Yesterday gave us a pretty big suprise result! Sam Bennett had been dominating this years race winning all three sprints so far. He was finally defeated by Alvaro Hodeg after a chaotic sprint that was unfortunately marred by a crash.
Today won’t be for the sprinters, since it’s time for a very short, almost prologue-like timetrail.
The profile leaves no room for misunderstanding, the course for this timetrial is as flat as it can get. As the map above shows, it is also not a technical at one, with only a couple of easy corners and one 180 degree turn around the half-way point. This leaves us no doubt that this stage one is going to be for the big powerhouses.
Well, there is not going to be much racing today. It’s every man for himself in the timetrial!
There might be a little bit of rain in the morning, but it should be all dry when the riders hit the road. As we are near the coast, the wind could play a role today.
Stefan Küng
Last year, he destroyed everyone here in a timetrail that was only slightly longer. He does not look as good as last year with his new team and on a different bike, but he is still one of the main contenders for today.
Jos van Emden
This TT seems like it was made for Jos van Emden. Short,non-technical and long straight road. His time-trials this year have not been that impressive and his form seems to be a bit off, but there is no doubt that winning today is one of his main goals of his season.
Soren Kragh Andersen
Another rider that has not been that impressive this season. He does seem te be getting in form slowly. If the form is good, he will be challenging for the win today.
Filippo Ganna
Ganna has alwasy been a very talented timetrialer, and the switch to Team Ineos has proven to be a good one. The distance today should suit him as a someone coming from the track
Edoardo Affini
He was hugely impressive in the European Championships, taking the 3rd place. Could be the suprise of the day if he has the same form.
Jack Bauer
MTS have massively improved their time-trailing this season. Bauer said before the race that he targeted this stage. We don’t except a win, but he will definitely be close.
A victory for Sunweb: Soren Kragh Andersen!
