Vuelta a España: Stage 17 Preview & Favorites

After a well-deserved rest day, the Vuelta continues with a stage for the sprinters - or so it seems. In fact, the final 10 km are very demanding with a steep hill and a tricky descent. More on the later.

The day starts in Calahorra and finish in Burgos after 189 km in the saddle. Without being completely flat, this isn’t a very hilly stage either. The sprinters haven’t had many chances in this year’s Vuelta and their teams will be eager to control the race. The first 100 km take place in head- and crosswind and we shouldn’t see a breakaway get too much of a gap.  After 109.8 km it’s time for the first categorized climb of the day, Alto de Pradilla. It’s a category 3 climb and the 6 km towards the top have an average gradient of 5.4 %.

The next climb, Alto de Valmala, starts after 133.5 km and from its top there are 50 km to the finishing line. The last intermediate sprint comes with 36 km to go and from here, the riders will be able to enjoy a strong tailwind towards Burgos. On paper, the final 10 km don’t look very tough but if you haven’t done your homework, you will be in for a big surprise!

With about 10 km to go, the riders turn right - away from the big road - up the little Calle Eras de San Francisco. The following 1.2 km are uphill and especially the first part is steep. While the riders won’t be able to admire it, the TV-viewers will have a beautiful view over Burgos on the way towards the top of the hill. From here, it’s downhill for about 450 meter before the road kicks up again for 200 meters. The following 800 meters downhill are very technical and on narrow roads. The peloton will be stretch out significantly on this part, and it’s doubtful all the sprinters will make it back to the front in time.

The final 5 km are straight out with a few up and down parts. There is now cross- and headwind towards the line and it won’t be easy for a lonely rider to keep the peloton behind him. However, if the sprinters aren’t back in the peloton, it may be very difficult organizing the chase.

The final 14 km of stage 17. Many things to pay attention to!
Click for larger view.

We haven’t seen a regular mass sprint since Michael Matthews won Stage 5 and the chances are good that we won’t get one this time either. Usually Philippe Gilbert, Luis León Sanchez and Simon Gerrans would be excellent winner candidates for a finish like this one. However, they are all out of the race and instead we should probably look to opportunistic riders like Juan Antonio Flecha, Fabian Cancellara, Luca Paolini and Rinaldo Nocentini for a late attack on the hill.

Especially Fabian Cancellara is extremely strong right now and if he gets away on the descent, I doubt the peloton will see him again until after they cross the finishing line. The same goes for a rider like Samuel Sanchez. He’s getting better and better but he still isn’t able to beat the best climbers uphill. Sanchez knows how to attack on the final kilometers and keep the peloton behind him and he’s very eager to give Euskaltel their first stage win in the their last Vuelta a España.

In case it all gets back together in time for the final sprint, it should come down to a battle between Gianni Meersman and Michael Matthews. In theory, any of them should have problems on the 1.2 km climb but it all depends on how fast the peloton is going. Edvald Boasson Hagen is another very good candidate for the stage win. He came close when Gilbert won and he’s been trying very hard to hit the right breakaway the last couple of days. The strong Norwegian is obviously in great shape and I would be surprised not to see him fight for the win in Burgos.

If you are looking for a super joker, look to Anthony Roux. He’s very fast on the line, especially in a reduced peloton, and he’s been doing very well the last two days in the Pyrenees. He may not be able to beat the big sprinters in a regular bunch sprint but with a finish like this one, he should be in the mix.

Eurosport is covering this year’s Vuelta a España intensively. Before and after each stage you will get inside information from the many interviews with the riders. The interviewer is Spanish journalist Laura Meseguer. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.

For Stage 17, Laura picks Fabian Cancellara to win.

For live coverage of the stage go to steephill.tv

Vuelta a España: Stage 16 Preview & Favorites

As expected, a break made it all the way on stage 15. Alexandre Geniez made sure the French spectators could celebrate the Vuelta visiting when he soloed away with 25 km to go. No changes in the overall classification as the first five riders stayed together all the time. Only Purito seemed to have energy to keep on trying to attack.

Monday’s stage is another hard day in the Pyrenees but not nearly as hard the last two days. The stage is only 146 km long and this time and it seems like the rain is now gone and the sun is back. Everybody is tired and it won’t be a surprise if an early breakaway manages to stay away again.

The first 20 km takes place in tailwind and this means we are in for another very fast start. Most likely, we will see a break getting away on Puerto de la Foradada. It’s only a category 3 climb but the 5.9 km towards the top still have an average gradient of 5.9 %. There are a lot of tired legs in the peloton after the last two days and it will be interesting who has something left in the tank.From the top of Puerto de la Foradada, the riders will have 60 km to cover in a light crosswind before the they start on the next climb. Puerto de Cotéfablo is 12.5 km long and has an average gradient of 4 %. It’s not a very steep climb but after the last two days, it won’t be a walk in the park either.

At this point on the stage, the wind has now changed and what started out as a tailwind is now a headwind. This means the final 30 km will be extremely hard for a breakaway and it's important to have saved something for the final climb. The ascent up to Aramón Formigal is 15.8 km long and has an average gradient of only 4 %. However, most of the first 6 km are either flat or downhill. The road start to kick up with 10 km to go and the following 3.5 km are steep with parts of nearly 10 %. The climbs then evens out for about 4 km before it gets steep again. The final 3.5 km have an average gradient of 7 % and this is where you can make the difference.

Aramón Formigal. 15.8 km / avg. 4 %. Last 3 km avg. 7 %.

In my preview for stage 15 I mentioned riders like Vasil Kiryienka, Mikel Landa and Diego Ulissi as good breakaway candidates. Landa made it into the break but didn’t have the strength to stay with Geniez. Kiryienka and Ulissi stayed in the peloton and once again, I’d like to point to those two as candidates for a break. I will add to that list riders like Egoi Martinez, Bauke Mollema, Marcos Garcia, Georg Preidler and Chris Anker Sørensen.

The last two names for the (long) list of good candidates are Amets Txurruka and Rigoberto Uran. Txurruka was very active in the beginning of stage 15 and he started several breakaways. However, Txurruka couldn’t cover every move and in the end the big break went away without him (but with two other Caja Rural riders). Rigoberto Uran too was very active on stage 15. He stayed with the favorites for most of the time and he even tried to get away a couple of times. Uran is obviously feeling better and being nearly 25 minutes after Vincenzo Nibali, he won’t be the first rider the peloton start chasing down.

