast (IAM) had already attacked as they hit the climb. It was the first of the outsiders to make a move and it was really far from the finish line. Quickstep had started to increase the pace with Enrico Gasparotto (Quickstep) and Maarten Tjallingii (Quickstep) at the front but the Swiss was already 1 minute ahead of them at the Eikenberg. The Belgian team brought a great squad to the E3, so they should be able to control that attack.
Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto), Giovanni Visconti (Quickstep) and Tim Wellens (Quickstep) were setting the pace in the peloton as they climbed the Hotondberg, 67 kilometers from the finish line. There had been other attacks and Gregory Rast and Geraint Thomas (Tinkoff) had made it to the early break. Sylvain Chavanel (FDJ) was in an intermediate position, 1' 50'' behind the leaders, while the peloton was 3' 30'' behind. The pace in the main group was not particularly strong and they had barely left anyone behind. Even the weakest riders in the cobbles were ok to follow.
The peloton was playing with fire as none of the favorites decided to attack at the Oude Kwaremont. Quickstep and Lotto were insisting in keeping their squads intact but the cobbles nevertheless meant that only 30 riders survived the toughest climb of the day. Lotto was also present at the front with George Hincapie (Lotto) leading the group through most of the Kwaremont. However, the gap to the front group was still 2' 35'' and they could not disregard the fact that they were strong as Sylvain Chavanel and John Degenkolb (HTC) had also bridged the gap.
Gregory Rast and Sylvain Chavanel were forcing the pace at the last difficult climb: the Karnemelkbeekstraat. However, this was an asphalt climb and they were carrying Mauro Finetto with him. The Euskaltel rider was a very dangerous rider for them as he was the best sprinter in the group and a better hills rider. Meanwhile, Greg van Avermaet (Euskaltel) tried to attack from the main group but was quickly reeled back in. The attack meant that the peloton was 2' 05'' behind with 30 kilometers to go. They would have to work hard to catch them.
The Varentstraat was the last cobbled section of the race and Johan Vansummeren (Quickstep) attacked at that point. He left everyone else behind and managed to bridge the gap to a group ahead of him at the Tiegemberg. However, a group of 4 was leading the race ahead of them: Gregory Rast, Geraint Thomas, John Degenkolb and Sylvain Chavanel. Vansummeren was still 55 seconds behind with 19 kilometers to go. Yoann Offredo (IAM) had also jumped from the bunch but he was only a few seconds ahead of the group. Nick Nuyens (Lotto) was leading the group of the favorites, which was cutting the lead quite fast.
Astana had not appeared at the front of the group for a long time but they took the leading role after the Tiegemberg and they managed to bring it all back together. With 7 kilometers to go, Lotto was driving the group but it was unclear who they were working for as it looked like the 34 riders that formed it were going to battle in a sprint. That was the point where Bernhard Eisel (LottoNL) attacked, but he was quickly followed by Lloyd Mondory (Quickstep), Greg van Avermaet and Ian Stannard (Sunweb). It was unlikely that they managed to open a gap.
The previous attempt did not go far but with 2.5 kilometers to the finish line, Sebastian Langeveld (Cannondale) and Fabian Cancellara (Cannondale) both attacked at the same time and managed to open a gap alongside Johan Vansummeren, Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana) and Yoann Offredo. The attack worked quite well and they were approaching the flame rouge with a 20 seconds gap ahead of the bunch, which was being led by Greg van Avermaet. Iglinskiy was the first to start the final sprint, followed by Vansummeren and Offredo.
Maxim Iglinskiy wins in Harelbeke! It was a very good last kilometer from the Kazakh, who was the only rider from that last attack that managed to stay ahead of a very fast finishing Lloyd Mondory. The Astana rider did not have such a great team as other favorites but he played his cards perfectly to grab his first win in a cobbled classic. Two Quickstep riders joined him in the podium: Lloyd Mondory and Johan Vansummeren. The top 5 was completed by Yoann Offredo and Sebastian Langeveld. In the end, only Mondory was able to finish in the top 5 among those that had not joined the late attack.
