Movistar Starting List
Mikel Landa
Tiejs Benoot
Jasha Sutterlin
J J Lobato
Ion Izagirre
Rafael Valls
Ruben Fernandez
Alejandro Valverde
This is a race where Movistar have generally been very good. This time too, it is a sponsor objective. Given the current scenario with the sponsors, it was imperative for the team to get a win here. Mikel Landa was given leadership duties. He was provided with an able domestique team, whose only job wass to get him into a strong position on stage 5. Lobato takes on the sprinting duties, but it remains to be seen how effective he will be given the finishes on the first three 'flat' stages. The competition is not very strong with Carlos Betancur, Pierre Rolland and Andrey Amador the three of the bigger names on the start list. Landa was the clear favourite.
The following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Flat with slightly uphill finish, including 2 minor intermediate climbs
Lobato fell early on the stage but recovered quickly. The early 6 man break was caught with 60 km left. David Arroyo then launched a solo breakaway and was only caught with 3.5 km to go. As expected, the uphill finish put the sprinters off their game, with Silvio Herklotz claiming the stage win. Three Movistar riders finished in the top 10, putting them on top of the team standings. There were no time gaps.
Stage 2 - Flat with slightly uphill finish
There were two separate breakaways on this stage but neither survived for very long. The race finish did come down to a bunch sprint, but again, the sprinters could not cope with the gradient. Carlos Betancur won the stage in the sprint, even managing to pull out a small gap to the pack.
Stage winner - Carlos Betancur Movistar - Tiejs Benoot 7th, Mikel Landa 9th, both 13" behind
Stage 3 - Flat with 5 minor intermediate climbs
A mostly uneventful stage saw the four man break caught a little distance before the line. Another bunch sprint saw a sprinter win this time, albeit not a favoured one. Jonas Ahlstrand picked up the stage win.
Stage winner - Jonas Ahlstrand
Stage 4 - Flat with 1 minor intermediate climb
The first break survived till only the first intermediate sprint point before another 7 man breakaway was formed. They stayed away for much of the stage but were caught with the finish line in sight. The first real sprinter's showdown saw Andrea Guardini take the stage win. Movistar again had three top 10 finishers.
Stage winner - Andrea Guardini Movistar - J J Lobato 5th, Tiejs Benoot 6th, Mikel Landa 9th
Stage 5 - Mountain with mountain top finish, including 5 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
Betancur started this stage with the same 13 second lead he made on stage 2. It was a question of whether he was strong enough to hold on to it. Ion Izagirre put himself into the 10 man breakaway. After the fifth climb, the break was down to just 3 riders. Ion won 4 of the six intermediate climbs, getting a second and a third on the others. He comfortably won the KOM classification as a result. On the sixth climb, it was Landa and Betancur going up the mountain together in group E2 behind the three man lead group. They were caught by a few other riders as they caught the breakaway going downhill. Polanc and Betancur then attacked at the base of the climb to the finish. They were chased and caught by Landa and Rolland with 6 km to go. With 5km left, Landa's high tempo dropped the others and he was away on his own. He attacked with 2 km left, building up a huge margin of victory over his rivals.
Stage winner - Mikel Landa Movistar - Ruben Fernandez 10th, 6'11" behind Other important results - Jan Polanc 2nd, 2'4" behind, Pierre Rolland 3rd, Carlos Betancur 4th, 2'51" behind
Young Riders' Classification
1)Odd Christian Eiking (Astana)
2)Tiejs Benoot (Movistar)
3)Tito Gamarro (Grupo Exito)
Team Classification
1)Movistar
2)Orange
3)Colruyt
True to form, and ability, Landa took the win in the GC. A good outing for Ion and Benoot see them win and come second in the KOM and the Young Riders' classifications, respectively. Fernandez did very well to get into the top 10. A race in which Movistar were favourites and they delivered sees their standing marginally improve with the sponsors. A perfect prep and confidence boost for Landa ahead of the Vuelta.
Kreuziger was the pre-race favourite and he delivered the goods. He won stages 2,5 and 6, and came 2nd on stage 4, en-route to a GC victory. Eduard Korniets won on stage 4. Isidro Pintassilgo finished 2nd on stages 5 and 6. Movistar managed three 1-2 finishes in this race. Kreuziger even won the Points classification. Pintassilgo and Korniets finished 1st and 3rd in the Young Riders' standings respectively.