Among the favorites, there are no doubts that Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Horner are the two strongest riders uphill right now. Actually, it’s probably Horner’s teammate Robert Kiserlovski who’s best climber at the moment. The Croatian champion is a very important help for Horner these days! The last two days have been tough on the riders and once again, it will be interesting to see how 41 years old Chris Horner will recover. Naturally, he can’t recover as fast as the younger riders but so far he doesn’t seem to have any problems at all.

Alejandro Valverde and especially Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez tried to attack on stage 15 but Nibali and Horner never let them get more than a few meters. The final climb is not very steep this time and it will be very difficult for the two Spaniards to get away. Valverde seems to be satisfied with third place overall and he’s probably paying more attention to Purito in 4^th place than to Horner in 2^nd place. Valverde knows he can outsprint Purito in the end Purito knows it too. The final three kilometers on Formigal are the steepest and I expect Purito to put in a couple of strong attacks in the hairpin corners trying to drop Valverde. It won’t be easy but it seems like Purito is very eager to make up for the lost time.

The final 3 km of stage 16. Avg. of 7 %.

Domenico Pozzovivo is only six seconds in front of Nicolas Roche in 5^th place but I don’t think he will have problems keeping the Irishman behind him. Pozzovivo has been very focused on not wasting any energy too early in the race. The Italian climber came to the race aiming for Top5 overall and he’s been saving energy for the last week. Roche has already put in numerous attacks and hadn’t he had a one minute gap to the favorites on the last climb on stage 15, he probably would have lost time again.

Samuel Sanchez is right now the best Euskaltel rider in the mountains and he too seems to be getting better and better every day. Sanchez can’t follow the top favorites when it gets steep but he’s clever and knows how to keep a good pace. The final climb on stage 16 has a couple of flat parts and I won’t surprise me to see Sanchez attack on the flat parts to get a good gap before the road kicks up again. He may even be able to win this stage like that if the peloton keeps the breakaway within striking distance.

The Vuelta pays homage to Fernando Escartín with this stage. The former Kelme captain never managed to win Vuelta a España but he was among the best climbers the country has ever produced.

Eurosport is covering this year’s Vuelta a España intensively. Before and after each stage you will get inside information from the many interviews with the riders. The interviewer is Spanish journalist Laura Meseguer. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.

For Stage 16, Laura thinks a breakaway will make it and she picks Amets Txurruka to win.

For live coverage of the stage go to steephill.tv

Vuelta a España: Stage 8 Preview & Favorites

Another sprint stage turned into a crazy cat and mouse game. Zdenek Stybar showed his class once again when he out-sprinted Philippe Gilbert. The World Champion is therefore still winless in the rainbow jersey.

The sprinters have had their chances the last three days in a row and now it’s time for the GC riders to take charge. Stage 8 is only 166.6 km long and that makes for a fast day under the hot Andalusian sun. The first 125 km of the stage will take place in head- and crosswind. The break has a good chance of making it all the way and we can expect a furious fight to get into that final break.

With about 40 km to go the riders turn left and continue alongside the coast. There is an intermediate sprint in Estepona and four kilometers later, the final climb begins. Peñas Blancas is a category 1 climb and the 14.5 km towards the top have an average gradient of 6.6 %. The first couple of kilometers are very steep with parts over 12 %. The next part is not very steep but it’s constantly up and down and it will be very difficult to keep a steady rhythm. The last 8 km, however, have a steady gradient of 7-8 % and contrary to the beginning of the stage, the riders now have a tailwind all the way to the line. The change of wind favors the opportunistic riders but in the end, it’s all about having the best legs.

Many riders are not familiar with this climb but one rider knows it like the back of his hand. I talked about Luis Angel Maté in the preview for stage 7. He didn’t make the break but it would surprise me not to see him try this Saturday. Maté rides Peñas Blancas a couple of times a week and he knows every meter towards the finishing line. You may not think of Maté as a climber but he’s been getting better and better uphill the recent years. In the Tour de France this summer he was the last rider to help teammate Dani Navarro finish in Top10 overall. On the final mountain stage to Annecy, Maté finished 27^th in front of strong climbers like Antón, Ten Dam and Rolland.

In case the GC riders end up gunning for the stage win, Alejandro Valverde must be the favorite. Valverde has been eager to point out that for him the World Champions is more important than the Vuelta. However, the Movistar leader is in great shape and the steady finish suits him very well. Furthermore, Valverde is very fast on the line and should the top favorites arrive together, I can’t see anybody outsprinting him. The only thing talking against Valverde is that he doesn't know the climb. Valverde’s teammates Javi Moreno, Eros Capecchi and José Herrada could also be jokers for the stage win. Especially Herrada has been extremely strong, leading the peloton whenever the road kicks up.

Peñas Blancas. 14.5 km / avg. 6.6 % - Click for lager view.

Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez is already 53 seconds after Vincenzo Nibali in the overall classification. The Spanish climber knows he has to gain time whenever he can but this isn’t really a great climb for Purito. He will ‘enjoy’ the first couple of kilometers with steep gradients and constantly change of rhythm. However, the final 8 km with steady gradients won’t make it easy for Purito to drop his rivals. Instead, teammate Dani Moreno may put in another attack and take advantage of his great shape. Riders like Ivan Basso and Samuel Sanchez are normally very good on these kind of climbs and I expect to see both of them in the front as well.

The leading rider, Vincenzo Nibali, won’t have any problems on Peñas Blancas. Paolo Tiralongo, Janez Brajkovic and Jakob Fuglsang will be supporting their team leader on the climb and especially Fuglsang looks very strong right now. Nibali knows he can take time on his rivals in the individual time trial in a couple of days and he doesn’t need to attack already. Before the Vuelta started, Nibali said he was starting out on 75 % of his maximum level. So far, the Italian shark has been showing great shape but on a tough climb like this one, it may be best to ride a little cautious. Of course, if Nibali sees a chance to attack in the final and get the 10 bonus seconds, he won’t think twice.

One of my personal outsiders for the stage win is Leopold König. His countryman Stybar won stage 7 and it won’t be a big surprise if we get another Czech win on Saturday. König arrived to the Vuelta in great shape and he put in a strong attack on stage 2. Nicolas Roche ended up winning the stage but the NetApp Endura captain showed his great climbing legs. Peñas Blancas suits Leo König very well and if the favorites start looking at each other, I’m sure König will take his chance.