On the other hand, it was a very disappointing day for Lotto. They did a lot of work throughout the race and were controlling the bunch in the last 10 kilometers. However, they never attacked and they did not have any sprinter. The final result was that Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto) was their best rider, finishing 10th. The E3 Harelbeke was again very difficult to predict. As it is not as hard as a monument, there are many other riders that have an option.
The cobbles week in Belgium continues with the race that is most suited to the sprinters among the riders that can take on the cobbles: the Gent - Wevelgem. The race in West Flanders has the Kemmelberg as the most iconic climb but the route will be a bit different this year. There will be plugstreets for the first time in the route in between the climbs to the Kemmelberg, which should stretch the peloton and offer an opportunity to attack to the rouleurs. The length of the race is also on the long side, with 248 kilometers between Deinze and Wevelgem.
The list of winners shows that only being good in the cobbles is not enough to win in Wevelgem. Tom Boonen and Lloyd Mondory have both won twice in the race, while Oscar Freire took the other win. This makes it obvious that a good sprint is crucial to take the race. Nevertheless, there is also hope but other riders as Bjorn Leukemans took 3 podiums, even though he is not among the quick riders in the peloton. Nevertheless, riders like him will need to make the race very hard in the Kemmelberg to break the peloton in as many pieces as possible.
Favorites:
- Lloyd Mondory (Quickstep Floors): The rider that has won the last couple of Gent - Wevelgem has to be the favorite to take a third one in a row. Lloyd Mondory is in top shape this start of the 2018 season and he wants to take his first win in the cobbles, following 2nd places in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the E3 Harelbeke. However, this is the cobbled race best suited to the sprinters, so Quickstep should try to make the race as hard as possible in the climbs to the Kemmelberg and other climbs.
- Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel - Euskadi): This is the only one of the cobbled classics that Alexander Kristoff will race but he is a very complete rider that will give the cobblers plenty of problems to drop him. The Norwegian was 2nd last year, so he is quite capable of delivering a win today. The new dirt road sections should not be much of a problem for him as he is a very powerful rider and a good rouleur as well. Kristoff has won 3 times this season and comes from taking a stage and the points jersey in Catalunya.
- Kenny van Hummel (LottoNL - Jumbo): Van Hummel is another rider that is not a specialist in the cobbles but that may have a chance in a sprint at the end of the Gent - Wevelgem. However, the Dutch's season so far has not been the best. He has been a step behind the top sprinters so far and he has not been able to win in 2018. On the other hand, he had never had good results in classics until last year, when he won the Cyclassics Hamburg and got a bronze medal in the World Championship.
- Mark Renshaw (BMC Racing Team): The Australian has never had a podium in a cobbled classic either but his season has been so good so far that it is difficult to discard him as a favorite in any race that might finish in a sprint. Renshaw has won 9 stages so far in the season, which is more than any other rider this season and as many as David Lopez got last season to finish the season as the rider with the most wins in 2017. He is probably the rider that will struggle the most over the cobbles among the favorites.
Other riders with a shot at the podium are Stefan van Dijk (Vacansoleil - DMC), John Degenkolb and Andre Greipel (HTC - Highroad), Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana Pro Team), Bernhard Eisel (LottoNL - Jumbo) and Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto - Soudal).
The plugstreets that the riders will have to tackle in between the climbs to the Kemmelberg is what everyone is talking about ahead of the Gent - Wevelgem. The dirt roads will present another chance for the rouleurs to make the race hard and prevent a sprint in Wevelgem at the end of the day. However, with 34 kilometers between the last climb to the Kemmelberg and the finish line in Wevelgem, it will be difficult for a small group to make it to the finish line. The race is in general easier than the E3 and there was a rather big group in the last kilometers a couple of days ago.
The break of the day was very small and rather weak. It was not going to present any problem to the peloton to control it. The 3 riders at the front were Dylan Teuns (HTC), Alexander Serebryakov (Katusha) and Thor Hushovd (FDJ). With 159 kilometers, they had built a gap of 9 minutes over the bunch. However, the run towards the coast was favorable for the riders due to the wind and they would have a headwind as they turned towards the hills. Meanwhile, the pace in the peloton was quite easy and there was no team setting a pace.
