Movistar Starting List
Bryan Coquard
Julian Arredondo
Ion Izagirre
Jasha Sutterlin
Rafael Valls
Isidro Pintassilgo
Ruben Fernandez
The first WT race of the year sees Movistar defending their title from last season. Reigning champion Bryan Coquard will look to repeat his brilliant effort. The start list is not the best, but there are a few good names, both punchers and sprinters, who should be in contention.
The following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Flat with 1 major intermediate climb
The breakaway managed to have everything related to themselves which revolved around the number 4. There were 4 riders who went away from the pack, but they were only allowed to get a 4 minutes lead at most. They were caught 4 km before the finish as the sprinters' teams organized for the finish. The slight uphill finish did not deter Coquard as he raced away to a comfortable victory.
Stage winner - Bryan Coquard
Stage 2 - Flat with 2 minor intermediate climbs
Again, 4 riders set up a breakaway, this time building up a 6 minute lead. They stayed ahead for even longer, being caught with just 1.5 km left. The tougher uphill finish meant the sprinters were not able to exploit the opportunity. Tom Slagter was the stage winner, taking the lead in the GC as well, by virtue of the time bonus.
Stage winner - Tom Slagter
Stage 3 - Hilly with 1 major intermediate climb
Another 4 man break went away from the pack. The lethargic chasing from the peloton and the team of the GC leader, meant they were never caught. Maxime Bouet won from the breakaway, taking the overall lead by almost a minute. Castroviejo took second place on the stage, and moved into second overall too. Behind them, Dan Martin and Gallopin attacked on the climb. They built up a lead over the other chasers, which no one could bridge. Movistar had a relatively mediocre stage, losing ground on the GC leaders.
Stage winner - Maxime Bouet from breakaway Movistar - Isidro Pintassilgo 9th, 1'25" behind Other important results - Dan Martin 5th, Tony Gallopin 6th, 42", Matej Mohoric 7th, Eduardo Supelveda 8th, Tom Slagter 10th, 1'25"
Stage 4 - Flat with 1 major intermediate climb
Initially, a 4 man break formed but was soon joined by 2 others. They built up a 6 minute lead over the peloton. The peloton managed tocatch them 8 km from the finish. Movistar failed to set up an effective sprint train for Coquard as their support riders faded before the finish. As such Coquard only managed 10th place. Mark Cavendish won the stage.
Stage winner - Mark Cavendish Movistar - Bryan Coquard 10th, same time
Stage 5 - Hilly with hill top finish, including 1 major intermediate climb
The stage to Old Willunga Hill saw an 8 man break built up a 5 minute lead at the most. After the intermediate climb, the peloton had caught 7 of the breakaway riders. A group of 7 riders attacked, catching the lone surviving break. Race leader Bouet was not among the 7 but Movistar had Ion and Arredondo in the group. With 2 km to go, Slagter was the lone rider out in front, with a 4 man group chasing him, still with both Movistar riders in it. Slagter won, his second stage win of this race, and moved to within 6 seconds of Bouet.
Stage winner - Tom Slagter Movistar - Ion Izagirre 5th, 50" behind, Julian Arredondo 8th, 1'10" behind Other important results - Francesco Bongiorno 2nd, same time, Dingchun Wei 3rd, 25" behind, Dan Martin 4th, Matej Mohoric 6th, 50" behind, Maxime Bouet 9th, 1'10" behind
Stage 6 - Flat
A short flat stage to finish off the race. A 7 man break built up a small lead of 3 minutes over the pack. The teams of sprinters did their best to close the gap, catching up to the breakaway on the final straight. However, it just fell short as Oliver Naesen won from the breakaway. Bryan Coquard blew away the other sprinters, starting the sprint from a long way back, and almost overhauling Naesen at the finish. No time gaps or bonuses among the GC leaders meant that Bouet hung on for overall victory.