Other good candidates for the stage win are Domenico Pozzovivo, who’s in outstanding shape right now, Chris Horner, who is aiming to take back the Red Jersey, Bauke Mollema, who looks very strong and Sergio Henao, who is eager to take back the time he lost on stage 2.

Eurosport is covering this year’s Vuelta a España intensively. Before and after each stage you will get inside information from the many interviews with the riders. The interviewer is Spanish journalist Laura Meseguer. She knows what’s going on inside the peloton and each day she will get you her own personal winner picks for the stage.

For Stage 8, Laura picks Alejandro Valverde to win. 

For live coverage of the stage go to steephill.tv

Tour de France: Stage 18 Preview & Favorites

Chris Froome managed to win the time trial on day where he only focused on not taking too big risks. Impressived. Alberto Contador went All-In and finished second and I think Saxo-Tinkoff have something big planned for this stage.

The Route

This is the Queen Stage of this year’s Tour de France. Finishing on Alpe d’Huez this late in the Tour is already a tall order for many riders - climbing it twice within 60 km, that’s just brutal. The day starts where stage 16 ended, in Gap, climbing Col de Manse (6.6 km / avg. 6.2 %). 30 km later, it’s time for Rampe du Motty. This category 3 climb is only 2.4 km long but as the name suggests, it’s very steep with an average of 8 %. The stage is only 172.5 km long and these two climbs in the beginning will already tire out many riders before the main course gets served.

With about 90 km to go the riders start the ascent of Col d’Ornon. The 5.1 km towards the top have an average gradient of 6.7 % and it will be important for the GC riders to stay in front over the top. Alpe d’Huez starts quickly after the descent from Col d’Ornon and it’s vital to start the climb in a good position.

The Finish

The first ascent of Alpe d’Huez starts with 61 km to go. When reaching the top, the riders stay on a plateau for about 5 km before starting on Col de Sarenne. The descent from here is very difficult and if the weather forecast stands, and it’s raining, this could end up in a real bloodbath. There are rumors circling that the stage will be shortened but as of Wednesday evening, there are no official statement.

From the top of Col de Sarenne, there are 27 km to the beginning of the final ascent of Alpe d’Huez. The 13.8 km up through the hairpins have a frightening average gradient of 8.1 % and it starts out very steep. The first two kilometers have an average of over 10 % and it doesn’t really get easier before the final couple of kilometers (5 %).

The final 61 km and the last three climbs of Stage 18. Click for larger view!

Favorites - Jokers - Scenarios

Any climber with respect for himself wants to win on Alpe d’Huez. Ask anyone who’s not regularly following Tour de France to name a random climb in the race and he or she will most likely be able to mention this one.

Personally, I doubt a morning breakaway will make it all the way this time but do I think the composition of the breakaway will be vital. If I were Bjarne Riis, I would try to put a couple of strong riders in the break. Riders like Nicolas Roche, Jesus Hernandez and Daniele Bennati. Then I would tell Saxo-Tinkoff to go hard in the beginning of Alpe d’Huez and attack with Alberto Contador and Roman Kreuziger. Richie Porte won’t be able to close all the gaps and if they can isolate Froome before the top of Col de Sarenne, they can put him under pressure on the difficult descent. If riders like Nicolas Roche and Daniele Bennati are in the break, they can now wait for Contador and set a high pace on the descent towards the final climb. This won’t be an easy tactic to pull off but we know that Alberto Contador never rides for second place. This will also favor Movistar. In Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde they have two strong riders both uphill and downhill and they should be able to work together with Saxo-Tinkoff despite what happened the other day.

When the Tour de France finished on Alpe d’Huez in 2011, Alberto Contador attacked right from the beginning of the stage. He was out of the GC and wanted something to bring home. For a long time it seemed like he would win the stage but on the last kilometer, Pierre Rolland bridged the gap and won the stage. It’s safe to say Contador has some unfinished business with this climb. He did however win on Alpe d’Huez in Dauphiné but everybody who remembers that stage, also knows Janez Brajkovic almost gave him that one. Contador is a winner and he wants to win on Alpe d’Huez in the Tour de France where all the big champions have won in the past. It won’t be easy against Chris Froome but if they can isolate him early, Contador may have a chance.

Should Saxo-Tinkoff and Movistar not succeed in isolating Froome before the final climb, I think Nairo Quintana will have a good chance of winning. He’s been the best climber - after Froome - in the race so far and if he can keep up this time, Froome will probably let him take the win as he intended the other day. On Mont Ventoux, Froome said the stage win would have been Quintana’s if he had kept the pace and knowing that, Quintana may find the strength to go extra deep on Alpe d’Huez. After Wednesday’s time trial Froome stated that he no longer aims at stage wins but only to keep the yellow jersey.

Another rider who will be extra motivated today is Mikel Nieve. The Basque climber not only has a beautiful first name, he has also turned out to be one of the strongest riders uphill. Futhermroe, he’s now targeting the KOM Jersey. Froome leads that competition in front of Quintana but since they both have other jerseys to wear (yellow and white), Nieve is now in Polke Dots. In 2003, Iban Mayo won on Alpe d’Huez and it would mean the world to Euskaltel could Mikel Nieve repeat that performance here 10 years later. Nieve has already won big mountain stages in Vuelta España and Giro d’Italia and he’s eager to join the club of stage winners in all three Grand Tours. In 2001 Roberto Laiseka won on Luz Ardiden and 10 years later Samuel Sanchez did the same thing. Sanchez won the Polka Dot Jersey that day and what a story if would be if Mikel Nieve could do it too - 10 years after Iban Mayo’s win on Alpe d’Huez.

Last but not least, look out for Daniel Martin. The Irishman had a bad day on Mont Ventoux but he’s been having his eyes on this stage for quite a while. Martin is fond of cycling history and he knows what it means to win on Alpe d’Huez. This year, we will see an Irish corner towards the top and I’m convinced Daniel Martin is very focused on giving his countrymen something to cheer for.

It’s hard to pick one favorite in this bunch. I hope Saxo-Tinkoff and Alberto Contador will put on a show but it won’t be easy. The best winner pick is therefore probably Nairo Quintana since Froome is no longer interested in the stage wins.

