The penultimate stage of the Tirreno - Adriatico is one that will most likely finish in a mass sprint. However, it is again a stage that favors those sprinters that can go through the hills above the purely fast riders. Most of the stage will be bordering the Adriatic Sea to the left but the final circuit around Cepagatti is relatively bumpy. The final kilometer has gradients around 4% and there is a previous drag for the last 5 kilometers of the stage. In terms of the GC, the stage should not have any impact as the focus of the top riders should be on tomorrow's time trial.
Considering this was a stage meant to finish in a mass sprint, the break of the day was on the large side. As many as 8 riders managed to get away from the bunch, including good riders like Robert Kiserlovski (Discovery), Rinaldo Nocentini (Bora), Ian Stannard (Sunweb), Maxime Monfort (Quickstep) and Sergey Chernetskiy (Katusha). They were travelling south along the coast with 129 kilometers to the finish line and their gap had already grown to 5' 15'' over the main group. They had also gone through the last categorized climb of the race, which meant that Adriano Malori (Astana) would get the jersey tomorrow if he managed to finish the race.
The riders were still close to the coast at the first intermediate sprint, in Roseto degli Abruzzi. The sprint of the group was won by Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel), ahead of Mark Renshaw (BMC) and Mark Cavendish (IAM). However, they barely had any points to fight for. With 72 kilometers to go, the break was still holding a lead of 3 minutes but it looked quite a small gap considering the amount of kilometers they had to endure. It was a long day in the saddle again but also a good preparation for the Milano - Sanremo. The day was very quiet in the peloton thanks to the lack of wind. It could have been quite different with so many kilometers along the coast.
Thibaut Pinot (Dimension Data) had attacked from the peloton with 70 kilometers to go and surprisingly managed to bridge the gap to the early break. With 13 kilometers remaining he was the only survivor of that group alongside Michael Valgren (Sky). They were climbing towards Cepagatti for the penultimate time as they got close to starting the last lap of the final circuit. The lead of the peloton had been taken by riders like Ramunas Navardauskas (IAM), Ruben Plaza (BMC) and Jenpy Drucker (IAM), who had cut the gap to only 35 seconds for the riders ahead. Meanwhile, Michael Matthews (Cannondale) had crashed and was far behind the group. One of the sprinters that could have won would be unable to join the sprint.
The attackers were finally caught as expected and with 3 kilometers to go the sprint trains were full steam ahead. The peloton was already in the drag towards the line and IAM had the lead so far with Gregory Rast (IAM) leading Mark Cavendish. Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek) was right behind the British. As usual, BMC was also around with Jure Kocjan (BMC) again leading Mark Renshaw and Simone Ponzi (LottoNL) again choosing the wheels he follows wisely. It was the ideal final kilometers for Kocjan to set up. Euskaltel were also trying to make progress and Mauro Finetto (Euskaltel) would be the last man for Alexander Kristoff, while Matthew Goss (Movistar) was on their wheel. We could also see other riders like Denis Galimzyanov (Ag2r), Tyler Farrar (Discovery) and Andre Greipel (HTC) getting ready for the sprint.
Jure Kocjan emerged again as the strongest lead out man and Mark Renshaw was keen on taking full advantage of that fact. However, Simone Ponzi was looming large right behind him and it was a finish that the Italian would like a lot, given that he is a very strong rider on the hills and uphill finishes. Euskaltel riders were making progress towards the right-hand side of the road by IAM made a complete mess as they almost clashed with the BMC riders and Mark Cavendish completely lost his position. Among the others, Matthew Goss was starting his sprint quite early and getting alongside some of the other sprinters.
Mark Renshaw was ahead of Simone Ponzi as they sprinted towards the line. With 600 meters to go they still had to take a turn to the left and it was very likely that whoever took that turn first would get the stage win. With 600 meters to go it looked like all the other riders did not have a chance for the stage, with Alexander Kristoff being their closest chaser. Matthew Goss was still close to the front as well but the fact that riders like Davide Rebellin (Astana) and Juanjo Cobo (HTC) were joining the sprint meant that it was clearly a rather difficult finish.
Mark Renshaw wins in Cepagatti! The Australian does not get tired of winning and this is his 9th win this season when we have not reached the spring. Renshaw has to be the clear favorite for the Milano - Sanremo given his performances this season so far. Everywhere he has started he has won several times and only unfortunate crash prevented him from winning the GC in the Tour Down Under. The 2nd place today was for Simone Ponzi, who is also in top shape. Alexander Kristoff was 3rd, ahead of Davide Rebellin and Stefan Schumacher (HTC).
