VeloHuman

Tag: Stage 21

  • Vuelta a España 2014: Stage 21 Preview

    Vuelta a España 2014: Stage 21 Preview

    Stage 21 Profile

    Stage 21: Santiago de Compostela › Santiago de Compostela. El Final del Camino – 9.7 km

    The Vuelta’s final stage is here! After Alberto Contador’s decisive mountain victory in the penultimate day of the race, the short individual time trial up next won’t have much of an impact on the General Classification, but stage honors are still on offer, and there are plenty of riders who will like their chances to close out the last Grand Tour of the year with a win.

    The 9.7 kilometer route begins with a flat section and then a short downhill stretch, followed by a long section of slight ups and and downs (it averages more up than down) that evens out with about 3 kilometers to go. Then comes a quick descent and then the flattish (there is a very, very minor gradient) final 1.5 kilometers. Without much in the way of topography, and at less than 10 kilometers, it’s going to be an extremely fast stage. It may rain, and it could be a bit windy, both factors that could definitely shake things up in a chrono like this.

    The Stage 21 profile suits the real specialists in the time trialing discipline, but a 9.7 kilometer ITT after three weeks of tough racing is different from a short ITT to start a Grand Tour. Everyone will be feeling the effects of the long jorney through Spain. That could make for some interesting results in the Vuelta’s last day.

    One star time trialist who should still be feeling good even after all the challenging climbs of the race is Sky’s Chris Froome. Barring a bad crash by Contador, Froome won’t have any chance of taking enough time back from the race leader to move up from 2nd place, but he’ll still want to put in a big ride and maybe come away from the race with a stage win. He has looked stellar in the past few days (a significant improvement over the way he looked in the Vuelta’s first time trial), and this will be a nice chance to end the Vuelta on a high note. He won a similar short chrono back in June in the Dauphine. Starting late in the day, he’ll be able to gauge his efforts against those who have gone before, and he’ll also probably face a bit less wind.

    Movistar’s Adriano Malori was underwhelming in the Vuelta’s first race against the clock, but this short, flat test suits him perfectly. He took his first WorldTour win in Tirreno-Adriatico back in March on a very similar profile, beating out Tony Martin and Fabian Cancellara in the process. He should contend for the win here.

    Trek’s Kristof Vandewalle is another chrono specialist who should be in the mix. He’s been hard to beat against the clock recently. He took a win over Malori in the closing time trial stage of the Tour de Pologne last month. Teammate Jesse Sergeant, very strong in flat ITTs, will be another top contender on Stage 21.

    Garmin-Sharp’s Rohan Dennis hasn’t had as much of an impact on this Vuelta as maybe he would have hoped coming in, but he’s an elite time trialist who will love this chance to land a result before the race is over.

    Tinkoff-Saxo’s Alberto Contador can’t be ruled out, having come in a close 2nd to Froome in the short ITT that opened the Dauphine. Despite his comfortable hold on the red jersey, he’s not one to pass up a chance at victory.

    Michael Matthews could surprise some people: he’s quite effective against the clock in a shorter chorno. Maciej Bodnar, Daniele Bennati, Alexey Lutsenko, Manuel Quinziato, Jonathan Castroviejo, Tobias Ludvigsson, Cameron Meyer, and Patrick Gretsch are others who could contend for stage honors here.

    VeloHuman Stage Favorites

    1. Chris Froome | 2. Adriano Malori | 3. Kristof Vandewalle

    As Stage 21 is the final stage of the race, this is the last VeloHuman preview of the 2014 Vuelta a España. I’ve had a blast previewing every day of racing, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading! Stay connected by following @VeloHuman on Twitter and by checking out the brand new VH Facebook page, and don’t miss VeloHuman’s preview of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal, the last WorldTour race before the World Championships in Spain. VH will of course be previewing the main events of Worlds as well, so stay tuned.

