Forum search & shortcuts

UPDATE: CLASSIFIEDS section refreshed, redesigned, searchable: Go take a look

[Closed] Tour de France 2020 Stage 5 - Gap > Privas

lunge · 2020-09-02T08:59:29Z

Good day yesterday, that has prompted many questions. Has Roglic gone to early? Was Bernal sand bagging? Has Alaph lost some form? Well, I suspect none of those will be answered today. So lets see what's in store? The Route: a blogger’s rest day, this one doesn’t need a big write-up to explain the intricacies of the parcours. It’s downhill out of the Alps and characterised by wide roads along big valleys through les Les Baronnies. The intermediate sprint should be interesting as we have a contest for the green jersey. With 40km to go the race passes through the city of Montélimar then it’s across the Rhone valley and here the Mistral wind will get up, a crosswind into, through, and out of the city. Then a headwind as they go into the hills with 20km to go and here there’s a 3km climb at 4%, not hard but look to see if some teams try to put pressure on the heavyset sprinters. The approach to the finish is on a big road and there are some 4% sections which could tip some sprinters into the red or cause positioning problems and it’s exposed in places to the crosswinds. The Finish: there’s a bend to the right at the flamme rouge and here’s the steepest part of the finish, 150m with a 6-7% ramp at first, then it levels off. There’s a portion downhill and then a gentle drag up the line but only slightly. It’s a subtle finish, riders need to get over the brief uphill kick without going into the red and then keep going on the downhill section so they’re not swamped from behind. Sprint stage then, usual contenders? Yep. The Contenders: we’re beginning to get a hint at the hierarchy. Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) can win steeper uphill finishes than this, he’s a safe pick but the only doubts are over his climbing at the moment, if things are nervous in the crosswinds can he stay the course? Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quickstep) ought to win a stage but as mentioned before he’s sometimes error prone in the final moments of a sprint so he’s harder to back. Normally Elia Viviani (Cofidis) would come next but he’s having problems and even Cofidis management are worried. Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) would like it to be steeper but might feel more confident here and otherwise Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) is an easy pick, powerful in the sprint, versatile for the hills and crosswinds. Alexander Kristoff (UAE Emirates) and Giacomo Nizzolo (NTT) should close. And as ever, yesterday. Oh France, you wonderful place. The favourites. Just fr Flashy, GvA and a gold bike. Have we all read to much into a short, uphill sprint?

Page 2 / 2 Prev

roger_mellie

Posts: 1672

Full Member

Cheers nbt.

Posted : 03/09/2020 3:39 pm

Page 2 / 2 Prev