TOUR OF POLAND 2019 – STAGE 2 PREVIEW
During today’s stage our blog’s pick Pascal Ackermann confirmed that he is the strongest sprinter in this race by quite easily winning the bunch sprint, landing us a nice 2.6/1 bet. Gaviria displayed a strong performance but could not beat the German to the finish line. Van Poppel deserves a honorable mention for coming in 5th after Ackermann, Gaviria, Jakobsen and Walscheid, outperforming a lot of ‘purer’ sprinters. With that said, let’s head to tomorrow’s route!
The Route:
The second stage takes us for Tarnowskie Gory to Katowice. The stage is not particularly long (152.7 km) and has only little elevation, which makes a sprint likely. Therefore: lets examine the final kilometres of this race.
The final 3 kilometers consist of a left turn at around 2.5 km , a roundabout which we pass straigthforward at 2 km, and a full roundabout turn at around 1 km from the finish line. From there it is basically a straight line to the finish. There is about 15 meters of elevation between kilometer 3 and 1 which will not scare any sprinter (which says quite something given that Mareczko is participating in this race).
The final kilometer has a very slight negative gradient, but this should be almost negligable.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the last kilometer consist of an easy 3-way road which should give sprinters and their lead-out trains plenty of position to manouver.
Weather-Watch
It will be a likeable day on the bike tomorrow, with a maximum temperature of 21 degrees and a gentle breeze from the north-west. This also means that the sprinters will have a gentle tailwind in the final kilometer.
The Race:
The way this race will play out is pretty predictable. If a group escapes they will be reeled in by the sprinters in time for the finish. After which the sprinters and their sprint trains will decide the winner of this stage.
Given the parcours of the final kilometers, sprinters will ideally position themselves on the inside of the final bend into the last 800 meters at a high speed with at least 2 or 3 lead-out men in front of them. From there on it will basically be a drag race to the finish between the lead-out trains that are upfront. Positioning will be key as it will be very hard for sprinters to regain positions in the final kilometers as the pace will be tremendous.
The Favorites:
Given the final of this stage, strong power-house sprinters with good lead-out support are bound to show good results here. This leads us to the favorites for the stage:
Pascal Ackermann
Quite easily won today, seems to be the fastest man in the peloton which makes him the man to beat for tomorrow.
Fernando Gaviria
Launched his sprint early but did not manage to stay up-front until the finish line. Still very impressed with his performance and he might grow in form as the race continues
Fabio Jakobsen
Was not perfectly positioned today, will be easier tomorrow given the parcours and his decent lead-out train
Outsiders: Walscheid, Swift, van Poppel, Sarreau, Mezgec, Modolo, Venturini, Mareczko, Cavendish
The Winner:
Easy, the fastest man wins: Pascal Ackermann
