Tag: Stage 7

Volta a Catalunya 2015: Stage 7 Preview

Stage 7: Barcelona › Barcelona – 126.6 km

After yet another surprise stage winner on the sixth day of the race (Sergey Chernetskiy won from the breakaway), it’s fitting that the Volta a Catalunya should close out with an unpredictable Stage 7. The 126.6-kilometer route will take the peloton in and around Barcelona, the Catalonian capital, and the profile is punctuated by eight trips up the Alt de Montjuïc, a 2 kilometer ascent with a 5.7% average gradient. After each climb comes a winding descent that leads back into the foot of the next journey upward, except for the final one, which runs right down to the finish line.

The up-and-down nature of the second half of the stage makes this a terrific day for the breakaway riders; the pack will have a hard time controlling the race with so many tempo changes and twists and turns near the finish. The eight-climbs-of-the-Montjuïc finale was used in both of the past two editions of the Volta and breakaway riders took it both times. Still, things are so tight on the overall leaderboard, and that the bonus seconds on offer here will be enticing for those looking to take this race out of Richie Porte’s hands; in short, as hard as it will be to maintain a hold on this race, many strong teams in the peloton will be motivated to do so.

Should the breakaway make it three straight years of success, look for riders like Tejay van Garderen, Tom Danielson, Maciej Paterski, and Jonathan Hivert to try to get one more day of hard work out of their legs after already putting in a lot of mileage off the front already. Giampaolo Caruso, far enough behind on GC that he might be given a bit of freedom, could be a good rider to watch here as well, on a parcours that suits his strong kick. Samuel Sánchez is another rider who is great on the short climbs and outside of GC contention; BMC has been working hard to get as much out of this race as possible, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them give Sánchez the green light to make a move if van Garderen is finally feeling a little winded after another difficult day. The stage also suits Enrico Gasparotto, Julien Simon, and Martin Elmiger.

Regardless of whether they’re fighting for stage honors, the GC riders will have their hands full here, with so much climbing and descending. If they do manage to reel in the breakaway and fight for the victory, an in-form Alejandro Valverde is again a good pick to win another day. Explosive Dan Martin and fast-finishing Rigoberto Urán and Wilco Kelderman are others on the GC leaderboard who are likely to battle it out here if it comes down to the overall race contenders.

VeloHuman Stage Favorites

1. Giampaolo Caruso | 2. Alejandro Valverde | 3. Dan Martin

Be sure to follow @VeloHuman on Twitter for more race analysis!

-Dane Cash

March 28, 2015
Vuelta a España 2014: Stage 7 Preview

Stage 7: Alhendín › Alcaudete – 169 km

Alejandro Valverde won a tough Stage 6 that saw the first serious GC action of the race, as several big names lost ground on the day’s final ascent. Stage 7 shouldn’t be as decisive for the General Classification, but it is a hilly one, packed with smaller climbs that, when taken all together, will exact a toll on the legs, even if the profile may not look particularly brutal from a categorized climb standpoint. The peloton will at least be allowed to ease into the bumpy parcours with about 30 kilometers of relatively flat roads to start the stage, but after that it’s an undulating journey basically all the way to the line, starting with the Cat. 3 Alto de Illora. With around 60 kilometers to go, the riders will reach the bottom of the Alto Ahillo climb, a long slog of 12.1 kilometers at a 4% average grade, and the Cat. 2 will likely find out some tired legs at this point in the day. On the way up, the riders will pass through finishing city of Alcaudete for the first time. From the top of the climb, though, it’s still nearly 50 kilometers to the end of the stage, a stretch that is, by and large, mostly downhill, at least until about the 15-km-to-go mark, when the road gently angles upward again. The incline becomes more pronounced toward the very end of the day, with the final 5 kilometers averaging roughly 4%. The uphill finish is not categorized in any way, but it’s certainly steep enough to bring the punchier specialists to the fore.

The constantly up-and-down parcours of Stage 7, coupled with a finish that won’t be all that appetizing for the sprinters, will make this an enticing opportunity for the long-range opportunists. It will be difficult for the peloton to control the race with this profile, and motivation in the pack to do so may not be all that high, given the difficult finale. Still, it’s not a certainty that the escape will survive, thanks to an especially impressive list of quick men on this startlist who also have strong climbing legs; several teams do have riders who will find the possibility of a final uphill sprint to their liking, and if enough miss out on the break, the scales will tip in the favor of the pack.

As is the case on most breakaway-friendly days, there is no real outright favorite. A few names stand out as possible protagonists, however. Michael Matthews of Orica-GreenEdge is certainly one. The Stage 7 finish suits him perfectly, with the gradient to slow the other quick men. If his team can keep the breakaway in check over the undulating profile, Matthews will be the rider to beat at the end of the day.