Favorite: Nairo Quintana

Jokers: Mikel Nieve & Daniel Martin

For live race coverage go to Steephill.tv

Just like during the Giro d’Italia this year, I once again have the chance to bring you daily “Fly Through” previews from Global Cycling Network. Here is Stage 18:

Critérium du Dauphiné 2013 - Preview & Favorites

Critérium du Dauphiné 2013

There is now less than a month to the start of this year’s Tour de France and that means it’s the last time to test your legs against your rivals’ in competition. Most of the big Tour favorites will be in Critérium du Dauphiné this year and with a very hilly course, we should be in for a good show the next eight days.

Compared to last year’s edition, this one is much more about climbing than time trialing. It’s true there is a 32.5 km long time trial on stage four but the race won’t be won or lost here, that will happen in the final four days in the Alps with three uphill finishes.

Looking at the field, two riders stand out as the main favorites; Chris Froome and Alberto Contador. Froome has been outstanding in all the stage races he has ridden since February, while Contador only has been focusing on the Tour and therefore haven’t performed as well as the previous years. Contador normally never peaks in Dauphine but with a different season plan, we should to see him stronger at this point than usually. Last year Bradley Wiggins won Dauphiné before winning the Tour overall and I think Chris Froome will be eager to repeat his teammate’s performance this time. Froome can count on excellent support from Richie Porte - another GC contender - Vasil Kiryienka, David Lopez and Edvald Boasson Hagen.

I see Chris Froome and Alberto Contador a level above the rest in this race but its clear they are both not in tip-top condition yet and it wouldn’t be the first time an outsider won Dauphiné. There are a lot of good riders in the race this year to give you a better overview, I have the divided the favorites in to the following categories:

Strong winner candidates: Chris Froome & Alberto Contador

Strong podium contenders: Samuel Sanchez, Richie Porte & Andrew Talansky

Top5 contenders: Joaquim Rodriguez, Alejandro Valverde, Damiano Cunego & Jurgen van den Broeck.

Outside of these three categories we’ll find riders like; Sylvain Chavanel, Jakob Fuglsang, Wout Poels, Laurens Ten Dam, Pierre Rolland, Michal Kwiatkowski etc. etc.

Personally, I expect a lot from Samuel Sanchez. For the first time in many years, he failed to deliver in a Grand Tour when he only ended 12^th overall in the Giro d’Italia. He came close to a stage win on the hilly time trial but he wasn’t as strong as expected in the last week. The last couple of years we’ve seen riders with failed Giro expectations rise and win in Dauphiné and I think Samu will do just that. In 2011, Purito used his good shape from the Giro to win two stages and last year his teammate Dani Moreno did the same. I see many good stages for Samuel Sanchez in this year’s Dauphiné and I would be surprised not to see him win at least one of them.

Remember, there are no bonus seconds on the line in Critérium du Dauphiné this year so the climbers really need to distance their rivals when ever they can if they lose too much time in the time trial.

Many of you have been asking about stage previews for Dauphiné and I’m happy to announce that there will be daily previews during the race. Just like earlier this year, I’ve teamed up with INRNG to deliver daily stage previews of both Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de Suisse. INRGN will be writing for Dauphiné and I will be doing the Tour de Suisse previews. First one should be online Saturday evening.

For live race coverage, check out steephill.tv

Giro d’Italia 2013 - Preview & Favorites

Let it be said right away; there are two big favorites for this race and then a handful of riders fighting for the last step on the podium. The first 8 stages include two difficult time trials - one TTT and one ITT - and from this point on it will be everybody against Bradley Wiggins.

Last year’s Tour de France winner is expected to destroy the rest of the peloton on the 54.8 (!) undulating kilometers against the clock on stage 8 and I doubt Wiggins will let Maglia Rosa leave his shoulder after this day.

The last week of the Giro is always extremely hard and this year is no difference with five mountain top finishes, one of these a mountain time trial with just three days to go. The sprinters probably won’t have more than four or five days to win this year and with 20 bonus seconds to the stage winner every day (except for the time trials), I doubt we will see many breakaways making it in the mountains. This is Bradley Wiggins’ race to lose and Vincenzo Nibali, Ryder Hesjedal, Michele Scarponi, Robert Gesink and Samuel Sanchez all have to attack and take as many bonus seconds as possible.

On paper, there are plenty of opportunities to attack Bradley Wiggins in the mountains but Team Sky are not messing around. Rigoberto Uran, Sergio Henao and Dario Cataldo could lead many teams in this race, but they are all committed to work hard for Wiggins. Team Sky showed in the Tour de France last year, that they have what it takes to slowly kill the competition and drain the rest of the favorites for energy with a hard steady pace. The small and explosive climbers may be able to distance Wiggins and his team in the big mountains, but the time differences won’t be a big as the ones in the time trials. In the past, Bradley Wiggins had problems on the steep climbs but he has been working hard on that this year in order to be ready for the Giro. He now no longer fears the steep percentages and the way I see it, there is only one rider able to beat Wiggins this year.

Vincenzo Nibali seems to be in the shape of his life heading in to this Giro d’Italia and I expect him and Wiggins to take the first two places on the final podium. Nibali doesn’t have Wiggins raw power in the individual time trials, but Astana do have a strong team for the TTT on stage 2. Nibali lost 2 and 3½ min in the two ITT’s in last year’s Tour de France and I think he will end up losing around 2½ min to Wiggins in the long ITT here. He showed in Giro del Tretino a few weeks ago, that he is getting better on the steep parts, and I think he will surprise a few with some strong attacks when the gradients kick up. There are many “medium” stages in this year’s Giro d’Italia and I think Nibali and the rest of the favorites will take advantage of every opportunity to drop Wiggins if possible. Both Nibali and Wiggins are rock solid and don’t really have off-days. It’s true you can lose the race on just one day, especially in the last week, but I seriously doubt any of these two will go down like that. Nibali is best uphill, Wiggins is best against the clock and unfortunately for Nibali, the time differences will be biggest in ITTs. Still, Nibali is very proud and he never gives up. Don’t count him out until the end of the penultimate stage.

