VeloHuman

Tag: Tour de Suisse

  • Tour de Suisse 2013 Post-race Impressions: Costa Takes Yellow on the Final Day, Sagan Versatile as Ever

    TdSCorneringBrief Recap

    Mathias Frank might have spent the majority of the week in yellow, but Rui Costa’s final day victory to take the jersey from the Swiss rider came with an air of inevitability. After Cameron Meyer won a whacky opening time trial of just 8.1 kilometers in which conditions changed dramatically over the course of the afternoon, Mathias Frank took the lead in the third stage after back to back days of climbing (though Meyer, to his credit, never gave up his pursuit of GC). Over the next few days of flats and gentle hills, Costa was always lurking, watching sprinters and rouleurs racking up the points and waiting for his moment. In the race’s seventh and queen stage, Costa mastered a selective climb and won the day with Bauke Mollema and Tejay van Garderen in tow. By the end of the following and penultimate stage, Frank’s lead on GC had dwindled to just 13 seconds over Costa, and with a difficult time trial to cap off the race, it was clearly going to be too much to ask of Frank to hold onto the yellow jersey. He finished a disappointing 19th in the time trial. Meanwhile, Costa dominated the course, finishing 21 seconds ahead of Tanel Kangert and 29 seconds ahead of Bauke Mollema, and sliding easily into the overall win.

    Peter Sagan took the points classification after two impressive stage wins, first managing to hang on to the group of GC contenders over a tough climb in the race’s third stage and then outsprinting Daniele Bennati in the eighth stage.

    The final general classification standings looked like this:

    1. Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) Movistar Team | 31:08:11

    2. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | +0:01:02

    3. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | +0:01:10

    4. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ | +0:01:26

    5. Mathias Frank (Swi) BMC Racing Team | +0:01:43

    6. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team | +0:01:51

    7. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | +0:02:23

    8. Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp | +0:02:42

    9. Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha | +0:02:42

    10. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | +0:03:44

    Takeaways

    While their respective teammates were not living up to expectiations at the Critérium du Dauphiné (this would be a reference to Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde and Saxo-Tinkoff’s Alberto Contador), Rui Costa and Roman Kreuziger showed strong form in Switzerland. Costa was a favorite coming into the race after winning last year, and this year he was head and shoulders above the rest, finishing with more than a minute’s lead over Bauke Mollema. His performance in the final time trial was even more impressive than anyone expected. With a podium finish in Romandie and now this at the Tour de Suisse, Costa’s confidence has to be pretty high heading into the Tour de France, so it will be interesting to see how Movistar handles their trio of powerful mountaineers (along with Valverde and Costa, Pais Vasco winner Nairo Quintana makes three) in the Pyrenees and Alps.

    Bauke Mollema’s terrific week in Switzerland, capped off with a stage win and second overall, earned him the nod as team leader over Giro dropout Robert Gesink in the upcoming Tour de France. After a slower-than-hoped-for experience in the first day’s strange time trial, Mollema came out fighting the next day, soloing to the stage victory and beginning a tough climb up the leaderboard that ultimately put him onto the podium. For Blanco (which will be Team Belkin by the end of the month), who has seen a lot of underperforming lately, this kind of grit is a welcome sight. Blanco/Belkin will be sending a team composed almost solely of GC contenders and domestiques to France, and Mollema has proven himself a worthy leader.

    American Tejay van Garderen and Irishman Dan Martin finished one before the other, and both left Switzerland with question marks. Neither had a good opening time trial day, but Fabian Cancellara couldn’t even figure that stage out. When Frank took the leader’s jersey, van Garderen was happy to play lieutenenant for a little while in the former’s home tour. Meanwhile, Martin’s team went from strong to mediocre when 2012 Giro winner Ryder Hesjedal sustained hospitalization-level injuries in a bad stage 3 crash and was forced to pull out. Both riders managed to hang within striking distance of the podium over the next few days, but despite an uphill final day that suited both of them, Martin and van Garderen couldn’t make up any ground in the time trial either. As a favorite going into the race, van Garderen will be disappointed, but he generally hung on when the road went up and it’s tough to say how much of his time deficit to the leaders was due to his support of Frank. Martin will probably be less disappointed, managing a top 10 finish in his first WorldTour race since his Monument win at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April, and without Ryder Hesjedal. Hesjedal’s injuries apparently were not too serious, but there is no word yet on whether he will be good to go for the Tour. If he is, Garmin will take a strong team to France with Talansky, Martin and Hesjedal (and likely Farrar for stage wins).