There are many riders in the top 10 that we would not expect to see in a proper sprint finish, including the leader, Juanjo Cobo. There has been not one chance for the pure sprinters in this Tirreno - Adriatico, even if most of the stages were classified as flat. The final stage tomorrow will be a short test but one that could potentially change the shape of the final GC. The final time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto has the potential to be a game changer in the podium positions and it probably meant that the favorites were saving energies today.
Stage 7: San Benedetto del Tronto - San Benedetto del Tronto (ITT)
The Tirreno - Adriatico finshes with a short time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto, a town in the shore of the Adriatic Sea that has hosted the final day of the race for quite a few years. The length of the stage, only slightly above 10 kilometers, is just enough to cause small changes in the GC. Considering that the riders had to endure a mountain-top finish at Monte San Vicino, the time trial will not make such a big difference. However, the gaps among those at the front of the race are quite small and even the podium position could still change.
The first important rider to start was David Millar (HTC). The British was in a very discreet 138th position in the GC just before the time trial, but that is not really surprising considering the route we have faced. However, he was unable to grab the best time so far. A revived Jerome Coppel (Quickstep) had clearly improved from the injuries caused by the crash earlier in the week and was a few tenths of a second quicker than the British. This will mean Millar will go home empty-handed whereas last year he had won this time-trial.
The next of the favorites for the stage was Tony Martin (Lotto), the rider that has dominated the discipline in the last year. He was not involved in the GC in the Tirreno - Adriatico but he did not disappoint when it came to the time trial. He finished his run 8 seconds quicker than Jerome Coppel and took the best provisional time. It is a time that will be very difficult to beat by any other rider today. Martin had already won the only time trial that we had had this year, in the Tour of Qatar. He may add another one today.
Lotto had a very good squad of time trialists in the Tirreno - Adriatico and Rohan Dennis (Lotto) was another of the riders that could do a very good job today. The Australian had been the leader of the race after the opening TTT and then he wore the young's riders jersey for a few days. However, he drifted down to the 35th place in the GC after the mountain stage. His performance today was slightly disappointing as he could only get the provisional 10th position, 11 seconds behind his teammate Tony Martin. Dennis is a young rider that has a very good potential.
The next among the favorites was Jean-Christophe Peraud (Discovery). The race of the French so far had been quite disappointing, given that he was expected to challenge for the podium but was 23rd in the GC before the final time trial. It had not been a good week at all for the Discovery Channel team. His performance today was a bit better but he could only set the 6th provisional time, 10 seconds slower than Tony Martin for the day. Peraud was 7th in the GC in Qatar but in first races in Europe he has not done anything of significance.
Michael Rogers (Vacansoleil) changed teams this season in order to get more opportunities to shine for himself. The Tirreno - Adriatico probably had a mountain stage that was too hard for him but he still delivered a very good time trial. He was the rider that got closest to Tony Martin so far, recording the 2nd provisional time, 4 seconds slower than the German. That time would eventually be good enough for a 14th position overall, which is probably a bit below the target he had set himself before the race.
Andrew Talansky (HTC) was 5th in the GC before the stage but he had his sights put on the 4th place, given that Michele Scarponi is not as good a time trialist as he is. HTC has been really strong in this Tirreno - Adriatico and they are going to finish with 3 riders in the top 6 unless something dramatic happens to one of their riders. Talansky's time was nothing spectacular and his provisional position was only 22nd after crossing the finish line, 24 seconds behind Tony Martin. He was probably expecting a bit better to get to the 4th position in the GC.
The best rider in the mountain-top finish was Michele Scarponi (Astana) but as it happened last year, that did not grant him a podium position in the end. The three riders ahead of him in the GC were much better against the clock than this, so he would have to settle with defending his current position. His time trial today was not great, but that was expected. He crossed the line in the 29th position, 30 seconds behind Tony Martin, and that was not enough to keep his place in the GC. Andrew Talansky had overtaken him by only 1 second.
Chris Froome (UAE) started the time trial from the 3rd position in the GC but had his sights on improving that place and consolidating his podium. He had not been in an attacking mood in the Monte San Vicino, but could jump to most attacks, with the exception of Michele Scarponi and Juanjo Cobo. However, the 27 seconds that Cobo has in the GC is probably too much. His performance today was solid, but not really impressive. He clocked the 13th provisional time, 14 seconds behind the best. It was unlikely to give him the 2nd place in the GC but he put 19 seconds on Andrew Talansky in the overall.
Cadel Evans (Lotto) was next, not the best against the clock in his team but that is difficult when you fight someone like Tony Martin. He had been the top favorite to win the race after the opening time trial but the time he lost in the mountain stage meant that Juanjo Cobo would be difficult to catch. Nevertheless, Evans stopped the clock in the 13th time, exactly on the same second as Chris Froome, which granted him at least the 2nd place in the podium. The Australian was going to push Cobo to the limit, given that the Spaniard was not as good against the clock.