In my preview last year, I only had Ryder Hesjedal down for 8^th place overall and after his impressive win, I think it’s only fair to now put him as the first contender for the last spot on the podium. His season so far has been very similar to the one last year and being two kilos lighter than in 2012, I think Hesjedal will prove that last year wasn’t a one-time thing. I doubt he can drop Nibali uphill or stay close to Wiggins in the time trials, but he now knows that it takes, mentally as well, to win a Grand Tour. Wiggins, Nibali and Hesjedal have won a Grand Tour within the last couple of years and I doubt any of them will have an off-day in this race. Garmin aren’t nearly as strong as Astana and Team Sky but they showed last year, that it wasn’t a problem. Danielson, Stetina and VandeVelde will be Hesjedal’s last three in the mountains and it should be enough for the strong Canadian.

I told myself last year that I would give Robert Gesink one more chance to prove his abilities as a serious overall contender in a Grand Tour. This is it. Gesink has been called “a future Tour de France winner” for a long time now but he is yet to show he can walk the distance. He’s done Top10 in the Vuelta three times and once Top5 in the Tour, but he always seems to run into bad luck. This year, Robert Gesink has put everything on the Giro d’Italia and despite a mixed start of the season, I do believe Gesink is ready to aim for the podium in this Giro. He came to Tour de Romandie after two weeks training on Teide (Tenerife) and did show some good racing the first days before he took easy in the bad weather with eyes on the Giro. He claims to be in great shape right now and I think Gesink will make Top5 this in this Giro - maybe even podium if everything goes his way. Remember, Blanco still don’t have a sponsor for next season and naturally Gesink and the rest of the team will do everything they can in order to show they are worth sponsoring.

Like Gesink and Hesjedal, Michael Scarponi hasn’t shown much this season. He did however manage to take 3^rd place overall in Volta Catalunya after a sneaky attack on the final stage. He took it easy in Giro del Trentino after a training camp but showed in Liege-Bastogne-Liege (5^th place) that the shape is good. Scarponi was the big favorite last year but couldn’t live up to the expectations and ended 4^th in the overall classification. Scarponi isn’t strong in the time trials but he is rock solid. If he’s named among the favorites you can be sure he will end among the best. He’s has finished in Top4 the last three years in a row - winning in 2011 after Contador got suspended - and I think he will make another Top5 performance this year.  He can rely on strong riders like Niemiec, Serpa and Stortoni in the mountains and like Wiggins, Nibali and Hesjedal he never has a real off-day. Without the long time trial on stage 8, Scarponi might had have a chance of winning this race overall, but now I think Top5 is the best he can aim for.

The last rider with a solid chance of Top5, in my book, is Samuel Sanchez. Officially, the goal for Euskaltel and Sanchez is a stage win - which will make Sanchez join the club of stage winners in both Giro, Tour and Vuelta - but I wouldn’t be surprised if Samuel Sanchez ends up fighting for a spot on the podium. He’s already been on the podium in the Vuelta a couple of times and - on paper - also in the Tour. Naturally a stage win would be more important than ending 6^th or 10^th overall, but if Sanchez manages to pull off a stage win in the first half of the Giro, he might as well give everything for the GC too.

Stage 20 - The penultimate stage of this year's Giro d'Italia.
The final chance to change to move up in the GC.
Click for larger view.

The way I see it, there are 6-8 riders left fighting for the last four places in Top10 overall. Franco Pellizotti will be eager to show off his Italian Champions jersey on home soil and I expect him do very well in the last week. Beñat Intxausti already showed last year what he can do in the Grand Tours and I think now the time has come for him to lead a team. He’s very strong in time trials and he defends himself just fine on the climbs. Last year, Intxausti said he was aiming for a podium spot in this Giro, but I think a Top10 place is the most realistic result for the Basque rider.

My own personal joker for this Giro d’Italia is Robert Kiserlovski. He moved from Astana to Radioshack before this season in order to get his own chance in the big races, and he has had his eyes on this race ever since. While others dream about the Tour, Kiserlovski dreams about the Giro and he showed in Tour de Romandie that he’s in great shape right now. Kiserlovski’s weak spot is the time trials and that is also why I can’t see him do better than around 10-15 overall. I think he will surprise quite a few in the mountains and with Thiago Machado at his side, he can count on good support uphill. 

I could go on for hours about the rest of the GC riders in this Giro d’Italia, but instead I’ll leave you with this Pre-Top20 for the general classification:

1. Wiggins

2. Nibali

3. Hesjedal

4. Gesink

5. Scarponi

6. Sanchez

7. Pellizotti

8. Intxausti

9. Kiserlovski

10. Betancur (White Jersey winner)

11. Pozzovivo

12. Santambrogio

13. Majka

14. Uran

15. Machado

16. Cataldo

17. Trofimov

18. Pirazzi

19. Serpa

20. Henao

As you can see, Cadel Evans didn’t make my list. To me, it seems like Evans still think he can win the Tour this year and therefore I seriously doubt he will dig deep in this Giro. I expect him to go for a stage win one of the days instead.

Remember, there will be Stage Previews for all the stages this year. Each preview will be posted the evening before the stage and the one for Stage 1 will be most likely already be online Thursday evening or Friday morning. This Preview doesn’t talk about the sprinters in the race, but there will plenty of sprinter-talk in the preview for stage 1 and the remaining bunch sprint stages.

For live race coverage of Giro d’Italia 2013 go to steephill.tv

Vuelta Pais Vasco - Stage 6 Preview

Stage 5 started out just like expected, many attacks and three Movistar riders in front. Team Sky were down to only Vasil Kiryienka in support of Richie Porte and Sergio Henao but apparently, that didn’t mean much. The strong Belarusian lead the peloton alone for 50 km and in the end Porte won in front of my pre-picked favorite Samuel Sanchez and Team Sky team mate Henao. On a stage where everybody needed to distance Richie Porte, the Tasmanian ended up distancing everybody else.

Friday’s Team Sky show leaves us with Richie Porte as the massive favorite for both the stage win and the overall victory. Porte has been outstanding against the clock this season and on a demanding course for the GC riders, I can’t really see anybody threatening him if he’s 100%.

A lot of riders dropped out of the race on stage 5, including strong time trialists like Tejay van Garderen, Rein Taaramae, Michael Rogers and Andreas Klöden. Only the toughest riders remain and even these will feel Friday’s stage in their legs, especially with another day of heavy rain.

The course is very hard with steep climbs and tricky descents. One wrong turn or one slippery piece of road is all it takes to ruin your GC dreams on this stage, but with the first five riders within 10 seconds, nobody can take it easy. It’s full gas from the start and whomever dares to take the most chances will end up winning Vuelta Pais Vasco overall. I don't think this course is good for Tony Martin and having already crashed once in this race, I think he will be a little bit more careful in the rain.