Tour de l'Ain
Dayer Quintana stayed in touch with GC leader Kwiatkowski throughout the race, starting the last stage 20 seconds down in third place. Dayer won stage 5, taking 15 seconds from Kwiatkowski, plus the time bonus, but lost out on the GC, finishing 2nd, by a mere 1 second!
The prologue starts us off in the Eneco Tour. This will provide the time-trialists their chance to fight for the leader's White jersey.
Stage 2
The perfectly flat stage gives the sprinters their first opportunity in this sprinter friendly race. With so many good sprinters starting, it is very difficult to call who'll come away with the win.
Stage 3
Another mostly flat stage with a small divot in the middle. Should see more sprinting to decide the winner.
Stage 4
A stage which had enough potential to have been assigned intermediate climbs. Lots of small climbs indicate that a non-sprinter should take the win here.
Stage 5
The 14 odd km ITT should decide the eventual GC winner. It is long enough to produce substantial time gaps. An in-form TT specialist should take the win here.
Stage 6
It's back to a flat stage and the sprinters will come out to play again. It'll be a chase for the points classification by this stage for them.
Stage 7
A stage pocked by undulations ends up with a flat finish into the town at Geleen. Another showdown between the sprinters is expected.
Overall Assessment
A sprinter's delight. However, the ITT stages are most likely to have the biggest impact on the GC. The who's who of world sprinters are slated to start. Should be interesting.
Movistar Starting List
Bryan Coquard
Tiejs Benoot
Ion Izagirre
Alex Dowsett
Luis Leon Sanchez
Gorkha Izagirre
Jesus Herrada
Isidro Pintassilgo
This has never been a good race for Movistar. They were looking for an improvement. Bryan Coquard would lead the sprinting department. Alex Dowsett and Ion Izagirre were picked to challenge in the ITTs. With almost all the best sprinters in the world on the start list, this would be a massive showdown between them. However, the race winner is likely to be a TT specialist.
The following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Individual Time Trial - Flat - 5.7 km
The Prologue went according to script as Jesse Sergent picked up the win. Movistar's best was Alex Dowsett in 12th place.
Stage winner - Jesse Sergent Movistar - Alex Dowsett 12th
Stage 2 - Flat
The first flat stage saw a 4 man break build up a 8 minute lead over the peloton. They were caught with 8 km to go as the teams of the sprinters set up for the final dash. Niccolo Bonifazio won with Coquard taking 4th for Movistar.
Stage 3 - Flat with one cobbled section
The early break was caught with 10 km left. Soon after Kristoff launched a surprise attack, perhaps not in the best shape for the sprint. He was soon caught and then faded. Peter Sagan won the stage with Movistar getting another two top 10 finishes.
Stage 4 - Hilly
The breakaway built up a 6 minute lead. Jurgen Roelandts attacked with 30 km left. Benoot attacked next 20 km from the line but was caught. The trio of Gesink, Sagan and van der Poel were next. The pack caught up to them, eliminating the time gap, but could not stop Sagan from taking back to back wins.
Stage winner - Peter Sagan Movistar - Ion Izagirre 7th, Tiejs Benoot 8th, Bryan Coquard 9th
Stage 5 - Individual TIme Trial - Flat - 14.7 km
Dumoulin lived up to his pre-race billing and comfortably won the stage. Alex Dowsett was once again the best for Movistar, and again, could not break into the top 10. The average performance from the Movistar riders ensured that they would once again come back from this race empty handed.
Stage winner - Tom Dumoulin Movistar - Alex Dowsett 11th
Stage 6 - Flat
The breakaway could not get a big gap and the stage came down to another bunch sprint. Coquard got delayed in a crowd just as he was trying to launch his sprint but still managed to claim 2nd. Cavendish was almost tripped up by his own leadout but recovered and held on for the win.
Stage 7 - Flat
The big sized breakaway of 11 riders stayed ahead for the duration of the stage. Tiejs Benoot tried a solo attack behind the break but could not hang on at the front of the peloton for very long. The breakaway riders were caught on the line, but Damien Howson managed to hang on to claim the win.
Young Riders' Classification
1)Caleb Ewan (Aeroflot)
2)Tiejs Benoot (Movistar)
3)Mathieu van der Poel (Philips)
Team Classification
1)MTN Qhubeka
2)Sky
3)Astana
Expectations were low from this race and the GC result matched it. Bryan Coquard's sprinting ensured a good placing in the Points classification. Another strong showing from Benoot gave him 2nd in the U25s. Overall, it was a mixed bag for Movistar as there were a few narrow misses and a few disappointments along the way. There Vuelta is coming up in 10 days' time and that's where the team's focus lies at the moment.