BMC’s Philippe Gilbert is another obvious candidate on this profile. In an uphill gallop, few are better, and he showed decent form placing 7th in Stage 5’s flatter finale. With the World Championships approaching, he is likely to get stronger and stronger as this race goes on.

Giant-Shimano’s John Degenkolb would prefer a slightly less steep final kilometer, but he’s still a dangerous option on this stage if things stay together for a sprint. His team has several strong engines for this sort of profile to give him support throughout the day.

As a team, Belkin has a lot of flexibility for this one, with several riders who could play joker to some more obvious candidates for stage honors. For one, Moreno Hofland is dangerous an uphill sprint. If he doesn’t make it to the line with the lead group, though, Paul Martens might, and the veteran German also has a quick finish. If things are too selective for both, GC man Wilco Kelderman packs a speedy kick of his own.

The list of other fast finishers who could contend for Stage 7 if the break is reeled in includes Lloyd Mondory, Filippo Pozzato, Vicente Reyes, Daniele Bennati, Jasper Stuyven and Fabio Felline, Tom Boonen, Gerald Ciolek, and possibly even Nacer Bouhanni, who is climbing reasonably well in this Vuelta. GC riders like Alejandro Valverde, Dan Martin, Daniel Moreno, Cadel Evans, and Joaquim Rodriguez could be in the mix as well.

Predicting who will try to win this stage from afar is quite difficult, but a few riders come to mind as potential contenders should they make it into a long-distance move. Alexandr Kolobnev will like the finish and he’s a rider who is capable of spending the day off the front. Luis Leon Sanchez has not featured too prominently in many big races lately, but this profile should suit his skillset and he could try to get into the day’s breakaway. Adam Hansen has shown an interest in getting out front in this Vuelta, and he should manage the climbs well. Tony Martin is a danger whenever the profile is friendly to solo artists. Peter Sagan has already tried to get into a break in this race, and this could be a day for him to try his legs again; Cannondale has Oscar Gatto and Damiano Caruso as well should Sagan not be up for this. Bob Jungels, Damiano Cunego, Anthony Roux, and Ronaldo Nocentini are just a few others who could have success on Stage 7 if they make it into a breakaway.

VeloHuman Stage Favorites

1. Michael Matthews | 2. Philippe Gilbert | 3. Alexandr Kolobnev

Be sure follow @VeloHuman on Twitter for live commentary of this and every stage of the 2014 Vuelta a España! The next preview will be up after the conclusion of Stage 7, so stay tuned.

August 28, 2014
Tour de France 2014: Stage 7 Preview

Stage 7: Épernay › Nancy – 234.5 km

With four days for the sprinters (including a Stage 6 that went to Andre Greipel) already on the books in the 2014 Tour de France, one could be forgiven for taking a cursory look at the Stage 7 profile and assuming that it’s certain to lead to another bunch sprint showdown. After all, a pair of Cat. 4 climbs are the only categorized uphill challenges on the menu. However, both of those climbs are crested in the final 20 kilometers of the day, and the second, though only 1.3 kilometers in total length, grades out at an average of 7.9%—and from the top it’s less than 6 km to the line, mostly downhill. What’s more, Stage 7 is 234.5 kilometers from start to finish, making it the second longest stage in the entire Tour de France.

That last bump in the road could inspire the punchier riders to attempt escape close to the finish, especially after such a long day in the saddle. And with a few tough stages ahead and no certainty that the big sprinters will survive late attacks, the peloton could struggle finding the motivation to chase down the day’s breakaway, making a long-distance winner at least a possibility. There are a number of different potential scenarios for Stage 7, making it a hard one to predict. However it plays out, the favorites will be the riders with the endurance to handle all 234.5 km and the versatility and explosiveness to excel in what will likely be a challenging finale.

As is often the case in the difficult hilly stages, Cannondale’s Peter Sagan will be a favorite for victory. If the peloton does bring this all back together before it’s too late, his team will likely have played a role, and more than any other speedster in the Tour de France, Sagan is capable of handling the steep stuff. If anything, he is himself a danger to put in a dig on the climb and then divebomb the descent all the way to the line. In a sprint, he is one of the fastest in the peloton, and it seems possible that the German duo generally regarded as a tier above him might struggle on the last ascent. This could be his best opportunity so far to pick up a win.

Andre Greipel of Lotto Belisol, one of the aforementioned duo, is underrated in his ability to handle difficult days, but this might be a bit too much to ask; there just won’t be a lot of time for anyone who loses ground on the final climb to get back into contention, given the descent that follows. Meanwhile, Lotto’s sprint nemesis Giant-Shimano will be in a tough spot; normally this might be a day for Marcel Kittel to give leadership over to versatile John Degenkolb, but Degenkolb was injured in the Tour’s fifth stage and may not be able to contend. Obviously, if Kittel or Degenkolb manage to hold on for a sprint finish, they will be favorites, but that seems like a lot to ask.