Stage winner - Oliver Naesen from breakaway Movistar - Bryan Coquard
General Classification
1)Maxime Bouet (AG2R)
2)Tom Slagter (Orange)
3)Francesco Bongiorno (Sky) Movistar: Ion Izagirre 10th
Team Classification
1)AG2R
2)Movistar
3)Orica GreenEdge
Two races so far this season, both won via the time gained from the breakaway! Movistar and Coquard couldn't repeat their overall GC win from last season. Coquard did get a stage win, something which he did not achieve last year. A top 10 finish with Ion and 2 more riders in the top 15 is what Movistar came away with.
A perfectly flat stage with no climbs greets the riders in Mallorca. A sprinter's paradise, should be decided in a bunch sprint.
Stage 2
Three high-scoring climbs should ensure a breakaway gets away in search of the KOM points on offer. The sprinter's would be looking for another stage victory here.
Stage 3
A tough mountain stage which should have the largest bearing on deciding the GC. The last third of the stage has two tough climbs, where the climbers would be most at ease.
Stage 4
All the climbing on this stage will be done in the middle sector. It is hard to predict whether the sprinters can keep up with the lead group and fight it out for the stage win. Otherwise, it would be a reduced bunch that sprints for victory. There are high chances of a breakaway trying their luck too on this stage.
Overall Assessment
Traditionally a race for the climbers, this year should be no different at Mallorca. With the start list not the strongest, the battle for the GC will take place among 3-4 riders. Also, it looks highly unlikely that a breakaway can provide us with the overall winner inn this race, given that we've already had two such results. However, stranger things have happened!
Movistar Starting List
Roman Kreuziger
Elia Viviani
Jasha Sutterlin
Eduard Korniets
Pello Bilbao
Eustaquio Sanchez
Manuel Moreno Capitan
Traditionally, Movistar have done very well at this race. Last year was a rare occasion where none of their riders could get onto the podium. This time around, they had selected Kreuziger to lead their charge at Mallorca. In his support, would be Alejandro Valverde and Pello Bilbao as the chief domestiques. Elia Viviani was the chosen sprinter, with Sutterlin acting as his lead-out man. Could Movistar improve? The field wasn't the strongest meaning that this was a great opportunity to tick off an early sponsor objective.
The following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - The customary early flat stage saw an early breakaway consisting of 13 riders! They were very quickly pulled back in by the peloton. The next breakaway consisted of 4 riders and they pulled out a maximum of 3 minutes' lead over the pack. They were caught with 7 km left, following which the sprint trains started taking shape. Jasha Sutterlin put Viviani into an excellent position, and he duly obliged, taking the stage win.
Stage winner - Elia Viviani
Stage 2 - Flat with slight uphill, including 3 major intermediate climbs
Eustaquio Sanchez put himself into the early break, but they were caught. Eduard Korniets put himself into the next break which formed, having 4 riders. They fought it out for the KOM points, with Korniets ending the stage in 2nd place in that classification. After the final climb of the day, Korniets left the others behind and went solo for quite some time. It was not meant to be, as he was caught 11 km from the line. The sprinters won the stage again, but the uphill finish did favour some over the others. Sonny Colbrelli won the stage with Viviani finishing in 5th place. The latter held on to his lead in both the GC and the Points classifications.
Stage 3 - Mountain with downhill finish, including 3 major and 2 minor intermediate climbs
An early 7 man breakaway soon became 8 as Korniets joined them in search of the lead in the KOM classification. The breakaway built up a lead of 9 minutes over the pack. A pack split with 90 km to go, saw Viviani and Sutterlin being caught wrong-footed. They would never recover back to the pack. On fourth climb of the day, Kreuziger went away from the front of the peloton. He caught up with the breakaway, on the final ascent, soon leaving them behind too. He rode on strongly to a solo stage victory, almost guaranteeing his GC win. Korniets hung on for 10th place, as most of the brekaaway stayed ahead of the the struggling peloton.