The last rider to finish the time trial was Juanjo Cobo (HTC), a man who had his best opportunity to grab a stage race win after last year's Volta a Catalunya slipped through his fingers after an unfortunate crash. This year it would not be the same but it was a close affair with Cadel Evans. Cobo recorded the 29th time in the timesheets, 27 seconds behind Tony Martin. However, it was enough to win the Tirreno - Adriatico by a margin of only 3 seconds over Evans. Cobo had been quite close in the past but he will finally climb to the top spot of a podium as a stage race winner.
As expected, the last time trial did not generate many changes in position at the top. Cadel Evans and Chris Froome joined Juanjo Cobo in the final podium, while Andrew Talansky was able to jump ahead of Michele Scarponi for 4th. Robert Gesink (Ag2r) was the most improved rider in the top 10, as he moved 3 positions up to the 7th place overall. Meanwhile, in terms of the Milano - Sanremo that will be raced in the weekend, Mark Renshaw (BMC) has proven to be still in top shape and should be among the riders to look for in the first monument of the season.
The wait for the first monument of the season is over as the riders head towards Milano for the race that marks the start of the spring. The route of this year's race will be the same that we have known in the last few seasons. The biggest difficulty that the riders will face is the close to 300 kilometers that separate the start and the finish of the race. In terms of climbs, only the Capos, the Cipressa and the Poggio will be worth noting but the Poggio is very close to the finish line in Sanremo. As we saw last year, an attack in the Poggio can go all the way to the finish line.
The race is typically dominated by sprinters or puncheurs that are able to open a gap in the final hills. As a curiosity, we have had the same podium for the last 2 years. Alexander Kristoff is the only rider to have won twice in the race, while Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel both joined him in the podium. Greipel has been in the podium a total of 3 times but he has not been able to win so far and he does not look to be in top shape this season. All of the other winners will be at the start of the race but realistically, Simone Ponzi is the only one that has a chance to get the win.
Favorites:
- Lloyd Mondory (Quickstep Floors): Mondory has been for a few seasons a good candidate for the Milano - Sanremo but he has never been able to deliver so far. He has started his season in very good shape, including winning the GC of the Paris - Nice. However, he has only managed to win one stage and it was the uphill finish in Fayence. It looks like his speed is not as good as it once was. The French will need to be at his best to take the win in the monument, but he seems to have a curse with these races as he has been 2nd 4 times and never won yet.
- Mark Renshaw (BMC Racing Team): Mark Renshaw has been the sensation of the season. The Australian has managed to win 9 times in the run towards the Milano - Sanremo. He has grabbed wins in the Tour Down Under, Tour of Qatar, Paris - Nice and Tirreno - Adriatico so far. Only an unfortunate crash in the final stage of the Tour Down Under made him abandon the race and lose a potential win in the GC of his home race. Nevertheless, there are doubts surrounding Renshaw's ability to cope with the distance that the riders have to cover in the Italian race.
- Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel - Euskadi): We could not miss in our list of favorites the double winner, Alexander Kristoff. The Norwegian rider is really solid and started his season with several good results as well. His most notable win was the overall on the Tour Down Under. Kristoff won in 2016 through a mass sprint but last season he was able to do it alone after a successful attack in the Poggio. It was quite a surprise when he attacked but no one was able to follow and he ended up winning with a margin of close to 30 seconds.
- Kenny van Hummel (LottoNL - Jumbo): The last of our top favorites has not had such a good start of the season. Van Hummel did not start the season in the Tour Down Under and was quite short of form in the Tour of Qatar. However, he has picked up his form a little bit and should have been building up to be in top shape in Italy. Nevertheless, we should acknowledge that he is not as much a favorite as the other riders that we have mentioned so far. There are doubts as to whether the distance will play against him but he was able to win the Cyclassics Hamburg last season and get a bronze in the World Championship.
Other riders with a shot at the podium are Nacer Bouhanni (Ag2r - La Mondiale), Simone Ponzi (LottoNL - Jumbo), Andre Greipel (HTC - Highroad), Mark Cavendish (IAM Cycling), Michael Matthews (Cannondale - Drapac) and Francisco Ventoso (Movistar Team).
This is one of the days that many fans of cycling around the world have been expecting for almost a year. The Milano - Sanremo is the start of the most important spring classics and a very different race to what we normally see in the World Tour. The sheer distance of the race, 294 kilometers, is the biggest difficulty that the riders will have to face. The route is otherwise relatively easy, with second half of the race running along the Mediterranean Sea. The climbs came quite late in the race, including the capos, the Cipressa and the Poggio di Sanremo. This is the climb where Alexander Kristoff attack to get a solo win last year.