The riders were still 105 kilometers from the finish line but Ian Stannard (Sunweb) had decided to attack a few kilometers ago as they started climbing the hills in the border between France and Belgium. At the Cote de Ravel Put, he was trailing the leaders by 4' 40'', while the peloton was a bit further behind, 6' 50''. Nick Nuyens (Lotto), Chris Sutton (Lotto) and Jos van Emden (Quickstep) were leading the peloton and increasing the pace. On the other hand, Maxime Vantomme (Euskaltel) had crashed but was able to recover. He was one of the best riders in the cobbles available to Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel).
Jos van Emden was leading the group as they climbed the Kemmelberg for the first time. A lot of riders from Quickstep and Lotto were riding at the front but it did not look like the pace in this passage would be enough to leave many riders behind. Ian Stannard made it to the break but the outlook was not very good for him. He was probably waiting for others to follow him and form a strong group at the front. Being alone at the front with 3 riders that do not enjoy the cobbles was not a good prospect. With 74 kilometers to go, they were heading towards the plugstreets.
Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto) took the lead of the bunch in the plugstreets and the peloton got stretched quite considerably. The gap got reduced to 3 minutes to the early break and riders started to drop off the back of the pack. Ian Stannard was facing a hopeless adventure being at the front. However, Lotto should have learnt from the E3 and try to attack instead of setting a pace in the peloton. They do not have a sprinter that can even get close to Lloyd Mondory (Quickstep) in the mass sprint and they should be trying to attack with as many riders as possible.
Philippe Gilbert (Vacansoleil) attacked in the Baneberg but he was eventually caught in the Kemmelberg along with the early break. The only hard attack in the climb came by Greg van Avermaet (Euskaltel). There was a headwind in this side but that did not prevent him from opening a small gap. Gilbert was the first one to follow him. Maarten Tjallingii (Quickstep), Gregory Rast (IAM) and Stefan van Dijk (Vacansoleil) were right behind the leaders but not many others as a group of 15 formed at the front. We could not see Johan Vansummeren (Quickstep), Andre Greipel (HTC) or Sylvain Chavanel (FDJ) among them.
Greg van Avermaet was the one who formed the group and the only Euskaltel in the group leading the race but he was unlucky enough to have a puncture in the cobbles in Ieper. He was going to have trouble getting back in the group. Meanwhile, a few others had made it back to the front, like Mark Renshaw (BMC), John Degenkolb (HTC) and Tom Boonen (BMC). Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel) could not make it to this group, so there were not many sprinters. However, Lotto was setting the pace even if they did not have anyone faster than Jurgen Roelandts.
Lloyd Mondory clearly did not like the fact that Mark Renshaw had made it in this group and attacked even as they were facing a headwind on the way to Wevelgem. He was followed by Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto), Gregory Rast and a few others that formed a group of 7. With 10 kilometers to go they had a few seconds on the rest of the riders that were at the front. John Degenkolb was leading the chase among the others, while Greg van Avermaet had managed to come back to this group. The rest of the field were too far behind already to be of influence in the outcome of the race.
The organization in the front group was not great and Mark Renshaw's group made it back to the front. Sylvain Chavanel had attacked and Lloyd Mondory got tired of working without anyone relaying with him. Lotto quickly took the lead of the group again but with Jurgen Roelandts pulling at the front it was a mystery who they were working for. In principle, Lloyd Mondory, Mark Renshaw and Stefan van Dijk should be the quickest in a sprint but after 248 kilometers these kind of predictions are quite prone to failing.
Lloyd Mondory launched the final sprint from relatively out but even though Bjorn Leukemans tried to grab his wheel it was a worthless effort. The French was pushing away with 700 meters to go and it was unlikely that anyone would catch him back. Gregory Rast, Mark Renshaw, John Degenkolb and Tom Boonen were all making progress behind Leukemans, which was a bad prospect for him as they were all quite fast in a sprint. It is nice to see Tom Boonen back among the best after a couple of disappointing seasons.