There are a few sprinters other than Sagan who do have a decent shot here, however. Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff relishes the extra-long days, and he’s not a bad climber either. He has come close to victory more than once so far in this Tour, and a stage that may see Kittel unable to contest the sprint is his best opportunity to finally get a victory. Ramunas Navardauskas is slotted in as Garmin-Sharp’s sprinter of note, and he is especially adept at fast finishes following tough days. FDJ’s Arnaud Demare normally displays decent uphill ability, but he crashed on Stage 6, and even after finding his way back to the bunch following the incident, he was later dropped before the sprint finish; he may not be at full strength here, though if he is feeling up for it, he’s a danger in a bunch gallop.

Europcar’s Bryan Coquard, Trek’s Danny van Poppel, and OPQS’s Mark Renshaw have all performed well in the fast finishes so far, but even this does end in a sprint, surviving the difficult day could be too much to ask from them. Meanwhile, versatile quick men like Movistar’s JJ Rojas, AG2R’s Samuel Dumoulin, and IAM Cycling’s Heinrich Haussler, normally fringe contenders, could find themselves a bit better positioned than usual should this come down to a reduced bunch sprint.

With a late climb coming after a long day of riding, we are certain to see plenty of punchy, aggressive riders trying to escape from the pack, or at least attempting to drop the speedsters that we’ve seen over and over again in the Tour’s many sprint stages so far. For these in-betweener, opportunist types, it may be a tough decision whether or not to try for a victory from the breakaway or from the peloton: I think the pack is the smarter choice here, but if a strong enough group makes the early move, it isn’t a given that the pack will reel them in.

Either from the break or the peloton, Orica-GreenEdge has cards to play for Stage 7 in Simon Gerrans and Michael Albasini. Gerrans would have been a top favorite for the stage, but I’m not sure he’s back to full strength after his crash in the Tour’s first stage. If he is recovered by the time the peloton sets out from Épernay, though, he will have an excellent chance at victory: the Milano-Sanremo and Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner loves long, grueling days, and he excels on late climbs. Michael Albasini will be a more than able alternative for OGE. He has been very explosive this year, putting in a nice performance on the steep final climb of La Fleche Wallonne and nabbing sprint victories aplenty in the Tour de Romandie.

Michal Kwiatkowski of OPQS always seems to be in the mix when a profile calls for an explosive finish. If any GC contenders decide to put the pressure on over Stage 7’s late bumps, expect Kwiatkowski to be right there at the end; he’s one of the two or three best sprinters of the General Classification riders. Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde is another. Belkin’s Bauke Mollema can be very explosive, and he’s underrated in the sprints even on a flat surface. Lampre’s Rui Costa loves to go on the attack on this sort of profile. And, of course, don’t rule out another attempted strike from yellow jersey wearer Vincenzo Nibali, who could see a steep ascent followed by a fast descent as a nice opportunity to pick up more time.

BMC’s Greg Van Avermaet just missed out on victory in the Tour’s second stage when the lead group allowed Nibali to escape, leaving 2nd place as the best possible result for those behind, but he’ll have another opportunity here to make it into a late move on the climb and then attempt outsprint anyone around him in the finish. The rider who broke Van Avermaet’s heart in the Tour of Flanders earlier this year, Fabian Cancellara, will also relish this opportunity: the long, challenging days are his forte, and he will enter Stage 7 with a deadly combination of good form (which he has shown on a number of stages so far) and plenty of motivation (having been unable to pick up a victory just yet).

Other riders who don’t mind a tough day of racing and who could look to escape from the pack, either in the day’s early break or late in the stage, include Europcar’s Tommy Voeckler and Cyril Gautier, Lotto Belisol’s Tony Gallopin, IAM Cycling’s Sylvain Chavanel, FDJ’s Arthur Vichot, OPQS’s Jan Bakelants, Garmin-Sharp’s Tom-Jelte Slagter, and Giant-Shimano’s Tom Dumoulin. Katusha’s Joaquim Rodriguez might have seen the late ascent as a nice opportunity to make a move, but he has not looked to be back to full strength just yet.

VeloHuman Stage Favorites

1. Peter Sagan | 2. Alexander Kristoff | 3. Michal Kwiatkowski

Be sure follow @VeloHuman on Twitter for live commentary on this and every stage of the 2014 Tour de France! The next preview will be up after the conclusion of Stage 7, so stay tuned. In case you missed it, the overall Tour de France preview can be found here.

-Dane Cash

July 10, 2014