The break of the day was formed relatively early in the day. It was formed by only 5 riders: Geraint Thomas (Tinkoff), Simon Yates (HTC), Moreno Moser (Astana), Rinaldo Nocentini (Bora) and Julien Vermote (Discovery). It was a relatively strong break considering what we expected but this race is always very favorable to the peloton given that the chase is normally well organised and there are no major difficulties. At the Passo del Turchino, with 150 kilometers to go, they had a gap of 9' 30'' over the bunch, which was led by BMC and LottoNL. They were about to start the descent towards the coast after a very long run through the fields of the Piedmont.
With 90 kilometers to go, the peloton was travelling north along the coast of the Mediterranean. Many among the favorites were already taking positions close to the front of the race and we could see riders like Maxime Monfort (Quickstep), Filippo Pozzato (BMC) and Sonny Colbrelli (LottoNL) setting the pace. The gap to the early break was steadily coming down, to 5' 45'' in the latest reference. Meanwhile, Julien Vermote had suffered a fall in the break but had been able to get back to the group quite quickly. Nevertheless, they had an impossible task ahead of them to try to hold on the peloton.
The front group was tackling the Capo Berta, the last of the three small climbs that preceded the Cipressa. Moreno Moser was leading the group but the gap was coming down fast. With 40 kilometers to go, it was only 2' 40''. The 250 kilometers that they already had in the legs were starting to take a toll on many. On the other hand, the chase had been led for the last few kilometers by Jure Kocjan (BMC) and Maarten Tjallingii (Quickstep). They are very strong riders that were starting to make a few riders struggle at the back. We were getting very close to the interesting part of the race.
The riders quickly reached the Cipressa and it was clear that BMC wanted to make the race hard and avoid any attacks from rivals. Mark Renshaw (BMC) was clearly favoring a sprint at the Via Roma. The first part of the climb was done with Filippo Pozzato at the front and the second with Javi Moreno (BMC) leading the pack. They put a pace that started the make quite a few riders struggle at the back, although few were losing contact. They had 23 kilometers to go at the top and the break still had a gap of 1' 15''. Julien Vermote was the only one that dropped out of that first group.
Geraint Thomas was the last man from the early break that was eventually caught with 12 kilometers to go. The riders were in the flat between the Cipressa and the Poggio. BMC kept pushing forward and their pace might have been the cause of a rather big crash only a couple of kilometers before. Among the most important names that hit the ground, we could see Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel) and Fran Ventoso (Movistar). It is a shame that the Norwegian will not be able to battle for the third consecutive win in Sanremo. Meanwhile, Simone Ponzi (LottoNL), Mark Renshaw and Lloyd Mondory (Quickstep) were riding really close to the front to avoid any problems.
With Alexander Kristoff missing and the control that BMC was exerting at the front, the climb to the Poggio was quite underwhelming. The group at the front only had 40 riders, given that many had been involved in the previous crash. However, most of the sprinters had been able to survive the climb. They only had less than 6 kilometers to go from the top of the climb. Probably the most noticeable move on the climb was the progress that Kenny van Hummel (LottoNL) did from the back of the group towards the front. We also heard the news that Michael Matthews (Cannondale) was among those caught in the crash.
Kenny van Hummel knew that he would have to try something different to try to take the win in Sanremo and he attacked as soon as they hit the bottom of the descent. However, Lloyd Mondory was quickly on his wheel and others like Nacer Bouhanni (Ag2r) and Mark Renshaw followed. Van Hummel was effectively providing a tow for the favorites. Meanwhile, some of the sprinters were clearly exhausted from the climb and we could see Ben Swift (Vacansoleil) and Andre Greipel (HTC) relatively far from the front of the group. The sprint in Sanremo is always quite different to a mass sprint in a stage race.
It was a good effort by Kenny van Hummel but with 700 meters to go Lloyd Mondory had already gone past him and was in a perfect position. However, the sprint was a lot closer than anticipated in a 294 kilometers race and the other sprinters were piling up behind him. We could see Nacer Bouhanni and Mark Renshaw perfectly positioned behind but also others like Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek) and Mark Cavendish (IAM) were making progress. Almost all of them had started the final sprint from relatively far out so the last few meters would be a struggle for a few of them.
Lloyd Mondory wins in Sanremo! The French was the favorite for the win and he did not disappoint today. In a perfect final sprint he was able to fend off the final push by Mark Renshaw and take the win. Considering the season that Renshaw has had so far, it was quite an achievement. This win will be a relief for Mondory, who had collected four 2nd places in monuments in the last couple of seasons and he was feeling the pressure to take a win. Mark Renshaw had a very good race, helped by the control that his team had on the group but today he could not deliver a win.