Stage winner - Roman Kreuziger Movistar - Eduard Korniets 10th Other important results - John Darwin Atapuma 4th, Rohan Dennis 5th, Bob Jungels 6th, 4'32" behind
Stage 4 - Hilly with flat finish, including 4 major intermediate climbs
Korniets once again joined the early 8 man breakaway to make it 9 riders ahead of the peloton. He confirmed his KOM jersey by winning the first climb of the day. Again, the break built up a 9 minute lead over the pack. 2 riders were dropped after the last climb. Korniets was later dropped with 18 km to go. He was picked up by the peloton and finished in the pack. The best efforts of the teams of the sprinters were not enough to catch the breakaway. Diego Milan took the win from the break. Viviani confirmed his Points jersey with a 9th place finish.
Stage winner - Diego Milan from breakaway Movistar - Elia Viviani 9th, Roman Kreuziger 10th, both 56" behind
General Classification
1)Roman Kreuziger (Movistar)
2)John Darwin Atapuma (Orica GreenEdge)
3)Alexander Foliforov (Orange)
Young Riders' Classification
1)Eduard Korniets (Movistar)
2)Jordi van Dingenen (Telenet)
3)Eustaquio Sanchez (Movistar)
Team Classification
1)Movistar
2)Astana
3)Orange
A clean sweep at Mallorca means that its business as usual for Movistar at one of the sponsors' favoured races. An excellent ride from Kreuziger without having expended too much energy. Eduard Korniets doing very well picking up two jerseys. The youngsters are developing well for the team. Elia Viviani, too, picking up the points jersey in a race where the sprinters usually do not have much joy. Nothing but good memories from this race for the team!
The team time trial gives an opportunity for the teams to put one of their riders into the leader's jersey. It also gives the teams a chance to put their sprinters into a good position to challenge for the GC win via the time bonuses on the later stages, given they are all flat.
Stage 2
Stage 2 is flat, a sprinter's paradise. Expect a fast pace to the stage and a faster bunch sprint to the finish.
Stage 3
This stage features the only climb of the entire race, meaning that some riders would be itching to get away in search of the KOM jersey. Although the finish is not perfectly flat, the sprinters should still take the win, as the stage ends on a false flat.
Stage 4
A short, flat stage ends a mostly race. Another charge by the sprinters should decide the stage and maybe even the GC winner.
Overall Assessment
A stage race made almost exclusively for the sprinters! Stage 3 has some potential to mess up the script, but the chances of that outcome are low.
Movistar Starting List
Elia Viviani
Tiejs Benoot
Adriano Malori
Gorkha Izagirre
Isidro Pintassilgo
Alejandro Valverde
Sergei Vovchuk
Carlos Artime
Movistar have not raced here in Dubai for the past couple of years. It was going to be tough to predict how the team would perform, given that it has changed quite a bit from the last time they participated. This was well and truly a sprinter's race, barring some weird stage results. The TTT on the first stage would more or less give the advantage certain sprinters over the others, in search of the GC. It was only a question of surviving stage 3.
The following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Team Time Trial - Flat - 14 km
It was difficult to call which teams were the favourites going into this as not a lot of the TT specialists were starting this race. Orica GreenEdge took the stage win, with Movistar coming in second place, putting Viviani into a good position. Andre Looij was the overnight leader.
Stage 2 - Flat
The early breakaway consisted of 7 riders, 6 of whom were caught not long into the stage. 3 more riders joined the lone remaining break, including Adam Yates, making it a 4 man breakaway. They built a 4 minute lead before the pack started catching up. They were caught 5 km from the finish, as the sprinters got ready. Sam Bennett was the strongest and took 1st place. Viviani finished second to wipe off the 6 second lead of the Orica riders via the time bonus.