Tamijo wrote:
Always a hope of some sort of miracle, but it turned out as you had expected.
This is not a race that we've been able to figure out yet
Updates from a busy week preceding the Vuelta...
Tour du Limousin
Movistar won three stages with Viviani winning stage 1 and 2 and Konig winning stage 3. Konig lost the lead on stage 5, finishing 4th on that stage while Yannick Martinez won the stage, took the time bonus and the GC win! Both Konig and Viviani ended up on the lower steps of the podium.
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
Kreuziger did not win any stage, but his consistency got him the overall GC win. Pintassilgo finished 2nd in the U25s.
Tamijo wrote:
Again very good results in those "smaller" races
Hehe. As you see I've stopped using that term
Vattenfall Cyclassics
The first 7 man break did not survive more than 30 km at the start of the race. Next, a solo breakaway went away, and was later joined by 4 more riders. The race was without incident till Eustaquio Sanchez attacked with less than 50 km to go. He could not sustain. As soon as he was caught, Geraint Thomas attacked but was also not allowed to build up a gap. The break was down to 4 riders with 30 km remaining. Stannard, Ewan and Benoot attacked with 15 km left. They caught the breakaway riders and left them behind, the latter being swallowed up by the peloton. Benoot too, was caught by the peloton with 5 km left. Stannard and Ewan extended their lead to over a minute. Ewan wasn't close enough to challenge in the sprint and Stannard took the win, with Ewan in 2nd. The bunch sprint for 3rd was won by Nacer Bouhanni. Elia Viviani was the best finisher for Movistar in 9th place.
A flat TTT starts us off in Spain for this year's Vuelta. A perfect chance for a team to put one of their own into the Red jersey.
Stage 2
Although classified as flat, this stage has quite a bit of climbing, plus an uphill finish and may see the the first time gaps appearing already at this early stage.
Stage 3
The first steep climbs show up on this stage. Coming early in the race, the climbs are sure to test the early race fitness of the leaders.
Stage 4
Another tough tenuous climbing stage is sure to see more time gaps develop in the peloton. Tough to call a winner with the downhill section leading to the finish.
Stage 5
The first stage where the sprinters will get a chance to fully showcase their talent. Expect a bunch sprint to the finish.
Stage 6
The climb before the end of the stage will take enough out of the sprinters to prevent them from taking a stage win. There is a high chance of a late attack on the downhill section.
Stage 7
The climb comes early this time and it should see the sprinters regroup and launch their charge at the finish.
Stage 8
A hard stage follows up two mellow ones. The leaders will have to keep themselves as there are a host of opportunities for someone to launch an attack. The last climb is particularly tough, with the short descent adding an interesting twist.
Stage 9
Most of the hard climbing will be done quite a way before the finish, wherein the pack is sure to get reduced. There is a small incline to the finish, which perfectly suits a puncher.
Stage 10
A mellow stage follows the rest day. Classified as flat, the sprinters will be wary of the lone climb and would want their teams to control the pace as much as possible.
Stage 11
It's up, up and up from the start to the finish of this stage. There are a couple of climbs on this which could easily have been classified.. The extremely high climb to the finish would favour the best climbers.
Stage 12
Another stage for the sprinters. The early climb is not expected to split up the pack to a great extent and the sprinters should be in a good position to fight for the win.
Stage 13
The two climbs in quick succession in the latter part of the race is likely to see the most action. Expect attacks from the GC leaders as they look to get an advantage heading into the tougher climbing stages.
Stage 14
Three moderate to hard intermediate climbs, followed by the climb to the finish will see the GC leaders once again the main incident-makers of the stage.
Stage 15
The long flat, followed by the towering climg to the finish; we must be at the Vuelta. The GC leaders should not be too tired as they reach the base of the climb to the finish, where all the action will be concentrated.
Stage 16
A couple of hard climbs leads to an equally hard finish. Along with the last, this stage will also play an important role in deciding the final outcome of the race.
Stage 17
The long ITT comes at a crucial juncture in this race. With the peloton having just travelled through two big mountain stages, this stage will come down to who has had the best recovery overnight. Will go a long way towards deciding the final GC standings.
Stage 18
A stage for the sprinters provides some respite to the peloton after three extremely important and tense stages. A breakaway is sure to try their luck, but the profile just might not allow them to be successful, as it has almost no features to take advantage of.
Stage 19
Another stage for the sprinters leads to potentially the title decider on stage 20. The early climb might see a few of the tired legs drop off the pace. Another stage where a breakaway can be successful, as the peloton will be tired after almost three weeks of racing.