    -Dane Cash

  • Tour de France 2014: Stage 21 Preview

    Tour de France 2014: Stage 21 Preview

    Stage 21 Profile

    Stage 21: Évry › Paris – 137.5 km

    With the time trial done and dusted (and won, unsurprisingly, by Tony Martin), only the Champs-Élysées finale remains in the 2014 Tour de France. Just 137.5 kilometers in length and quite flat, Stage 21 starts out in parade-like fashion, with champagne toasts and photo opportunities, and the pace remains pleasant until the peloton reaches Paris, when things start to speed up as the riders enter a 7 kilometer finishing circuit and begin an eight-lap journey to the end of the Tour de France. A few aggressive riders will attempt to break away from the pack on the circuit, but as the eighth lap and the final crossing of the line on the Champs-Élysées get closer and closer, the sprint teams will ramp up the pace, making it virtually impossible to stay away. Victory in the final stage of the Tour de France is one of the most prestigious prizes in the sport, and it’s rare that anything stands in the way of a sprinters’ battle royale on the Champs-Élysées.

    Marcel Kittel of Giant-Shimano won the Champs-Élysées finale of last year’s race, and he is in the hunt for his fourth stage win at this year’s Tour de France. All three of his victories so far came very early in the race, as he did struggle a bit on some of the tougher stages after the first week, but Stage 21 doesn’t have the sort of profile that is likely to take much out of the massive German sprinter. Kittel has established himself as a dominant force in tests of pure speed, and he will be the rider to beat on the Champs-Élysées.

    Lotto Belisol’s Andre Greipel does have a stage win under his belt in this year’s Tour, but he will be hungry for another here. In a drag race, few can match Marcel Kittel, but Greipel is probably the rider with the best chance of doing so. He has not done the best job of positioning himself in the many sprint stages of this race so far, but he has a strong support train and this is not a stage with too many obstacles for the powerhouse fast men to overcome on their way to the final few hundred meters. If he can nail the run-in, Greipel can challenge for victory on Stage 21.

    Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff typically prefers fast finishes that follow hard days in the saddle, but he’s also got plenty of pure sprinting ability. He’s looked particularly strong in this race, benefitting from a team that is more focused on his success than they usually are. 6th on the final stage of the 2013 edition of the Tour, he could contend for the win on the Champs-Élysées this year.

    Cannondale’s Peter Sagan will have one last chance at a stage victory in the 2014 Tour de France here in Paris. He doesn’t have the top speed of Marcel Kittel, but he was runner-up to Mark Cavendish in the final stage of the 2012 Tour, and given his talent and tendency to position himself well for the charge to the line, he can never be counted out.

    OPQS’s Mark Renshaw knows how to deliver a result on the Champs-Élysées, even though in the past his biggest successes have been all about providing an excellent leadout to someone else. This year, he’ll have a rare chance to be the featured rider on the final stage of the Tour, and he’s shown impressive speed in this race so far. FDJ’s Arnaud Demare has struggled to make it to the finish with the lead group in many of the sprint days in this race, but the journey to the line is quite short on this stage. If he’s there in the final few hundred meters, he could be in the mix. Europcar’s Bryan Coquard has racked up quite a few Top 10s so far in the Tour, and as a star of the track, he’ll enjoy the chance for a drag race to the line.

    Tinkoff-Saxo’s Daniele Bennati, Garmin-Sharp’s Ramunas Navardauskas, OGE’s Michael Albasini, and AG2R’s Samuel Dumoulin are outsiders who could land strong results on Stage 21, while Giant-Shimano’s John Degenkolb will be ready to step up for his team as a quality alternative should anything happen to Marcel Kittel.

    VeloHuman Stage Favorites

    1. Marcel Kittel | 2. Andre Greipel | 3. Alexander Kristoff

    As Stage 21 is the final stage of the race, this is the last VeloHuman preview of the 2014 Tour de France. I’ve had a blast previewing every day of racing, and I have particularly enjoyed hearing from those of you who have reached out to talk racing, to ask for an opinion on your favorite long shot, or just to say hello! I hope you’ll continue to stay connected by following @VeloHuman on Twitter and by checking out the brand new VeloHuman Facebook page.

    Lastly, an important note: while the Tour may be reaching its conclusion, VeloHuman is nowhere near done for the year! There are still rider interviews to come and plenty of favorites and outsiders to be named for races like the Vuelta a España, Il Lombardia, and the World Championship Road Race, so even after the last rider crosses the finish line on the Champs-Élysées, stay tuned for a whole lot more in 2014.

