A short time trial stage gets us going in Andalucia. A nice warm-up before all the climbing begins. Expect a TT specialist to win this stage and wear the red jersey at the end of the day.
Stage 2
Big climbs in the first half of the stage is followed by successive short, sharp climbs in the second half. Expect most of the action to happen in the latter stages. The stage should favour a strong puncher.
Stage 3
The type of stage which is often difficult to predict as there are a number of possibilities. There is a chance of a breakaway surviving as the tricky profile would make it hard for the peloton to chase. A bunch sprint is also a possibility if the pace slows down. A puncher would perhaps fancy his chances the most.
Stage 4
The stage most likely to create time-gaps among the top GC contenders. The stage has mainly three points of inflection, the first incredibly steep climb, the climb leading into the plateau and the climb to the finish. The strongest climber will be favourite to win here.
Stage 5
The last stage eases into an easier finish after a more difficult start. Under normal circumstances, the sprinters should be able to tale the win here. But given the difficulties of the previous stages, a breakaway might fancy their chances. A lot will depend on how the peloton paces the field.
Overall Assessment
The lack of really big climbs leading to the stage finishes means that creating time gaps will be difficult. If a GC contender can do well in the first stage ITT, it just might provide them the perfect platform to hold on to it. Otherwise, it looks as if stage 4 might be the decider.
Movistar Starting List
Roman Kreuziger
Mikel Nieve
Tiejs Benoot
Alex Dowsett
Alejandro Valverde
Ruben Fernandez
Eustaquio Sanchez
After failing on their last sponsor objective in Mallorca, this race took on a very important status for team Movistar. Just as such, they sent a strong overall team, to challenge on all fronts in Andalucia. This is a race where the team has traditionally been strong, with the Kreuziger-Nieve duo having even taken a 1-2 a couple of seasons ago. The opposition was not very strong with only Ilnur Zakarin a tough competitor and Movistar were overwhelming favourites to win the overall GC. Could the young up-and-comer Mathieu van der Poel ruffle a few feathers? Let's find out.
The following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Individual Time Trial - Flat - 10.6 km
The first stage provided the TT specialists to flex their muscles. A perfectly flat stage saw low times. Alex Dowsett won a TT stage after quite some time to put Movistar on the front foot from stage 1 itself. Youngsters Kamna and Benedito climbed onto the lower steps of the podium.
Stage winner - Alex Dowsett
Stage 2 - Mountain with downhill finish, including 1 major and 6 minor intermediate climbs
Ruben Fernandez put himself into the break and came away at second place on the KOM standings. The break was caught with a little under 30 km to go which gave the punchers an opportunity to attack. However, it was a group of 9 riders - with 4 from Movistar - who went away at the front on the last climb. They sprinted to the line to decide the winner. On just his second stage as a Movistar rider, Tiejs Benoot won the sprint to make it two out of two for Movistar! Dowsett lost time and also his leader's jersey.
Stage winner - Tiejs Benoot Movistar - Mikel Nieve 6th, Roman Kreuziger 7th, Alejandro Valverde 8th, same time, Alex Dowsett lost 1'40"
Stage 3 - Hilly with 9 minor intermediate climbs
An incredibly tricky stage was well managed by the peloton. They caught the break at 20 km to the line and did not allow further attacks to go clear. There was once again a sprint among the GC favourites, the others having lost steam after the tough profile. This time Benoot had to settle for 2nd place (!!) with 5 other Movistar riders finishing in the top 10!
Stage winner - Mathieu van der Poel Movistar - Tiejs Benoot 2nd, Roman Kreuziger 3rd, Eustaquio Sanchez 4th, Ruben Fernandez 5th, Mikel Nieve 7th, Alejandro Valverde 8th. Benoot became the Points jersey leader
Stage 4 - Mountain with hill top finish, including 2 major and 2 minor intermediate climbs
Ruben Fernandez put himself into the break once again. This time again, he ended the stage second on the KOM standings. He was the last survivor among the early breakaway with 39 km to go, having attacked again going up the last intermediate climb. Finally caught before the finish, he played a role in helping Kreuziger in the latter parts. GC leader Benedito was dropped with 15 km left. Kreuziger attacked with 6 km to go on the climb to the finish, building up a gap and taking the lead in the overall classification. Valverde moved up to 3rd in the GC.