Stage 20
The difficulty of the climbs on this stage increases in steps, with the rise to the finish probably the highest point of the whole race. The last of the mentioned climbs should see an almighty scrap between the GC contenders, as they look to create time gaps on their rivals. This stage has the potential to become a classic!
Stage 21
The traditional flat approach to Madrid will see the sprinters fighting it out for glory. Whoever has the best legs after the gruelling race would win.
Overall Assessment
Unlike the traditional Vuelta races, this year, the race is short on mountain top finishes. In fact, there are none before the third week of the race. This might mean that the time gaps would remain small. Ultimately, given the profiles, the three mountain stages and the ITT will decide the outcome of this race.
Tamijo wrote:
Rare Grand tour with very few, if not zero HC climbs. But it will make a good built up to stage 20.
Given that this is the Vuelta, the amount of climbing is quite less!!
VUELTA a ESPANA
Movistar Starting List
Mikel Landa
Bryan Coquard
Benat Intxausti
Dayer Quintana
Ion Izagirre
Alex Dowsett
J J Lobato
Rafael Valls
Mikel Nieve
The most favoured GT for Movistar once again sees their leader as the pre-race favourite. It has been another year of near-misses for them with two second place finishes for Nairo in the other two GTs. Movistar brought a strong team with Coquard going for points and Dowsett leading in the TTs. With very less climbing to be done in the first two weeks, the last week promises to be exciting. Can Landa make it two in a row? Or will it become another case of so-near-yet-so=far for Movistar? Let's find out...
Number of starters - 198 Number of finishers - TBD
The following is a summary of important stages...
Part 1: Cream Rises to the Top
Stage 1 - Team Time Trial - Flat - 16.5 km
The team trial saw one of favourites, Orange, win the stage. Andrea Guardini was the first wearer of the Red jersey. Movistar came 2nd.
Stage winner - Orange Movistar - 2nd, losing 5"" Other important results - Sky (S.Yates) 3rd, losing 18", AG2R (Rafael Majka) lost 51", Dexia (Tony Gallopin) lost 1'9", Aeroflot (Ilnur Zakarin) lost 1'39", Astana (Warren Barguil) lost 1'39"
Stage 3 - Hilly with slightly uphill finish, including 2 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
Intxausti's fall on the last stage saw him lose almost 4 minutes on the peloton, effectively ruling him out of the GC running. The first breakaway did not survive but the second two man break went away. The next newsworthy incident came with Zakarin and Shmatovalenko attacking on top of the third climb. They were caught by a group of GC favourites on the downhill. Zakarin attacked again on the downhill, pulling a few seconds ahead of his rivals, and winning the stage.
Stage winner - Ilnur Zakarin Movistar - Mikel Landa 4th, 12" behind, Dayer Quintana 10th, 1'13" behind. Landa GC leader Other important results - Alexis Vuillermoz 2nd, Alexandre Geniez 3rd, Dennis Shmatovalenko 5th, 12" behind, Rafal Maka 7th, 34" behind, Michal Kwiatkowski 8th, Rui Costa 9th, 1'13" behind
Stage 4 - Hilly with downhill finish, including 2 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
The 5 man breakaway built up a lead of 5 minutes after the first climb. The lead group was down to 80 after the second climb. 8 GC contenders attacked and counter attacked on the third climb with Movistar chasing. A few of them were caught but Zakarin and Geniez stayed away. Landa, Intxausti and Ion did their best chasing on the downhill to the finish, managing to close the gap, but not couldn't catch up. All otehr GC leaders finished together.
Stage winner - Ilnur Zakarin, 35" ahead of rivals. Went 2nd in the GC.
Stage 8 - Hilly with 4 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
The lead group of GC contenders kept getting smaller as they chased the day's breakaway. Warren Barguil attacked, followd by Zakarin, Landa and Vuillermoz on top of the last climb. Barguil was left behind as the other three pulled away from the rest and competed in the sprint. Zakarin won again and shaved off a few more seconds off Landa with the time bonus.
Stage winner - Ilnur Zakarin Movistar - Mikel Landa 3rd, same time, Benat Intxausti 7th, 40" behind Other important results - Alexis Vuillermoz 2nd, same time, Rui Costa 8th, Alexandre Geniez 9th, Rafal Majka 10th, 40" behind
The GC after stage 8...
Spoiler
Even at this early stage, it looks like this race will be a two horse race between Landa and Zakarin.
To be continued...
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 24-03-2016 17:21
. That was Landa in full flow!