The final place of the podium went to Nacer Bouhanni, who had not had a very good season before today. This is a very good result for him and will probably mean that he is more taken into account from next year. The top 5 was completed by Marcel Kittel (UAE) and Giacomo Nizzolo. It was a shame that we lost Alexander Kristoff to a crash with 14 kilometers to go. The Norwegian had proved himself the best rider for this race with 2 consecutive wins. There were no riders that attempted any attacks in the Poggio or even before and in that sense, the race was a bit dull.
The cobbles classics are around the corner but before that, the Volta a Catalunya is the first race of the season that the pure climbers can target. The weather should be quite nice in Spain in late march and this is a race that is normally enjoyed by the riders. However, that also means that the organizers can look at the Pyrenees. This year's route is a repetition of what we have already seen in the last few seasons. There will be 2 mountain-top finishes in Vallter 2000 and in Port Aine, which will most likely leave the race decided in the 4th stage. That was meant to be the case last year, until a crash stripped Juanjo Cobo out of the leader's jersey.
This is a race won by top names and all of the winners, except Thor Hushovd, are winners of Grand Tours. The only local to take the win has been David Lopez, although he is starting his season slow this year and it looks like Euskaltel will play for Hubert Dupont, who won here last year. Two Katusha riders, Rein Taaramae and Mikel Nieve, were in the podium last season but they are facing very tough competition this year. However, given how bad things have been this year so far, the team is in need of some good results. It might be a good place for them to get those.
Favorites:
- Michele Scarponi (Astana Pro Team): Michele Scarponi was the clear winner in the only mountain stage that we have had this year, so he has to be the favorite to win the Volta a Catalunya. There are no time trials that can spoil the fun for the Astana rider and the mountain stages have a mountain-top finish, which is much easier to control for the climbers. Scarponi could only be 5th in the Tirreno - Adriatico after winning in the Monte San Vicino, but that is a stage that is very much conditioned by the opening TTT, which did not favor him.
- Hubert Dupont (Euskaltel - Euskadi): Dupont is also a very strong climber but he did not have such a good race in the Tirreno - Adriatico. On the other hand, he got a final 5th position in the Paris - Nice, which considering that the route did not favor him that much was quite impressive. It seems like Euskaltel is trusting him above David Lopez for the opening races of the season as the Spaniard is completely focused on the Grand Tours later in the year. He is also the defending champion as he took the win in last year's race.
- Juan Jose Cobo (HTC - Highroad): Juanjo Cobo comes from taking the overall win in the Tirreno - Adriatico, so he will have plenty of confidence in taking another good result in the Volta a Catalunya. The Spanish rider also has a score to settle in the race, given that a crash prevented him from winning last year when he was wearing the leader's jersey. Other than that, only the fact that he will not have the help of a TTT to put a gap between him and other candidates will make his job a bit harder.
- Jelle Vanendert (Lotto - Soudal): It is difficult not to make Jelle Vanendert a favorite almost in any race that he participates in. He is a rider that enjoys himself better in the hills, but one cannot oversee that he is also quite good in pure climbing, which led him to a couple of Grand Tour podiums. However, he has only been able to win a stage race once, the 2015 Paris - Nice. His poor performances in time trials surely did not help on that side but this Vuelta a Catalunya does not have any time trials and should favor him.
Other riders with a shot at the podium are David Lopez (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Domenico Pozzovivo (Trek - Segafredo), Robert Kiserlovski (Discovery Channel), Cadel Evans (Lotto - Soudal), Laurens Ten Dam (Team Sunweb) and Chris Froome (UAE Team Emirates).
Among the sprinters in the race we can find Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Nacer Bouhann (Ag2r - La Mondiale), Elia Viviani (Trek - Segafredo), Marcel Kittel (UAE Team Emirates), Stefan van Dijk (Vacansoleil - DMC) and Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar Team).
The Volta a Catalunya starts with a stage starting and finishing in Calella, a town to the north of Barcelona that lies next to the Mediterranean Sea. The stage might be classified flat but it is quite bumpy, with as many as 5 categorised climbs. Nevertheless, only the Alt de Montseny is relatively hard and the mass sprint is the most likely outcome. The final kilometers of the race should be quite fast as the riders will only have favorable terrain for the last 18 kilometers. The wind might also be a factor, although the weather outlook looks quite nice.
Only 2 riders formed the break of the day at the top of the Alt de Montseny, the toughest climb of the day: Sergey Chernetskiy (Katusha) and Michal Kwiatkowski (FDJ). They had a gap of 2' 20'' at the top, although Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Discovery) was in an intermediate position and trying to bridge the gap. There had been an initial group that got swallowed by the bunch as they prepared the sprint in San Esteve de Palautordera. Nevertheless, with 118 kilometers remaining to the finish line, they had time to build a gap and try to fight for the stage.
