Stage 9 (TTT): Vannes › Plumelec – 28km
Alexis Vuillermoz’s hilltop victory on Stage 8 heralded a stretch of important days for the GC riders at the 2015 Tour de France. Next up: a 28km team time trial.
The road from Vannes to Plumelec is quite an interesting one as team time trial courses go, with three uncategorized (but still significant) climbs in the profile. The last of them has a 6% gradient for nearly 2km. Uphill finishes are uncommon for team time trials, so it’s going to be interesting to see how the teams handle the intriguing route, especially after a brutal first week that threw bad weather, rough terrain, and harsh climbs at the peloton.
Still, tired as the riders are, the flat and downhill stretches on this course are likely to be taken quite fast, as there aren’t many twists and turns to slow down the teams on their way.
BMC is the heavy favorite to win this stage. They are the reigning world champions in the discipline, with four of those six worlds-winning riders on the BMC roster at the Tour. The rolling parcours should not trouble them too much, as most of the riders are capable climbers as well. With the yellow jersey well within Tejay van Garderen’s grasp, motivation will be high for BMC, and they’ll also have the advantage of a late start thanks his current third-place position on the GC leaderboard.
It would be a surprise for anyone else to win this stage, but Team Sky has a shot. The black and blue squad was less-than-stellar in the team time trial at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné, but the stakes are much higher here (and Sky is more motivated to succeed on the sport’s biggest stage), and the riders making up the squad certainly don’t lack for chrono talent. The parcours should suit them well, as Sky is packing probably the best lineup of climbing ability in the Tour de France.
Movistar also has a chance at victory, with Adriano Malori and Alex Dowsett leading the team and plenty of other time trial talents on the squad as well. Alejandro Valverde may be known for his explosive climbing legs but he’s no slouch against the clock, and even Nairo Quintana can put in a good TT when there are hills involved.
Astana is the third team that I see having a chance at besting top favorite BMC. A similar lineup of Astana riders went second to BMC in the team time trial at the Dauphiné, and the importance of this race should have them motivated to ride at a very high level.
Etixx-Quick-Step, lacking Tony Martin, will have a much harder time vying for the win here than they would have with him leading the way—that said, don’t be surprised if they still put in a good ride. There is still some TT-ing talent on the roster. Tinkoff-Saxo has put in a few strong TTTs so far this year but they are lacking some of their stronger riders against the clock for this test. Katusha is in the same boat, but in a much more extreme fashion—Joaquim Rodríguez could lose a big chunk of time on this stage, as Katusha, despite delivering a few impressive team time trial successes this season, is down in numbers, and they left most of their strong TT talents at home anyway.
VeloHuman Stage 9 Favorites
1. BMC | 2. Sky | 3. Movistar
With a rest day on tap following Stage 9, the next stage preview will be up on Monday—in the meantime, be sure to check out the Recon Ride podcast, which will publish a new episode previewing the next week of racing not long after Sunday’s TTT!
-Dane Cash