    -Dane Cash

  • Giro d’Italia 2014: Stage 21 Preview

    Giro d’Italia 2014: Stage 21 Preview

    Stage 21 Profile

    Stage 21: Gemona del Friuli > Trieste – 172 km

    Just like that, the final stage of the 2014 Giro d’Italia is here. It’s been an eventful ride, and not without controversy, but it all comes to a close at the Trieste finish line. It’s a huge accomplishment to finish a Grand Tour, and the fans will line the road to voice their admiration as the peloton bids farewell. The fast men have braved several grueling climbs in the past few days (including the brutal Monte Zoncolan conquered by Michael Rogers on Stage 20) to reach this last contest.

    The Stage 21 course is pretty straightforward. The riders will traverse a little over 114 kilometers of mostly flat roads to reach Trieste, where the stage and the 2014 Giro d’Italia will finish after eight laps of a 7.15 km city circuit. Each lap involves both a small climb of a little less than a kilometer at an average gradient a bit over 4%, and then a quick but somewhat technical descent. The final kilometer includes an early left hook, but from there it’s a mostly straightforward run to the line, with a gentle rightward curve in the final 500 meters.

    While there are a few bumps along the journey, it’s hard to see the sprinters letting this one get away from them. The Giro’s final stage is a big prize, and after the initial period of riding at a parade pace is over, the sprint trains are going to ramp up the speed to shut down anyone with dreams of getting ahead for a solo victory. Anything other than a bunch gallop among the heavyweight fast men will be a shock.

    It’s been a while since the sprinters had the spotlight, but little has changed in the predictive pecking order. FDJ’s Nacer Bouhanni, three times a stage winner already and wearer of the red points jersey, is the rider to beat. At the beginning of this race, it seemed that he might abandon in the mountains, but when Marcel Kittel exited the race early and left the sprints open to Bouhanni, the young French star found himself in the driver’s seat for the points jersey very quickly. He resolved to survive the mountains, and survive he did. Now, he’s got an excellent opportunity to pick up win number four. His rivals will have to step up their game if they want to beat Bouhanni; he has already proven himself best in the sprints in this Giro d’Italia.

    Giacomo Nizzolo, three time runner-up to Bouhanni, may have his best opportunity to finally nab a win here in Stage 21. There are twists and turns late in the circuit, but the final 500 meters only involve a slight rightward pull, which should allow the sprinters to reach some high speeds. Nizzolo has struggled a bit with positioning and timing in this Giro’s sprint stages, but for once the last several hundred meters will set up a pretty straightforward gallop to the line. This is his last chance to defeat Bouhanni, so I expect that he’ll hit an impressive velocity on this finishing straight.

    Cannondale’s Elia Viviani has excellent top-speed, and while he and his squad have disappointed in this race, I think they have a nice chance to get it right in this finale, which is relatively uncomplicated compared to some of the technical circuits they faced early in the Giro. Cannondale doesn’t have a GC rider to worry about, and they haven’t picked up a single stage in the race: they are going to go all out to get Viviani into position here.

    Giant-Shimano’s Luka Mezgec should be in the mix. A strong GSH leadout will position him well to take on the other fast men. Sky’s Ben Swift should be there as well, fighting for this last chance to bring home a victory for a team that has had so many near misses but no wins in the Giro. Lampre’s Roberto Ferrari and Garmin’s Tyler Farrar are strong outsiders. Bardiani-CSF’s Enrico Battaglin will hope to pick up one more victory for his very successful squad. Movistar’s Francisco Ventoso might even give it a go, as his duty protecting Nairo Quintana is finally coming to an end.

    VeloHuman Stage Favorites

    1. Nacer Bouhanni | 2. Giacomo Nizzolo | 3. Elia Viviani

    It’s been a blast previewing every stage in this race! I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have. If you don’t already, follow me @VeloHuman on Twitter for more analysis, and stay tuned for previews of the Criterium du Dauphine, the Tour de Suisse, and, of course, the Tour de France (with individual previews of all 21 stages), along with plenty of other great content over the next few weeks.