Samuel Sanchez showed to be back in the game on stage 5 and I’m sure he will give everything he has, and take all the chances he needs, in order to give Euskaltel their first win of the season. Sanchez hasn’t won anything since he won the final time trial of last year’s Vuelta Pais Vasco and he will be eager to show he’s back.

Simon Spilak is normally very strong the rain and he also tried to get away, catching Richie Porte, on the final km on stage 5. Friday was Katusha owner Igor Makarov’s birthday and even though it didn’t end up with another win (Purito won on his birthday last year), I’m sure Makarov will settled for a spot on the final podium. Spilak should be able to take 10 seconds on both Henao and Quintana on this stage and if so, it’s up Richie Porte and Alberto Contador not let him take the overall win too.

I’ve been naming Beñat Intxausti a couple of times as my joker in this race, but his crash on stage 1 seems to have kept him from performing as expected. Still, I see him stronger and stronger every day and this time trial really suits him well. He has to dig deep in order to provide Nairo Quintana with valuable time splits and I honestly think Intxausti has a chance of winning this stage if Porte doesn’t destroy them all again.

Favorites: Richie Porte & Samuel Sanchez

Joker: Beñat Intxausti 

For live coverage of the stage go to steephill.tv

Vuelta Pais Vasco - Stage 5 Preview

Remember the epic stage in Tirreno-Adriatico won by Peter Sagan a month ago? Good, now it’s time for part two. This stage is very similar to the one in Tirreno, there aren’t any parts of 30%, but we get close to 20%. The 166,1 km include no less than 10 categorized climbs and the last one has its top just 5,8 km from the line. I’m talking about Alto de Olaberria - a climb the riders will get to enjoy three times - and even though it’s only 1,4 km, it will provide a selection with its average gradient of 12%.

There will be about 3300 meters of climbing for the riders and once again, the weather forecast shows rain all day long. Team Sky have only six riders in the race and it will be impossible for them to control it. I’m sure Movistar, Saxo-Tinkoff, Ag2r, Katusha and Euskaltel will do everything they can to isolate Richie Porte and Sergio Henao as quickly as possible and we should be in for a great show.

The beginning of the stage invites for a break to be established, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the stage evolves like the one in Tirreno. All the GC riders want to be up front to avoid crashes on the wet descents and that will make for a furious pace. If a break should have any chance of making it, it needs to be very strong riders working together. Pre-favorites who are now out of the GC like Jakob Fuglsang, Igor Antón, Thibaut Pinot and those kind of guys. Igor Antón did something similar in the Vuelta two years ago, but I honestly doubt an early break will make it.

I think Movistar, having the strongest team in the race, will launch one attack after the other. Quintana, Intxausti, Herrada and Rui Costa are all within 1:46 min of Sergio Henao and especially Herrada and Quintana have been very strong lately. Beñat Intxausti came to the race hoping for podium spot and if he still wants to achieve this, he has to attack. Intxausti did very well on the similar stage in Tirreno-Adriatico and with everybody looking at Quintana; Intxausti may be able to sneak away. Movistar went to recon these stages last week, giving Quintana the knowledge to attack into the final corner on Arrate to win stage 4, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they take another stage win in Beasain.

Alto de Olaberria - 12% avg. 5,8 km to go from the top.

Euskaltel have, naturally, also been out doing some recon of these stages last week, and I’m sure Samuel Sanchez will be eager to take the first personal win in over a year and Euskaltel’s first win of the season. Sanchez too was very good on the similar stage in Tirreno-Adriatico and the short hills and tricky descents are perfect for him - especially in the rain, where other riders have problems.

Team Sky lost Tirreno-Adriatico overall on the similar stage and with only six riders in the race and every team against them, it could very well happen again. I would expect the peloton to be blown into pieces and naturally, Porte and Henao can’t respond to every attack. Nobody wants to get away with Richie Porte, knowing his time trial skills, and that could mean Henao ends up in a small front group with Porte left behind.

Damiano Cunego has been getting better and better day by day in Vuelta Pais Vasco and he seems ready for the Ardennes Classics soon. On paper, this is a stage that suits him perfectly with short steep hills and tricky descents. Like Samuel Sanchez, Cunego too is great on the downhill sections and if he stays up front, I’m sure he will try something in the final.

In Tirreno-Adritico, Sagan, Nibali and Purito were the three big favorites for the stage and they ended 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd. On this stage, there aren’t any big favorites but indeed a lot of solid candidates. It’s close to impossible to pick only one, so I’ll leave you with my list of candidates instead.

Favorites: Quintana, Sanchez.

Solid outsiders: Intxausti, Cunego, Betancur, Antón

Jokers: Fuglsang, Gilbert, Vicioso

For live coverage of the stage go to steephill.tv

Vuelta Pais Vasco - Stage 4 Preview

This is the typical finish on Arrate. It’s a classic in the recent year’s Vuelta Pais Vasco and it was also used in the Vuelta España last year. Normally the rule is; “First rider in the last corner takes the stage”, but last year in the Vuelta, Purito started to celebrate a millisecond too early and by that gave the stage to Valverde.

Samuel Sanchez has won this stage the last three years in a row and naturally, he is among the favorites again this year. Still, it’s important to remember that Sanchez is not here in tip-top condition like the last years. This time he’s 100% focused on peaking in the Giro d’Italia and with strong climbers in the race like Contador, Henao, Porte, Betancur, Quintana, etc it won’t be easy to make it four in a row.

In my eyes, Alberto Contador is still the big GC favorite after stage 3. Contador won on Arrate back in 2009 after he soloed away from the other favorites and I wouldn’t be surprised if he does it again this year. The first 6 km of the final climb have a steady gradient of 7,5% before the final “flat” (3%) 1,3 km. As mentioned in the previous previews, there aren’t any bonus seconds in the race, so if you want an advantage before the time trial, you need to attack when possible. 

I think Team Sky will try to control the race on final climb, like they have been doing all year long, and try to set Sergio Henao up for another lethal attack. Henao needs time before the time trial and right now he seems to be one of the strongest climbers in the race. Movistar have strong riders like Rui Costa, Beñat Inxtausti and Nairo Quintana for this stage and I’m sure they will try something too. This climbs suits Quintana a lot more than the one on stage 3 and if he can cope with the expect rain, he will be very dangerous.

