Staying in the peloton costs less energy than trying to catch up in the downhill...ToreBear said:He finished in the front group, AFAIK you don't get any points for riding hard uphill all the time. Might be more sensible to catch the pelleton on the downhill. And the peleton always seems to go slow on the downhill. Energy saved is energy remaining.
As for all those who got dropped who we wouldn'nt expect to drop etc. People have good days and bad days. Perhaps somebody had a bad night sleep? A slight cough perhaps? Or wanted to save themselves for other stages? Trained hard and not at peak on day one? Who knows.