2025 Tour of the Alps (April 21-25)

[tobydawq]

Good thing tomorrow is trivial now because Storer had the motor right in front of him in the descent saving his ass so now tomorrow taking the GC win is trivial

Amazing.

So did Arensman, didn't he?

 

[Netserk]

Great stage, a shame the crucial section was before coverage started. It sounds like the early descents were fast and very cold, messing with some riders. Nice training ride by Geesus, I think he may have come directly from altitude down to race.

 

[Netserk]

This is such a weird race to watch. I mean, loads of fun, but still strange.

Great ride by Arensman. Really not sure why there was a camera in front of Storer for so long, and no camera on Gee till the end. And it is really hard to tell because of the zoom features, but that bike seemed awfully close to Storer. Still a great ride

As I like to say, the problem is too little moto-pacing and not too much. If there's a moto in front of all groups, it's less of an issue.

 

[Sciatic]

Looking at the profile for tomorrow, quite something to see "uncategorized" climbs of 8-9%. It's like they running low on the numbered triangle graphics and had to use them sparingly.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Wow, what a stage today. Cracking racing from Arensman and Storer!

 

[KZD]

Absolutely dantesque conditions today, Arensman was superb, taking the stage and CG lead.

Storer also did well and despite losing the lead, he can still get it back tomorrow.

 

[zlev11]

this has been such a fun race, amazing what good stage design can do

 

[hayneplane]

Piganzoli looks ready for a wonderful, Zubeldia-esque 11th place on the Giro

Impossible. The kit is one of the more easily recognisable ones in the peloton so he will be easy to spot doing the Almeida of old yo-yo dangling off the back of the GC group.

 

[EllaChimp]

Wow, what a win by Arensman today! Amazing. So pleased for him, although I feel bad for Storer. Will be an interesting final stage tomorrow!

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Zero score and three years ago, Michael Storer and Thymen Arensman started the last stage of the 2022 Tour of the Alps in the same time on GC. At the end of the day in Lienz the difference between them was two seconds in Storer's favour. Arensman's teammate, Romain Bardet, had however won the race by 14 seconds.

This time around, they are starting the stage with Arensman leading by 11 seconds, but will that be enough to hold off Storer the Destroyer? And is Gee safe in third place? Can local boy Gall make a comeback? Is another ambush possible?

Stage 5: Lienz -Lienz, 112 km

The stage is a carbon copy of the one from 2022. The only difference is that they'll finish at the main square rather than at the valley station for the Zettersfeldbahn.

It is of course impossible to talk about the 2022 stage without mentioning what became the penultimate victory of Thibaut Pinot's career, which came after he had been denied the win the previous day by Miguel Ángel López (which incidentally turned out to be Superman's (possibly) last ever victory in Europe).

Pinot and David de la Cruz attacked out of a larger breakaway halfway through the stage on the wet roads around Lienz. I haven't rewatched it in full, but I re-read the race thread from back then and that was thrilling enough.

There were also some comments about Lenny Martinez and Cian Uijtdebroeks both finishing in the top 16 in the race. One was 4th in FW the other day, while the other hasn't finished in the top 4 anywhere in 14 months (youth GC excluded).

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHzCXTSV55M



Back to todays' stage. The Pustertaler Höhenstraße will be appearing in full after 35 km, from the opposite direction as what is being displayed here.

Now if you aren't a great descender and is a bit worried about the road back down to Abfaltersbach after having had a bad experience yesterday, simply take a look at this fantastic profile from the 2016 Giro del Trentino to ease the nerves. Even Jakub Mareczko would be able to survive if they were climbing it instead.

The next challenge arrives after another 13 km. The western side of Bannberg is not as difficult as the one they climb 40 km earlier, but with only 32 km left from the top, there's a chance that someone may fancy attacking here. Especially if they manage to get teammates into a breakaway.

Now it's time for the very last climb of the race, the steep Stronach. which was where DSM put the final nail in Pello Bilbao's coffin in 2022, after he had previously been hit by some in his tyres.