Andy Schleck normally test his legs on this climb and he’s been very focused - near the front of the peloton - so far this race. He attacked on the mountain stage in Criterium International last month and I have a feeling he will show himself on Arrate. Unfortunately the weather forecast shows we're in for a rainy stage and that could kill the hopes of seeing Schleck attacking. The descent before the final climb will become very tricky on wet roads and I doubt Andy Schleck will take any chances at this point of the season.

My personal joker for the stage is Pieter Weening. The morale on GreenEdge is sky high after two stage wins already and Weening did very well on La Lejana despite the steep gradients not being in his favor. Weening is fast on the line and if the we see a little group sprinting for the win again this year, I expcet Weening to be up there. The same goes for Diego Ulissi. The young Italian has been showing great shape lately and is always good in the rain. He has team mate Damiano Cunego to help him in the final and if Ulissi still up there in the final, he'll most likely win the stage.

Once again, it's difficult to pick only one rider as my favorite. Contador, Henao and Sanchez all seem like solid candidates, but I'll give Contador another shot to prove he's ready to win Vuelta Pais Vasco overall.

Favorite: Alberto Contador

Jokers: Pieter Weening / Diego Ulissi

For live coverage of the stage go to steephill.tv

Vuelta Pais Vasco - Stage 1 Preview

There aren’t any tailored stages for the sprinters in this year’s Vuelta Pais Vasco but stage 1 and 2 should still end in a sprint. A sprint in a reduced group that is. We have six categorized climbs on the menu and the last one, Alto de Aiastia (4,8 km / 5,42%), has its top just 7 km from the line.

It’s a good finish for riders with strong downhill skills like Samuel Sanchez and Damiano Cunego, but I think GreenEdge, BMC and Astana will try to keep it together. Especially GreenEdge look strong with Michael Albasini, Simon Gerrans and Daryl Impey for the stage, while Astana have Francesco Gavazzi and Enrico Gasparotto. For BMC, Phillipe Gilbert will be the man for sprint and this is a good opportunity for the World Champion to show he’s ready for the upcoming Ardennes Classics later this month.

With a profile like this one, a break will have a solid chance of making it. Especially if strong riders get away on the last climb and if so, look to the Basque home favorites. Euskaltel are still without a win this season and naturally, they are very eager to perform on home soil. Samuel Sanchez may not be 100% yet - since he's targeting the Giro this year and not this race - but riders like Gorka and Ion Izagirre and Igor Antón will be ready to fight stage wins. Personally, I expect a lot from Igor Antón, but on this stage I think the Izagirre brothers will shine. Gorka is very strong on the descents, he showed that in the Tour last year, and fast on the line too. He ended 14^th in GP Miguel Indurain on Saturday and he is my outsider for the stage win in Elgoibar Monday afternoon.

Winner pick: Phillipe Gilbert

Joker: Gorka Izagirre

For live coverage go to steephill.tv

Tour de France 2012 - The Favorites

The 99th edition of the Tour de France starts out Saturday in Liege with a 6,4 km prologue. A perfect start for the overall favorite, Bradley Wiggins. No one can argue that Wiggins is among the top favorites for the yellow jersey in Paris, probably even the biggest favorite of them all. With just over 100 km of time trialing it’s set to be a fight between the best against the clock and so far this year Bradley Wiggins has shown to be the best.

The question to ask is:

“Can Wiggins minimize the time loss to the other favorites in the few mountain stages and win it back in the time trials?” - My answer is Yes.

After he crashed on stage 7 and withdrew last year, everything has been put on to win the Tour this time. Team Sky know they will be strongest team and thereby have everybody else looking at them to control the race. To cope with the big task they have been preparing the riders and trying to control and race for yellow in every stage race so far this year. In Algarve they won with Richie Porte after a tremendous work from the whole team (including Bradley Wiggins working hard in front to set up Porte’s attack - now he can count on Porte to do the same for him in the Tour), in Paris-Nice they controlled the race from the very first day and won with Bradley Wiggins. Same thing happened in Tour de Romandie and latest in Criterium du Dauphine where Team Sky murdered all competition with four riders in Top10 – three of these in the Top4!

So despite never been defending the yellow jersey in the Tour before, Team Sky sure have experience in controlling a stage race and winning the overall classification. Another important thing to remember is that in all of the stages races Bradley Wiggins has taking part this year he has shown to be one of the strongest riders in the uphill section too. It’s true that he build his wins on the time trials, but it’s not like they can just drop him like that when the road goes uphill. In this Tour de France there are only three stages with a mountain top finish and with guys like Rogers, Porte and Froome (all capable of doing Top10 themselves) to set the pace, the pure climbers really have to come up with a something special in order to ruin Bradley Wiggins’ yellow dreams.

The way I see it only a few riders will be able to threaten Bradley Wiggins in the overall classification. Cadel Evans and Denis Menchov. Evans finally won his first Tour last year thanks to his strong time trial skills (he was actually only seven seconds from beating Tony Martin in the final time trial!) and with a course like this year’s, Cadel Evans will never get a better chance of taking another overall victory. Last year he won Tirreno-Adriatico and Tour de Romandie before he ended second in Criterium du Dauphine (see the similarities to Wiggins’ winning pattern this season?) but this year Evans has been struggling to find the right pace. In Tirreno he ended 32th overall and in Romandie 29^th. It wasn’t until Dauphine we saw what Cadel Evans is capable of this year when he took 3^rd place after the Sky duo Wiggins and Rogers. Evans says that he feels ready but looking results I have my doubts. Hopefully he will be able to put in a good fight but he really needs to bring his A-game to the time trials to keep up with Wiggins.

Same goes for Denis Menchov. The Tour de France is the sole purpose of Menchov’s 2012-season and therefore everything has been set up around the Tour. Menchov signed with Katusha before this season only to focus on winning the Tour (the last of the three GTs he hasn’t won yet) and while his results - or lack of - haven’t been anywhere nearly as good as his main competitors’ you must not count out the Silent Russian Assassin. Denis Menchov knows how to build up towards the Grand Tours and he rarely shows himself before it really counts. Also being representing his home country in the colors of Katusha sure will boost Menchov’s morale quite a bit:

“The Tour is my first big stage race with the team of my country, so I´ll give my best in order to win. It´s a great responsibility that gives me high motivations. It's the only Grand Tour I haven't won and it's no secret that this year it has been my main goal”.