Stage winner - Roman kreuziger Movistar - Alejandro Valverde 9th, Mikel Nieve 12th, Tiejs Benoot 13th, all 47" behind. Benoot took the lead in the Young Riders' classification Other important results - Jordi Simon 2nd, 34" behind, Jan Polanc 5th, Mathieu van der Poel 7th, both 47" behind
Stage 5 - Mountain with flat finish, including 1 major and 2 minor intermediate climbs
An early break went away in the hope of catching the peloton tired after a hard race. Ruben Fernandez joined them, being only 3 points behind the KOM leader Luca Sterbini, who wasnt't in the break. Unfortunately, Fernandez couldn't pick up any points, not being strong enough after a couple of previous breaks. The peloton did their all to catch up, but it just wasn't enough. The chase however meant that there were no attacks from the leaders. The breakaway wasn't caught but they weren't able to create any time gaps. Incredibly, for the fourth time in this race, the winner was from Movistar! Ruben Fernandez' reduced effort on the climbs meant that he was the freshest and comfortably won the sprint. There were no time gaps among the leaders.
Points Classification
1)Roman Kreuziger (Movistar)
2)Tiejs Benoot (Movistar)
3)Mathieu van der Poel (Philips)
Young Riders' Classification
1)Tiejs Benoot (Movistar)
2)Mathieu van der Poel (Philips)
3)Adriano Jorge Benedito (Sky)
Team Classification
1)Movistar
2)Colruyt
3)Sky
WOW!! Like WOW!! 4 stage wins, 3 classification wins, the GC!!!! This is by far the most dominant the team has ever raced. Kudos to Kreuziger to take the win in stage 4 when it mattered most. And what a start for Benoot! A stage win, first place in the young riders' classification and second place in the points classification. Seems like he wants to compete with Coquard for Movistar signing of the season. We come away from this race all smiles and brimming with confidence. The season is about to get rolling in full force in the next couple of weeks and the lead-up is excellent so far.
Brought in to lead the Movistar challenge in cobbled races, Tiejs Benoot almost had the perfect start at Omloop. He was the strongest rider in the peloton for sure. Receiving not much help from the peloton after Boonen attacked with about 25 km to go, he tried to drag the latter back on his own but had to give up. Boonen was too strong and even increased the gap towards the end. He finished 1st, while Benoot won the sprint for 2nd and Jos van Emden finisihed 3rd.
I've been thinking about the same Ripley. Spent a little bit more time with the scheduling and the division of responsibilities this year. So hopefully that'll improve. But we'll have to see how it goes when we get there. Taking it one race at a time to be honest. Nairo's Giro-Tour double and the possibility of a GT clean sweep is the only season goals we're constantly focusing on in the team!
Stage List
ITT - 1
Flat - 3
Hilly - 1
Mountain - 3 (1 HT)
Stage 1
A flat stage gets us underway. With only one climb on the profile, expect the pace to be high and the breakaway to be unsuccessful. The sprinters should ace this.
Stage 2
An even more sprinter-friendly stage. Should be uneventful and eventually end up in a bunch sprint. The fastest will win.
Stage 3
A short climb before the end could make things tricky for the sprinters. Who wins this stage will depend on whether any sprinter would remain strong enough after the exertion of the climb or not.
Stage 4
This mostly hilly stage might still see a sprinter taking the win, with an extended, undulating flat after the last climb. Difficult to call really.
Stage 5
The first stage where there is a definite likelihood of time gaps emerging. A series of tough climbs leads the riders to the small uphill climb to the finish. The riders will have to save some energy in the first part of the race as the exertions come thick and fast in the second half.
Stage 6
A medium length ITT with a interesting profile could perhaps throw up some unexpected results. A TT specialist should still win this one.
Stage 7
This stage would've definitely decided the GC had the major intermediate climbs been at the end of stage instead of being in the middle. The easier terrain after the climbs will probably prevent any significant time gaps among the leaders of the GC.