It looked like Astana were acting as if they had the leader of the race as they were leading the peloton for some time. At the Alt de Montsoriu, with 43 kilometers to go, it was Davide Formolo (Astana), Adriano Malori (Astana) and Manuele Boaro (Astana) that were up front. The early break still had a gap of 3' 10'' but it was a manageable distance for the peloton to cut back in the closing kilometers of the stage. Trek and Euskaltel were the other teams with the most presence at the front of the bunch but they had a sprinter to fight for the stage today. Meanwhile, the break had 5 riders as Alexandr Kolobnev (Vacansoleil) and Carlos Barredo (Orica) had bridge the gap as well.
The last climb of the day was the Alt de Collsacreu, with 18 kilometers to go. Guillaume van Keirsbulck was the first at the top of the climb followed by Alexandr Kolobnev. The gap that the break had at the top, 1' 25'', was much more than what the peloton had wanted at that stage. The rest of the stage is quite favorable, with most of the kilometers downhill. Therefore, the climb at the peloton had been very fast, with HTC and Ag2r also contributing riders to the chase. The climb was not that hard to leave riders behind but some would already be suffering.
The riders from the break tried hard but in the end they were caught with 7 kilometers to go. The descent was marked by a very serious crash that affected more than half the peloton, who either crashed or were held. Only 65 riders reached the 5 kilometers kite at the front group. Trek and Ag2r were leading the way but it was Domenico Pozzovivo (Trek) and Robert Gesink (Ag2r) leading, a very odd choice for a mass sprint. Among those affected, Davide Formolo and Julien Vermote (Discovery) had to abandon the race. Meanwhile, some of the favorites for the GC were in the groups behind, like Juanjo Cobo (HTC), Hubert Dupont (Euskaltel) and Jelle Vanendert (Lotto).
Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek) was doing a great job for Elia Viviani (Trek) as they closed in to the last kilometer of the stage. Only Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) was able to follow, while there was a small gap after him. A bit behind, Denis Galimzyanov (Ag2r) was trying to close the gap for Nacer Bouhanni (Ag2r), while other sprinters like Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel), Marcel Kittel (UAE) and Stefan van Dijk (Vacansoleil) were trying to recover some ground. We were also getting news from the chasing group, the first of which was 2' 55'' behind. The GC aspirations of many riders would be over after today.
With 600 meters to go, it was still very much unclear who would take the win. The Elia Viviani seemed to have an edge as he emerged from behind Giacomo Nizzolo but Jose Joaquin Rojas was trying to get around him on the left-hand side of the road. They had a clear advantage over the rest of the sprinters and it looked unlikely that the likes of Nacer Bouhanni, Alexander Kristoff would get to catch them. We could also see Denis Galimzyanov and Stefan van Dijk trying to join the fight, but they would have to settle for a minor placing.
Jose Joaquin Rojas wins in Calella! The Spaniard suffered the curse of the World Champion last year and could only manage a stage win in the whole season. He had been overshadowed by his teammate Fran Ventoso (Movistar) so far but today he was very fast to get ahead of a very strong Elia Viviani and get his first win of the season. Viviani must have thought that he had the stage when he started his sprint. The third place went to Alexander Kristoff, whose bad position at the start of the sprint probably cost him the stage. The top 5 was completed by Luca Paolini (Astana) and Stefan van Dijk.
The stage was relatively quiet until a crash in the descent of the Alt de Collsacreu finished the chances of many riders in the GC and sent a couple of riders home. The riders in the chasing group crossed the finish line 3' 20'' behind, which is probably enough to discard them from the fight for the podium in the GC. Other than that, we witnessed how Rojas managed to win a sprint again, which is a rarity in the last few years. The sprinters will have another chance tomorrow, when the stage will finish in Banyoles after a very flat route.
The second day of racing in Catalunya will be another day for the sprinters. The stage will start in Girona before heading to the Mediterranean coast. After a few kilometers next to the sea, the riders will head inlands and once in Banyoles they will have to tackle 4 laps around a circuit surrounding the lake in the town. The final circuit is completely flat, so it is very unlikely that the mass sprint can be avoided. The penultimate kilometer of the stage is slightly uphill, but it should not make a difference at all.
The only categorised climb of the day was the Mirador de Sant Feliu, with 110 kilometers to the finish line. It was a climb very close to the coast and a group of 3 riders was already settled ahead. The riders forming it were Samuel Dumoulin (Orica), Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto) and Gianni Meersman (Sunweb). With a 3' 10'' gap on the bunch, it looked like this group was completely settled at the front of the race. Dumoulin was first at the top of the climb. Meanwhile, Movistar, Euskaltel and Astana were leading the group but the pace was relatively easy.