Another thing to favor Denis Menchov is his strong time trial skills. As shown numerous times before Menchov is capable of clocking in a great time in the long time trials in the big stage races. Just take a look at these recent results.

Giro d’Italia 2009 - Menchov wins overall and wins the 60,6 km time trial.

Tour de France 2010 - Menchov ends 3^rd overall and take 11^th place on the final 52 km time trial after the wind changed. He beat the rest of the GC-favorites (including Contador) with more than 2 minutes that day.

Vuelta España 2010 - Menchov takes second place on the final 46 km time trial. Beating Cancellara and Gustav Erik Larsson with 20 and 40 seconds.

Vuelta España 2011 – Menchov ends 5^th overall and ends 11^th on the 47 km time trial, despite a crash a the earlier stages. He lost around 1 min to Bradley Wiggins that day.

If Denis Menchov arrive to the Tour in his top condition and he stays out of trouble the first week he could very  well end up winning the whole thing as I see him a bit stronger in the mountains than Bradley Wiggins.

Wiggins, Evans & Menchov. These riders are the only ones I have put down as actual “winner candidates” for the Tour. For what concerns the “podium candidates” my paper shows the following names:

Jurgen Van den Broeck

Due to the many kilometers against the clock this year, Jurgen Van den Broeck has been training hard to improve his time trial skills and so far it looks like it has been working. He has never been really bad at it, but when the distance got over 40 km the time gap to the best was around 2½ minutes. Too much if you want to win the Tour. This year the gap to his main competitors has been minimized though- significantly!

In Volta ao Algarve he only lost 28 seconds to Bradley Wiggins on a 25,8 km course and in Criterium du Dauphine the gap was just around 2 mins on the long 53 km time trial. Beating specialists like Edvald Boasson Hagen, Lieuwe Westra and Richie Porte. Actually Jurgen Van den Broeck was only 29 seconds slower than Cadel Evans on that course. Last year Van den Broeck was one of the best riders in the mountains, never afraid of attacking. This year he has been focusing 100% on the Tour but still he showed in Vuelta al Pais Vasco and latest in Dauphine that he has no problems following the best uphill. I see him as a solid Top5 rider with a chance of ending on the podium if it goes his way.

Vincenzo Nibali

Nibali has already won the Vuelta España and ended on the podium in the Giro d’Italia twice (3^rd helping team mate Ivan Basso to win it and 2^nd last year after Contador’s suspension) – of course he is a contender for the Tour de France podium as well. So far this year his best result (in a stage race) is winning Tirreno-Adriatico where he attack on the hard mountain stage to Prati di Tivo and won solo. He decided to skip the Giro d’Italia (even with a good chance of winning the race) to put all his focus on the Tour de France and because of that, he is a guy to take serious. Not many Italians give away the chance of winning the Giro in order to reach for podium in the Tour.  Still, to pull it off he needs to clock in a better time against Wiggins, Evans and Menchov than he normally does in the time trials and then keep on attacking when the terrains allow it. A couple of the mountain stages end with a downhill section to the finish line and this is where Vincenzo Nibali needs to set in his attack to gain time.

Samuel Sanchez

Same goes for Samuel Sanchez. His time trial skills are without a doubt much better than Nibali’s (and Van den Broeck for that matter) and if one of the big favorites shows not to be ready, Samuel Sanchez has a good chance of making a big result for himself in this Tour. Last year he ended 5^th in the general classification and won the polka dot jersey. This year the only jersey he is concerned about is the yellow one and he will do everything he can to get on the final podium in Paris. In 2010 he ended 3^rd overall but only a year after when Contador got suspended. This time he wants to be take the step up to the podium as well. The reason for why I haven’t put Samuel Sanchez down as an overall winner candidate is because of his crash in Criterium du Dauphine. Sanchez crashed hard on the first stage and even just a few days before the Tour he still feels the pain.

Robert Gesink

Last one on my paper with a solid chance of fighting for the podium is Robert Gesink. Being the only “pure climber” among the favorites so far, you may think Gesink will blow away on the 100 km against the clock. But that’s not the reality. Gesink is actually pretty good in the time trials. Last year he showed it mostly on the short courses, but this year he has taken his skills to the next level. In Tour of California he got 5^th on the 30 km time trial and despite starting out not so good in Tour de Suisse he once again clocked in 5^th best time on the 34,3 km time trial. Beating guys like Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer. Robert Gesink still needs to show he can stay within 2 minutes of the best in the 50+ km time trials but if he manages to do so in the Tour he can be a dangerous outsider for the jersey.

As I said Gesink is pure climber. He may not look like one with his 190 centimeters but don’t get fooled by that. As 22 years old he took 6^th place on Alto de Angliru (one of the steepest and most difficult climbs in the world) and ended 7^th overall in the Vuelta España. The next year he crashed in the first week of the Tour and had to abandon. He took revenge in the Vuelta being in the top5 on all the mountain stages and once again ending 6^th overall. In 2010 he finally got to show his skill in the Tour, where a third place on the stage to Morzine-Avoriaz and 6^th place on the Tourmalet among other good results in the mountains secured him a Top5 place overall. Last year Robert Gesink once again got in troubles in the first week but still managed to finish the Tour. This year he is ready to take his revenge and show the world that he can compete with the best when it counts.

The next row on my paper is called “Top5-10” and it includes riders like: Alejandro Valverde, Janez Brajkovic, Bauke Mollema, Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner and Andreas Klöden while my “Top10 aspirants” shows the names of; Peter Velits, Rein Taaramae, Jerome Coppel, Lieuwe Westra, Tom Danielson among others.

To end this preview of the favorites I will take my chances and name the winners of the different jerseys for the Tour de France as well as how the Top10 will look like in Paris.

1. Bradley Wiggins
2. Cadel Evans
3. Denis Menchov
4. Jurgen Van den Broeck
5. Robert Gesink
6. Samuel Sanchez
7. Vincenzo Nibali
8. Janez Brajkovic
9. Alejandro Valverde
10. Levi Leipheimer

Yellow: Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky)

Green: Peter Sagan (Liquigas)

Polka Dot: Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM)

White: Rein Taaramae (Cofidis)