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I think it's difficult to predict what would happen tomorrow. Especially because it will be raining the entire day. Not a nice day for the sprinters. But if they can make sure that not a too strong break gets away, they should be allright. It's difficult to see who would try to up the pace on the climbs in the peloton.
I think it's difficult to predict what would happen tomorrow. Especially because it will be raining the entire day. Not a nice day for the sprinters. But if they can make sure that not a too strong break gets away, they should be allright. It's difficult to see who would try to up the pace on the climbs in the peloton.
Eshnar said:Stage 2: Bologna - Fucecchio 205 km
Sunday, May 12th
START TIME: 12.10 CEST
FINISH TIME: ~17.15 CEST
Technical Overview:
The first road stage of this edition starts from Bologna and heads south into Tuscany. It is a hilly stage with some potential, although it could have been much better and it seems clear the organisers did not want to go for it, perhaps considering yesterday was already an important stage. The route is pretty straightforward in the first part: always heading south and picking the easiest way to cross the Appennines, the uncategorized climb to La Serra (14 km at 3.2%). The road then will keep heading south, passing near Firenze and approaching Empoli, which is where things finally heat up. The main climb of the day, and possibly the decisive point, is the GPM of Montalbano, also known as Il Castra (GPM3, 5.8 km at 6.8%). It is no joke, especially considering this is only stage 2, with a central part of 4.5 km at 7.7%. Its descent is very technical and connects with the final categorized climb of the day, the San Baronto (GPM4, 11.3 km at 2.4%), which unfortunately is just a long false flat on this side. It is a bit of the shame, because the route could have easily included the San Baronto from its tougher side (the one they are descending instead), and the overall design would have benefited greatly from it. As I said, it looks like the organizers did not want too much from this stage. Or maybe they wanted to make this an "appetizer" for the hard climb -> easy climb pattern that we are gonna have in the bigger mountain stages. After the descent of San Baronto the profile looks mostly flat, but there are still some small ramps here and there, in particular the one to Cerreto Guidi starts with 1 km at 5-6%, before easing off and topping at 14 km to go.
The Climbs:
Montalbano (Il Castra), GPM3, 5.8 km at 6.8%
A pretty good climb for a stage 2, but a bit too far from the finish. Its central section might do some damage and many riders are definitely going to drop, but some of them might come back.
San Baronto, GPM4, 11.3 km at 2.4%
Usually the decisive climb of GP Larciano (from another side), from this side is really easy.
What to expect:
With the pink jersey being presumably on somebody who might not want to keep it right now, I expect a big breakaway forming on the first GPM. The Castra is, I think, too hard for sprinters to survive, so I'm pretty sure they will not bother. A few attackers might try something there, unless a team is pulling the peloton because they have a reduced bunch sprint specialist (someone in rainbow jersey comes to mind). So, either the breakaway gets it with a sizeable advantage, or a 50ish men sprint.
Fucecchio
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