The second intermediate sprint was placed in Banyoles, just after the riders entered the final circuit. Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel) was quickest at that point, followed by Elia Viviani (Trek) and Nacer Bouhanni (Ag2r). The break had gone through 2' 20'' before them, which was a gap that was completely within reach for the peloton. Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff) had made a big effort to bridge the gap earlier in the stage, so the break was formed by 4 riders. Otherwise, it had been a very quiet stage but the riders would pick up the pace in the 4 laps around the lake in Banyoles before an expected mass sprint.
Gianni Meersman attakced from the early break as they crossed the finish line for the penultimate time but it was a desperate attack. With 9 kilometers to go, they only had 25 seconds over the bunch and they were doomed to be caught back. The peloton was led by the likes of Jan Barta (Trek), Julien Alaphilippe (Ag2r) and Rafal Majka (Trek), who were putting a high enough pace to keep them under control. Trek were very confident on the options that Elia Viviani had in the sprint. He was very close to winning yesterday and they trust him to do it today.
The break was caught as expected and Trek started to prepare the final sprint with Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek) leading the way again for Elia Viviani. However, Alexander Kristoff knew what wheel to follow and was chasing the Italian today. Ag2r was also trying to set up a train with Denis Galimzyanov (Ag2r) leading Nacer Bouhanni, who had Daniele Bennati (FDJ) on his wheel. Among the rest of the sprinters, we could see Marcel Kittel (UAE), Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) and Stefan van Dijk (Vacansoleil) getting close to the front. We also had another relatively big crash today and one of those caught was Cadel Evans (Lotto). Another of the favorites for the GC will lose time before the mountains.
The riders faced a little uphill just before the flame rouge and Sergey Chernetskiy (Katusha) used the opportunity to attempt an opportunistic attack. However, he was not opening a gap and the sprint trains were getting really close to him. Giacomo Nizzolo was still dragging Elia Viviani to a perfect position ahead of the last kilometer but Alexander Kristoff was looming large behind them. The Ag2r riders were also well positioned. It looked like the final sprint would be a lot better organized than yesterday, even though there was another relatively big crash today. Jelle Vanendert (Lotto) got caught as well so both of the team's leaders were on the floor.
Alexander Kristoff had taken over the lead of the sprint with 600 meters to go, when they finally got past Sergey Chernetskiy. Trek's train had functioned very well but Elia Viviani had been surprised by the speed of the Norwegian at the start of the sprint. The rest of the sprinters were lagging behind and Stefan van Dijk was leading the charge, followed by Nacer Bouhanni and Marcel Kittel. Bouhanni had been quite strong in Sanremo to climb onto the podium but has not had a very good performance on the Volta a Catalunya so far.
Alexander Kristoff wins in Banyoles! The Norwegian is most likely the strongest sprinter in the race and he proved it today, even if Euskaltel had not set up a sprint train for him. This is his 3rd win of the season, which is not a bad number considering how early we are in the season. Elia Viviani had to settle for the 2nd position again, but he will take over the leader's jersey after the stage. Jose Joaquin Rojas was not even close in today's sprint and could not get any bonus seconds. Marcel Kittel was third, while the top 5 was completed by Stefan van Dijk and a very surprising Daryl Impey (Dimension Data). The South African team had not been that close to the front in a stage in the whole season so far.
Once more, the bad news of the day were the crashes. There were a couple of them in the final lap around Banyoles, which most notoriously affected both of Lotto's riders for the GC. The toll was so high in the first couple of stages that only 50 riders are less than 1 minute behind in the GC. Nevertheless, most of the pre-race favorites are still in contention and the stages we have ahead are very hard.
The mountain stages are tackled quite early in this Volta a Catalunya. Today's stage will take the riders from Vidreres to the Ski resort of Vallter 2000. The last climb of the day is quite hard, with almost 16 kilometers averaging 6.5%. The only issue that the stronger riders will face is that all of today's climbs are lacking in terms of high gradient slopes. Therefore, gaps should be difficult to open and we may see a relatively big group in the last few kilometers of climbing. We should also see all of the sprinters that are at the top of the GC dropping out.
A group of 7 formed the break of the day as they closed in to the top of the Alt de Sant Hilari. Among the riders at the front, we could see Darwin Atapuma (FDJ), Julian Arredondo (Orica), Andriy Grivko (Sunweb), Thomas de Gendt (Tinkoff) and Julien Alaphilippe (Ag2r). They had built a gap of 5 minutes over the main bunch with 115 kilometers remaining. Meanwhile, Astana and Trek were leading the chase but their pace was not too hard and most of the peloton was not having trouble to get over the climb. Although it was categorised as 1st, it did not have the slopes to deserve it. The only curiosity was that David Lopez (Euskaltel) managed to crash while climbing.