The descent afterwards will be the last point where anyone can make a difference before the last 4 km of flat to the line. It is not as steep as the ascent and also takes place on a wider road for most of it, but if its wet at this point, maybe it's possible to gap someone here.

I have checked multiple sources and it seems quite certain that it will rain a little bit tomorrow, but the risk is higher during the night and in the morning than in the afternoon. The temperatures are expected to be between 9 and 15 degrees, and the Sun won't be shining much.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Raceaction is almost guaranteed today and I hope the Bardet/Seixas duo attacks early to try and get a stagewin here.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Zero score and three years ago, Michael Storer and Thymen Arensman started the last stage of the 2022 Tour of the Alps in the same time on GC. At the end of the day in Lienz the difference between them was two seconds in Storer's favour. Arensman's teammate, Romain Bardet, had however won the race by 14 seconds.

This time around, they are starting the stage with Arensman leading by 11 seconds, but will that be enough to hold off Storer the Destroyer? And is Gee safe in third place? Can local boy Gall make a comeback? Is another ambush possible?

Stage 5: Lienz -Lienz, 112 km

The stage is a carbon copy of the one from 2022. The only difference is that they'll finish at the main square rather than at the valley station for the Zettersfeldbahn.

It is of course impossible to talk about the 2022 stage without mentioning what became the penultimate victory of Thibaut Pinot's career, which came after he had been denied the win the previous day by Miguel Ángel López (which incidentally turned out to be Superman's (possibly) last ever victory in Europe).

Pinot and David de la Cruz attacked out of a larger breakaway halfway through the stage on the wet roads around Lienz. I haven't rewatched it in full, but I re-read the race thread from back then and that was thrilling enough.

There were also some comments about Lenny Martinez and Cian Uijtdebroeks both finishing in the top 16 in the race. One was 4th in FW the other day, while the other hasn't finished in the top 4 anywhere in 14 months (youth GC excluded).

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHzCXTSV55M



Back to todays' stage. The Pustertaler Höhenstraße will be appearing in full after 35 km, from the opposite direction as what is being displayed here.

Now if you aren't a great descender and is a bit worried about the road back down to Abfaltersbach after having had a bad experience yesterday, simply take a look at this fantastic profile from the 2016 Giro del Trentino to ease the nerves. Even Jakub Mareczko would be able to survive if they were climbing it instead.

The next challenge arrives after another 13 km. The western side of Bannberg is not as difficult as the one they climb 40 km earlier, but with only 32 km left from the top, there's a chance that someone may fancy attacking here. Especially if they manage to get teammates into a breakaway.

Now it's time for the very last climb of the race, the steep Stronach. which was where DSM put the final nail in Pello Bilbao's coffin in 2022, after he had previously been hit by some in his tyres.

The descent afterwards will be the last point where anyone can make a difference before the last 4 km of flat to the line. It is not as steep as the ascent and also takes place on a wider road for most of it, but if its wet at this point, maybe it's possible to gap someone here.

I have checked multiple sources and it seems quite certain that it will rain a little bit tomorrow, but the risk is higher during the night and in the morning than in the afternoon. The temperatures are expected to be between 9 and 15 degrees, and the Sun won't be shining much.

Don‘t they ascend the same side of Bannberg twice? At least the PCS profile shows two identical climbs.
Also, Lol at that old profile.

 

[Bolder]

Raceaction is almost guaranteed today and I hope the Bardet/Seixas duo attacks early to try and get a stagewin here.

I think an attack from Bardet is likely if he feels OK. I had hoped for more yesterday as he's usually pretty good in bad weather.

I'm hoping for a win for him this year before he retires from the road. Not sure he's lost enough time in this race, however, for him to get in a break as Ineos will be alert to any threat. I'm not totally sure Tudor can control for Storer, who looked absolutely wrecked after the stage yesterday, while Arensmen could at least form words...

 

[Mayomaniac]

Don‘t they ascend the same side of Bannberg twice? At least the PCS profile shows two identical climbs.
Also, Lol at that old profile.

Yes, they climb it twice from the same side, via the Römerstraße.