Lloyd Mondory wins in Wevelgem! The French left no room for surprises and delivered a final attack that left the others crossing the finish line 11 seconds behind. This is the 3rd win in a row for Lloyd Mondory in the Gent - Wevelgem, which is quite telling as to how dominant he has been. The 2nd place was for a very surprising Tom Boonen. The Belgian had not been at a podium of a cobbled race for a couple of years and this result may put him back in the cards for the monuments that are coming. The final step on the podium went to Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana). He had been completely anonymous in the race, clearly saving energy for the final sprint.
Further behind, Gregory Rast and Philippe Gilbert completed the top 5. The other sprinters, like Mark Renshaw and Stefan van Dijk were too tired by the end of the race to deliver a good sprint and were no threat for Mondory in the end. The race might not be as tough as the E3 in terms of climbs but it is quite clear that the length adds to the difficulty. Climbing the Kemmelberg more than 200 kilometers into the race broke the peloton into pieces and only a small group battled for the win in the last 30 kilometers.
It is time for the second monument of the year: the Ronde van Vlaanderen. This is by far the toughest race of the season in Flanders as it combines a very long race, 262 kilometers long, with a lot of cobbled and asphalt climbs. The route that the riders will tackle is unchanged this season, with the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg as judges of the race. Oude Kwaremont is most likely the toughest climb in the race and it is climbed three times along the route. In principle, the most interesting part of the route starts with the second of those and a circuit that will also include the Koppenberg and the Taaienberg among other climbs.
The history of the race is marked by the rivalry between Bjorn Leukemans and Johan Vansummeren, with Vansummeren dominating Flanders and Leukemans doing the same at Roubaix. They have accumulated the last 4 wins: 3 for Vansummeren and 1 for Leukemans. His win last year was the 6th monument that he gets in his career. Lloyd Mondory and Oscar Freire have both climbed on the podium twice, but their prospects for this year are quite different. The other winner of the race was Peter Kennaugh but he has never been able to repeat any performance like that after his win in 2009.
Favorites:
- Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto - Soudal): Leukemans has not been that good in the other cobbled classics this season so far but he was the winner last year at the Ronde van Vlaanderen and has always been better in monuments that in other races. Nevertheless, the Belgian will need to get rid of Lloyd Mondory because arriving in Oudenaarde with the French will give him very little chance of coming out with another win. Lotto will also need to ride a bit differently. They have not been attacking in the other classics and considering they do not have anyone quick enough, it does not look like a smart tactic.
- Lloyd Mondory (Quickstep Floors): Mondory has won the Paris - Nice, Milano - Sanremo and Gent - Wevelgem so far this season, so it is difficult to think beyond him for the win in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. However, he won the classics thanks to his sprinting and the size of the group that makes it to Oudenaarde will most likely be a lot smaller. It could also be that a solo attacker makes it to the end. Nevertheless, he broke the curse he had with monuments by winning in Sanremo last month, so he should be more prepared mentally for the challenge.
- Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana Pro Team): Iglinskiy is one of the most improved riders of the season so far. The 29 year-old has taken a step forward in his career in the last couple of seasons and his results in the early spring are very encouraging. He has been in the podium of the Paris - Nice, won the E3 Harelbeke and was in the podium again in the Gent - Wevelgem. The next logical step is to fight for the win in the cobbled monuments but that is a place where the Astana rider has not been before.
- Johan Vansummeren (Quickstep Floors): Quickstep's options do not finish with Lloyd Mondory. The French's worst rival may be someone riding in his own team: Johan Vansummeren. The Belgian might not be as strong as he once was but he is a rider that has won the race 3 times and was in the podium last year. He is also a rider that is as good as anyone in the cobbles but probably the rider that needs to finish alone more than anyone else as he is not fast in a final sprint. He may also benefit if Quickstep decides to play both cards as Mondory can block the race behind him if he attacks.
Other riders with a shot at the podium are Greg van Avermaet (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Philippe Gilbert (Vacansoleil - DMC), Gregory Rast (IAM Cycling), John Degenkolb (HTC - Highroad), Fabian Cancellara (Cannondale - Drapac) and Bernhard Eisel (LottoNL - Jumbo).