    Speaking of stage wins, Peter Sagan did what he does best, wowing everyone with a pair of gutsy victories and winning the points jersey commandingly. There is no question of his being on form for France, and he showed his versatility more than ever with a win in the mountains of Switzerland. It will be tough for Cavendish, Griepel and co. to contend for green with a guy who can win stages with all but the steepest climbs. Arnaud Démare had an impressive week as well, notching a win in stage 4 and coming in third on stage 5. At just 21, he’s an exciting up-and-comer for FDJ.

    FDJ’s other exciting up-and-comer managed a 4th overall. Thibaut Pinot has to feel good about that display heading into the biggest competition on everyone’s calendar, which happens to be a home race for Pinot and his team.

    Simon Špilak finished in the top 10, but VeloHuman tipped him as a major podium contender—his 9th place is a bit of a disappointment. Katusha will also have been disappointed by Joaquim Rodriguez’s uninspiring Dauphiné. Fortunately, Dani Moreno picked up the slack with a podium finish there, but the team will be looking for the other two to show early in the Tour that they are, in fact, in shape this summer.

    Katusha will be thrilled, however, with Alexander Kristoff, who picked up his first WorldTour win in the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, out-sprinting guys like Sagan, Démare, and Matt Goss. At just 25, Kristoff will carry Katusha’s flat stage hopes in the Tour.

    Hats off to Cameron Meyer, who won the opening time trial and tried to hang on as long as he could despite not being as strong a climber as the other GC guys. He fell out of the top 10 after stage 4 but fought to get back in, and ended the race in a respectable 10th place. It’s not easy to go from the track to a top 10 in Switzerland, and Orica-GreenEdge will be looking for more from him in the Tour in case Matthew Goss continues to ride without results.

    -Dane Cash

    Photo by Bruno Hotz.

  • Tour de Suisse 2013 Pre-race Outlook

    PRIAll-Rounder Roundup

    Of June’s two major pre-Tour de France tuneup stage races, this week’s Critérium du Dauphiné has a reputation for being the one most favored by the Grand Tour’s top General Classification contenders, and this year that is especially true. With Froome, Contador, Valverde, and Rodriguez opting to take on the Critérium, the upcoming Tour de Suisse is starting to look like the practice run for some of the Tour de France’s other favorites. Still, the Tour de Suisse startlist is sporting some big names, and with the three Spaniards not exactly blowing the doors off of the Dauphiné (though Froome looks dominant), many of the GC-types at the Suisse will be looking to prove that they, too, belong among the list of Tour de France podium favorites.

    Some of the more well-known GC-type names in attendance at the Suisse? Tejay van Garderen, Rui Costa, Ryder Hesjedal, Michele Scarponi, Fabian Cancellara, and (obligatorily) Andy Schleck. However, just as is the case for the Critérium du Dauphiné, the top names at the Suisse may or may not decide to make an attempt at being the top performers overall. This is true for any race, of course, but it is especially true for the final race prior to cycling’s biggest event.

    Still, BMC told Cycling News that van Garderen is looking for a win at the Suisse, and we’re inclined to believe that the American will give it his best shot. After a commanding performance at the Tour of California, van Garderen looks like he has only gotten stronger since his top 5 finish at last year’s Tour de France. With the team’s full support, it’s hard to see van Garderen as anything but a favorite.

    Last year’s winner Rui Costa put in a strong performance at the Tour de Romandie in April, taking third (repeating his 2012 performance), showing strong form in advance of the Suisse. The rider from Portugal is the type who will probably not be sandbagging for the Tour de France, so if he’s feeling good, expect him to push for the GC at the Suisse with the full support of an ever-impressive Movistar team.