Stage winner - Sam Bennett Movistar - Elia Viviani 2nd
Stage 3 - Flat with 1 minor intermediate climb
The only climb of the race came halfway through this stage. As expected, there was a substantially sized breakaway which formed in search of the KOM jersey. Pintassilgo went into the break. He would come out with the KOM jersey by virtue of winning the summit sprint. The breakaway was caught with 10 km to go. The sprinters did have some trouble organizing their trains through the bumpy ending to the race. Eventually, they sorted things out, with Gerald Ciolek winning the stage. Viviani took 5th place on the stage, and the GC from Looij on countback.
Stage 4 - Flat
The last stage was quite short. An 11 man break formed with the hope of catching the peloton napping and springing a surprise result. This whittled down to 8 riders soon. The peloton, on the contrary, led by Movistar, was extra cautious and caught up to the break with more than 20 km to go. There would not be any late attacks to contend with. The sprinters had their say once again at the finish. Rick Zabel took the win. Viviani did enough to hold on for the GC win.
Stage winner - Rick Zabek Movistar - Elia Viviani 4th
General Classification
1)Elia Viviani (Movistar)
2)Andre Looij (Orica GreenEdge)
3)Stephen Kung (Orica GreenEdge)
Team Classification
1)Orica GreenEdge
2)Movistar
3)IAM
What a comeback to Dubai! The team did very well in the TTT, and gave Viviani the best chance to challenge for the GC. He duly obliged, his second place on stage 2 and his consistency elsewhere, putting him on the top step of the podium. The team managed to take the KOM jersey as well, with Pintassilgo winning the only mountain top sprint of the race. Another good race for the team to follow up from Mallorca. The fact that the team is winning on different terrains is a big positive!
Two-time defending champion Nairo Quintana had to give up his ITT National title to fellow stage-race specialist Rigoberto Uran. It was a close fought event, with the top 3 separated by just 17 seconds. Nairo had to setlle for 3rd place.
Road Race
The peloton finished as a bunch, which put the sprinters into the drivers' seat for the win. Fernando Gaviria fulfilled his much-touted promise by picking up the National Road Race Championship. Nairo had to settle for a lowly 11th place, with Arredondo gettting Movistar's best result of 6th.
A primarily flat stage kicks off the peloton's first visit to France for the year. The sprinters will get this one, as its too early in the race for the breakaway to succeed.
Stage 2
A couple of climbs to break up the monotony of the flats. Should be motivation for the a breakaway to try their luck. The flatter second half of the stage should see the sprinters get the chance to fight it out for the win.
Stage 3
Some more climbing to do on this stage for the riders and the climbs go higher this time. There is more of a chance for the breakaway to come good on this stage. However, the highest chances are for the stage to end in a bunch sprint.
Stage 4
The sprinters will be nervous as they keep a close watch on how the breakaway is panning out. The last stage where KOM points are up for grabs should see a few hoepfuls try their luck. A difficult stage to call.
Stage 5
It's back to the flats as an extremely short stage will guide the peloton into the ITT on stage 6. The sprinters should take the win here.
Stage 6
The ITT will have a huge bearing towards the final GC standings given the nature of the race. A good time here could propel a TT specialist towards the podium. Definitely a stage to look forward to.
Overall Assessment
A sprinter's race mostly with the exception of the last stage. Should be a fast paced race. It's all about not losing too much time for the TT specialists as they aim for top spot on the last stage.
Tamijo wrote:
Again one of those races hard to predice, could be a puncher, or the sprinter with some good ITT skills, could even be a lucky punch from a breakaway.
Yeah. Also, another race where the team generally haven't done well, barring one year.
On to the racing then...