Stage 8
The stage more likely to cause some shake-up in the GC is also the last stage of the race. Two tough climbs accentuate latter part of this stage, with the finish coming at the end of the descent of the latter of the two climbs mentioned. Again, a diffciult stage to call, and will depend on how the peloton and individual riders have recovered from the week's efforts.
Overall Assessment
A strange race profile with very little scope for building time gaps for the leaders. The ITT looks like becoming an important stage here. Also, stage 5 should sort out the contenders from the pretenders. Stages 7 and 8 show promise, but just might disappoint, given the profiles. Looks like being a puncher's race this.
Movistar Starting List
Leopold Konig
Bryan Coquard
Ion Izagirre
Alex Dowsett
Rafael Valls
Pello Bilbao
Ruben Fernandez
Isidro Pintassilgo
Movistar come into the second WT stage race of the year full of confidence. Leopold Konig was chosen to lead the team in his first major outing since San Luis. Bryan Coquard, probably the most in-form rider on the tour at the moment, would take up sprinting duties. There was a strong support staff present to drive Konig through the climbs. With a strong field showing up, it would be an inteersting challenge to Movistar's rich vein of form. The main contenders would be Astana pair Chris Froome and Fabio Aru, Rigoberto Uran, Carlos Betancur, Bauke Mollema, Rui Costa, Warren Barguil and couple of others. Coquard would have to contend with Kittel in his attempt at the Sprint Jersey.
The following is a summary of stage...
Stage 1 - Flat with 1 minor intermediate climb
The long early breakaway was caught with 8km left in an otherwise quiet stage. Marcel Kittel was too strong in the sprint while Coquard took 2nd place. Movistar riders picked up two more top 10 finishes.
Stage winner - Marcel Kittel Movistar - Bryan Coquard 2nd, Pello Bilbao 4th, Leopold Konig 8th
Stage 2 - Flat
A perfectly flat stage followed the same script as Stage 1 with the break caught at 9 km and a bunch sprint ensuing soon after. Kittel again won, leading home a Giant-Alpecin 1-2.
Stage 3 - Flat with 1 minor intermediate climb
The stage profile threw up a climb a little distance before the finish. After a quiet stage, it was this climb was pretty much decided the fate of the stage. Giant-Alpecin's lead out for Kittel disappeared going up the climb, leaving him isolated. The brilliant lead out provided to Coquard by Ion and Konig put him into prime position and he duly returned the favour by winning the stage. Ion came 2nd.
Stage winner - Bryan Coquard Movistar - Ion Izagirre 2nd, Leopold Konig 10th. Coquard took the lead in the points classification
Stage 4 - Hilly with 3 major and 4 minor intermediate climbs
Ruben Fernandez put himself intothe break in search of KOM points. The peloton did not break up much as it rode over the climbs. In the latter part, a few riders attacked, only to be dragged back in by sprinters' teams with just under 10 km left. The stage ended in n unlikely bunch sprint, with Kittel just edging out Coquard, to regain the lead in the sprint classification.
Stage 5 - Mountain with hill top finish, including 3 major and 4 minor intermediate climbs
Rafael Valls had to retire overnight with illness. This meant the domestique department was suddenly a bit lighter for Movistar. The stage itself was uneventful till before the last climb where Uran attacked. It was followed by Rui Costa and Betancur while others tried their best to close the gap. It was not to be, as Costa used his faster speed to take the stage win. While Uran and Betancur finished with the same time, the others lost some time.
Stage winner - Rui Costa Movistar - Leopold Konig 6th, 44" behind Other important results - Carlos Betancur 2nd, Rigoberto Uran 3rd, same time, Jakob Fuglsang 4th, Fabio Aru 5th, Robert Gesink 7th, 44" behind
Stage 6 - Individual Time Trial - Undulating - 27.2 km
There was a clear winner on this stage. Tony Martin won with almost a minute's gap over second place. Behind him, the gaps were tiny. It was a case of the leaders extending their lead by a few seconds. Betancur, Uran, Fuglsang and Costa all finished in the top 5 on the stage to strengthen their position in the GC.