The second intermediate sprint was placed in Sant Esteve d'en Bas, with 62 kilometers to go in the stage. The quickest in the sprint of the peloton was Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel), who beat Nacer Bouhanni (Ag2r) and Elia Viviani (Trek). Trek had committed quite a few riders to preparing the sprint but Viviani could not get the maximum points on offer. Meanwhile, the gap to the early break had dropped to 3 minutes. Juanjo Cobo (HTC) had attempted to jump from the bunch in the descent of the climb to Sant Hilari but he had second thoughts after the peloton increased the pace to chase him.
The climb to the Collalbos Tunnel was tackled with only 35 kilometers to go. This is where the first few serious attacks started. Chris Horner (HTC), Stefano Garzelli (Movistar), Juanjo Cobo and Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff) mounted an attack and they were 1' 20'' behind the early break at the entrance of the tunnel, where the KoM sprint was placed. Julian Arredondo was first at the top of the climb, while the main group was 1' 45'' behind and led by Daniel Moreno (Euskaltel) for most of the climb. There were already many riders dropping from the back of the pack.
Julian Arredondo, Thomas Voeckler (Dimension Data) and Andriy Grivko were trying to extend the life of the break a bit more but with 15 kilometers to go they were about to be caught by the peloton. They were starting the climb to Vallter 2000 but in the flat between the last 2 climbs we had seen a good fight between a group including Jelle Vanendert (Lotto) and Cadel Evans (Lotto) and the Euskaltel riders leading the bunch. It was quite something to see Hubert Dupont (Euskaltel) working at the back, which made clear that once he lost time in the crash the Spaniard team would be working for David Lopez (Euskaltel).
Juanjo Cobo (HTC) attacked again as soon as the slopes hit a gradient of around 5% and quickly opened a small gap in front of the group of the leader. With 10 kilometers to go, he still had a long way but the time he had lost in the first stage meant that the favorites did not immediately go after him. Jelle Vanendert was 20 seconds behind but he only had a very small gap over the rest of the riders. Elia Viviani was surprisingly holding on but it did not look like he would stay in the group much longer. Hubert Dupont was still setting the pace as Rigoberto Uran (Orica) and Cadel Evans were attempting another attack.
Michele Scarponi (Astana) took the lead of the group of the favorites but with 6 kilometers to the climb, Juanjo Cobo was still 20 seconds ahead. Scarponi had already won in the Monte San Vicino and is one of the favorites for the race. Therefore, it was surprising that it was him that was leading the chase but proves that Astana's squad was not strong coming to Catalunya. The leader had been dropped but there were still 28 riders at the main group. The contrast in the numbers of teammates was clear as we saw David Lopez well surrounded. Among the other riders close to the front, we could see Chris Froome (UAE) and Tanel Kangert (Katusha).
Hubert Dupont relieved Michele Scarponi for a while before he pushed again with 3 kilometers to go. Juanjo Cobo was climbing at his own pace and although the gap had been reduced to only 10 seconds, he was still ahead and he had been ahead for quite a while. Meanwhile, the group of the favorites was losing riders one by one and only 17 remained among the best. Most of them are probably waiting for a final kilometer push to try to open a gap with the others. Among those that lost contact, Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil) was the last one. This proves that his climbing quality is still slowly going down with the years.
Juanjo Cobo entered the last kilometer ahead but the push from the rider behind meant that he was about to be overtaken with 700 meters to go. It was a really good effort by the Spaniard but he was not going to be able to convert in into a stage win. Hubert Dupont was leading the chasers but Michele Scarponi and David Lopez looked like the ones that were gaining ground and ready to fight for the stage. Chris Froome and Jurgen van den Broeck (Sunweb) were right behind. It was quite likely that small gaps would open between the riders in the group and they could be crucial to the outcome of the race.
Michele Scarponi wins in Vallter 2000! That was a well-deserved win for the Italian, who took the responsibility to chase Juanjo Cobo down even when the front group was quite large. He did it with no teammates, which makes his win even more difficult. He has been the best climber of the season so far. The second place went to Chris Froome, who looked quite solid but again was very conservative in his style. Juanjo Cobo was finally third, ahead of Hubert Dupont and Mikel Nieve (Katusha), who completed the top 5.
The gaps at the end of the day were not too big. Seven riders crossed the finish line in the same time and the next group was only 20 seconds behind, which will leave the GC very open for tomorrow's queen stage. It was very clear that there are some riders that got injured in the crashes that they suffered in the past days, like the two Lotto leaders: Cadel Evans and Jelle Vanendert. They both lost quite a few minutes at the finish line. However, others like Juanjo Cobo recovered quickly and he jumped to the 15th place in the GC after the stage.