ETOILE de BESSEGES
Movistar Starting List
Bryan Coquard
Julian Alaphilippe
Jasha Sutterlin
Ion Izagirre
J J Lobato
Eduard Korniets
Eustaquio Sanchez
Josef Katzer
This race has never been one of the good ones for Movistar. Three years back, Luis Leon Sanchez pulled off an exceptional late break in a stage to get time over the pack and hold on for the GC win. Besides that, there has not been much to show. This time around, Movistar were sending a strong squad for this race. Bryan Coquard would be leading their charge. Julian Alaphilippe was making his debut for the team. Others in contention would be Jasha Sutterlin and Ion Izagirre, if they could utilize their TT skills on the last stage. With good momentum coming into this race, the spirits were high in the Movistar camp.
The following is a summary of stages...
Stage 1 - Flat with 2 major intermediate climbs
The first stage was one for the sprinters despite a couple of climbs along the route. The breakaway stayed away for a long time but could not build up a big lead. The sprinters fought it out for the stage win. Igor Boev was the surprising winner of the stage, beating his more illustrious competitors. Bryan Coquard finished 3rd.
Stage 2 - Flat with 1 major and 1 minor intermediate climbs
A smaller break was caught earlier from the line as the sprinters once again fought for the stage. Ben Swift won this time, on the slightly uphill finish, with Coquard in 2nd place. Alaphilippe and Ion also got into the top 10 positions.
Stage winner - Ben Swift Movistar - Bryan Coquard 2nd, Julian Alaphilippe 5th, Ion Izagirre 8th
Stage 3 - Flat with 3 major intermediate climbs
A 4 man breakaway formed early which was caught. Then a 6 man breakaway was allowed to get away. Eduard Korniets put himself into the break. His reward at the end of the day was a 2nd place in the KOM classifications. The break built up a maximum of 5 minutes' lead but was eventually caught with 8 km left. The sprint was won again by Swift as Coquard completed a hat-trick of podiums.
Stage winner - Ben Swift Movistar - Bryan Coquard 3rd, Julian Alaphilippe 5th, J J Lobato 7th, Ion Izagirre 10th
Stage 4 - Flat with 2 major intermediate climbs
Korniets was a part of the breakaway once again. This time, he sealed up the KOM jersey after winning both climbs. The break was caught with less than 10 km to go. It was Ben Swift's turn to complete a hat-trick this time - a hat-trick of stage wins in this race. Coquard finished 2nd again with Alaphilippe in 3rd place.
Stage winner - Ben Swift Movistar - Bryan Coquard 2nd, Julian Alaphilippe 3rd
Stage 5 - Flat
No climbs, just the rolling countryside for the riders to get past. A 13 (!!) man break went away on this short stage, with Bongiorno a big name in it. They made a gap of 4 minutes before being chased down. They were caught with 14 km left as the sprinters laid down the gauntlet once again. Coquard finally overcame his string of near-misses, winning this stage and leading a Movistar 1-2 with Alaphilippe in 2nd.
(Coquard celebrates as Alaphilippe, in the background, comes powering past the others to take 2nd)
Stage 6 - Individual Time Trial - Flat - 10.1 km
Ben Swift had a lead of 8 seconds over Coquard, who in turn had a 20 second lead over Alaphilippe, with Boev splitting them, and a 30 second lead over the rest of the pack. Yohan Paillot, starting the stage 38 seconds down, won with the highest billing, getting a big enough gap to take the overall title too. Alaphilippe put in a good ride, considering his not so great TT skills, to finish 5th on the day, pushing him ahead of Coquard, into 2nd place. Coquard settled for 3rd place overall, after losing more than half a minute. Ion and Sutterlin disappointed with their times. Ben Swift, too, lost three places to finish 4th in the GC.
A much improved performance from the team in this race. Both Coquard and Alaphilippe did very well in all stages. Coquard was particularly brilliant in the sprints, finishing on the podium in each of them. Alaphilippe's debut turned to be very good. Also, Korniets did well to pick up his second KOM jersey this season in as many races. An inspired Ben Swift was the only thing which kept us from the Green jersey, while Paillot's domination in the TTs saw him pipping us to the GC post. Nonetheless, a good race for the team overall.
. The early season form has been good so far...