Stage winner - Tony Martin Movistar - Leopold Konig 13th, 1'33" behind Other important results - Carlos Betancur 2nd, losing 54", Rigobertto Uran 3rd, losing 57", Rui Costa 4th, losing 58", Jakob Fuglsang 5th, losing 1'
Stage 7 - Mountain with flat finish, including 4 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
Pello Bilbao put himself into the break once again. The break's lead went up to more than 13 minutes at a point. The trio of Konig, Betancur and Fuglsang rode away from the pack on a high gear ging up the second climb. They were reeled back on the descent. The leader jostled for an advantage in the closing stages of the race but no one could get an advantage. Their infighting allowed the breakaway to stay ahead. Pello Bilbao pulled off a late attack to perfection and won the stage, Movistar's second of this race. Rui Costa took 9 seconds off the others, who finished in a group.
Stage winner - Pello Bilbao Movistar - Leopold Konig 8th, 3'8" behind. Pello Bilbao took the lead in the KOM classification Other important results - Rui Costa 4th, 2'59" behind. All other leaders finished in Konig's group
Stage 8 - Mountain with downhill finish, including 4 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
Movistar set a high tempo for the second half of this stage as they tried to set up something for Konig. Konig attacked on the last climb but was followed and then left behind by Costa, who caught up to the group of the breakaway a little distance ahead. Costa was too strong for the break and won the sprint, with Konig coming home in the next group, with the same time as his rivals and 46 seconds behind Costa.
Stage winner - Rui Costa Movistar - Leopold Konig 9th, 46" behind Other important results - All other leaders finished with Konig's time
General Classification
1)Rui Costa (AG2R)
2)Carlos Betancur (Astana)
3)Jakob Fuglsang (Orange) Movistar: Leopold Konig 4th
Team Classification
1)Astana
2)Movistar
3)Orica GreenEdge
Although Movistar just missed out on the podium, the race itself was not a total loss. A couple of stage wins and the KOM jersey victory was something to cheer about. The race profile was almost perfectly suited for Costa na dhe took full advantage. Konig did well to out perform a few of the other punchers but couldn't do any more. Bryan Coquard won his first stage in a WT race after a series of second and third place finished. His good form continues. Froome finishing on the edge of the top 15 was an interesting development.
Great win from Coquard and König, who almost come to the GC podium in P-N. Nieve had a great race in Vuelta de Murcia , however because of his lack of sprinting he miss out the victory and podium.
Tamijo wrote:
Pretty good performance from Bryan Coquard In P-N. not only the stage win, but podium on several other stages.
Coquard is probably in the form of his life right now. 4 podiums in 4 bunch sprints! He's making us look really good with our transfer strategy
DiCyc wrote:
Great win from Coquard and König, who almost come to the GC podium in P-N. Nieve had a great race in Vuelta de Murcia , however because of his lack of sprinting he miss out the victory and podium.
Yeah two near podiums isn't too bad. The form seems good. We'll have to keep plugging away.
A stage for the sprinters with a couple of small climbs thrown in to encourage the breakaway. Should be a straight-forward sprint finish.
Stage 2
Another stage billed as one for the sprinters A climb and the slight uphill finish could shake things up a bit.
Stage 3
A strange stage with no KOM points up for grabs despite there being multiple possibilities for the same. The sprinters are expected to take this, but the organizers haven't done the barouders any favours here!
Stage 4
The first of the challenging stages which should see the main GC contenders rise to the top. Given the nature of the profile, a strong puncher with a good sprint would fancy his chances for a stage win here.
Stage 5
Another stage similar to the last one, with only a uphill finish the chief differentiating factor. Although expected to further break up the GC leaders, don't expect huge time gaps,
Stage 6
The big climb in the middle is spoilt by the monotony of the final third of race. Again, it would be difficult for anyone to get a big enough time gap. Punchers, once again, would be favourites here.
Stage 7
With one climb in the first half of this race, and without many KOM points available throughout the race in general, there is a strong possibility of the mountain classification being decided here. The latter half of the stage is pan-flat and the sprinters would be licking their lips at this sight.
Overall Assessment
An uncharacteristic set of stages as compared to the Tirreno-Adritico races of the past. Usually, a stage race meant for climbers, one cannot see past a puncher taking the win here. Certain stages have been poorly planned. Although this might see a close race for the GC, it will rob the enthusiasts of seeing the tough uphill mountain battles.
