Stage 1: Apeldoorn › Apeldoorn – 9.8km (ITT)
The 2016 Giro d’Italia opens in the Netherlands with a short, flat time trial. Without any climbs to speak of and good weather in the forecast, the corners will be the only real challenge on the day. Expect the specialists to shine here in the first battle for the pink jersey. In particular, those with top-end speed will like their chances.
Fabian Cancellara and Tom Dumoulin are the two big favorites here, though Cancellara apparently has the flu, which could make this Dumoulin’s to lose. He won’t have many opportunities like this to take a Giro stage win in his home country, and this TT suits him well.
Jos Van Emden is another home rider with a chance. He’s been a bit quiet since his second-place ride in the Tour of Qatar’s stage 2 TT, but he showed at last year’s Eneco Tour TT just how good he can be when things go his way. Bob Jungels, Anton Vorobyev, Mathias Brandle, Jack Bobridge, and Ramunas Narvadauskas are others who could be in the mix.
Keep an eye on Mikel Landa and Esteban Chaves on the day. The time trial mileage in this Giro could be the biggest challenge for both riders, and Stage 1 will be a good opportunity to get an idea of where they are in terms of form against the clock right now before the more critical Stage 9 ITT.
VeloHuman Stage Favorites
1. Tom Dumoulin | 2. Fabian Cancellara | 3. Jos Van Emden.
Be sure to check out my overall race preview over at VeloNews, and don’t miss the Recon Ride’s pre-race show! Giacomo Nizzolo and Jakob Fuglsang both make an appearance in the podcast.