    Canadian Ryder Hesjedal failed to defend his Giro title, abandoning the race before it reached its hardest stages, stating that his withdrawal was due to illness. It’s hard to say whether or not he’s back up to his form, but if so, he’ll be happy to have a chance to prove that he’s ready again to handle a big stage race. Michele Scarponi, on the other hand, had a very strong Giro, but he finished the whole thing and might not be ready just yet to push for a victory in the Suisse.

    Cancellara won the Suisse a few years back, but since then he seems content to go for stage wins in his native territory; I don’t see why this year would be different, as he’s not a natural Alp-climber. Not much to say about Andy Schleck—he has yet to show that he’s still got it.

    There are a number of other names who will challenge, especially given that many of them aren’t just here for the tuneup. Blanco is absolutely stacked. They bring a stable of impressive all-rounders to the Suisse. Steven Kruijswijk was 3rd here in 2011. Bauke Mollema took 5th that year and has had strong performances in some of the Europe Tour stage races so far this year. A bit under the radar still, Wilco Kelderman showed good form at this year’s Giro, placing within the top 20, and he was 5h in Romandie and 6th at the Tour Down Under. He’s a great time trialist and one to watch. Luis Leon Sanchez is here, too. The number of possible contenders they have makes it difficult to tab one as a winning pick.

    Saxo-Tinkoff’s Roman Kreuziger, winner of the 2008 Suisse and at least on form enough this year to take a victory at Amstel Gold, should put in a strong performance; Nicolas Roche is here, too. Katusha’s Simon Špilak stands to build on his growing reputation as a strong GC guy after a 2nd place overall and a stage win in Romandie. In terms of form, he seems like one of the best bets to go far at the Suisse. Domenico Pozzovivo is another possible contender after a top 10 at the Giro.

    Garmin’s Dan Martin has had a terrific year so far, winning Cataluyna and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Given teammate Ryder Hesjedal’s big disappointment in the Giro, Garmin may be open to giving Martin a chance to show his stuff; this one may simply come down to whether Martin wants to push for victory or be content as a support rider. I think he wants to continue to prove himself as a GC type guy, and he certainly has the chops for a strong performance if he gives it his all. Mathias Frank is another interesting name whose role is as of yet unclear—surely he’d like to put in a strong performance in his home tour, and his past results have shown that he’s capable, but will BMC let him ride for his own edification?

    Stagehunters

    The aforementioned Fabian Cancellara will certainly produce some highlights in a number of stages, with time trials and hillier sprints awaiting his skillset. He had another laurel-filled Spring campaign and will be tough to beat on his home turf. On the flip side, Philippe Gilbert’s spring campaign was an immense disappointment. He has yet to earn his first victory of the year; he hasn’t even podiumed in a WorldTour race in 2013 yet. The rainbow jersey should be out for stage wins, but he and Cancellara will face stiff competition for points: Peter Sagan is here, coming off another strong Tour of California (after another amazing Spring). John Degenkolb and Orica’s Michael Albasini and Matthew Goss will be in the mix as well. This year’s “flat” stages seem to cater to all of these guys, with some bumps thrown in to keep things interesting. It will be interesting to see if Gilbert can finally notch his first WorldTour win this year against so many familiar faces. The Suisse has also potential for breakaway winners, so watch out for the ageless Jens Voigt, who showed California audiences in May that he’s still got it.

    Stages

    Stage 1: Quinto | 8.1km | ITT

    Stage 2: Quinto > Crans-Montana | 170.1km | Summit Finish

    Stage 3: Montreux > Meiringen | 203.3km | High Mountains

    Stage 4: Innertkirchen > Buochs | 161km | Medium Mountains

    Stage 5: Buochs > Leuggern | 176.4km | Flat

    Stage 6: Leuggern > Meilen | 186.1km | Flat

    Stage 7: Meilen > La Punt | 206km | High Mountains

    Stage 8: Zernez > Bad Ragaz | 180.5km | Medium Mountains

    Stage 9: Bad Ragaz > Flumserberg | 26.8km | ITT (Mountain)

    GC Predictions

    Winner: Tejay van Garderen

    Podium: Rui Costa, Simon Spilak

    Other strong contenders: Bauke Mollema, Wilco Kelderman, Roman Kreuziger, Mathias Frank, Dan Martin

    -Dane Cash

    Photo by Alfio Brignoni.