Critérium du Dauphiné 2014: Stage 5, Sisteron - La Mure 184 km

[christopherrowe]

Critérium du Dauphiné 2014: Stage 5, Sisteron - La Mure 184 km

Six categorized climbs, but nothing that looks sharp enough to shake up the General Classification. Another breakaway?

Thanks to Afrank for the map!

 

[kum dobrica]

Another breakaway.
Small group sprint.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Cat. 2: Col de Manse (6,6 km, 6,2%)
Cat. 3: Côte du Motty (2,3 km, 8,1%)
Cat. 3: Côte du Pont-Haut (2,7 km, 7,4%)
Cat. 3: Col de Malissol (2,0 km, 8,8%)
Cat. 2: Col de la Morte (3,1 km, 8,4%)
Cat. 2: Côte de Laffrey (6,3 km, 6,2%)

A nicely designed mid mountain stage, but once again the riders needs to step up to make it exciting.

Is Sky's train on the mend?

 

[jens_attacks]

chouchouuuu!

 

[BeagRigh]

Yeah, got to be a break surely.

Usual suspects; Voeckler, Chavanel, Voigt, Bakelants will be involved or at least trying to be involved but I see the winner coming from a "lesser" name, someone not as heavily marked. If I had to pick I'd go with Lachlan Morton...

Reza also in the break for the KOM points.

 

[veji11]

Cat. 2: Col de Manse (6,6 km, 6,2%)
Cat. 3: Côte du Motty (2,3 km, 8,1%)
Cat. 3: Côte du Pont-Haut (2,7 km, 7,4%)
Cat. 3: Col de Malissol (2,0 km, 8,8%)
Cat. 2: Col de la Morte (3,1 km, 8,4%)
Cat. 2: Côte de Laffrey (6,3 km, 6,2%)

A nicely designed mid mountain stage, but once again the riders needs to step up to make it exciting.

Is Sky's train on the mend?

In a tour de France or a Paris Nice it could make for great racing, but 3 weeks before the tour riders won't want to take too many risks, taking into account the heatwave as well : If there are no thunderstorms to cool the atmosphere and riders still have to race on 35°C roads without much wind, the big guys and their teammates will take it easy. Getting heatstruck 3 weeks before the tour would be silly wouldn't it ?

If something has to happen between the big guys it is in the côte de la Morte before the big descent. Laffrey itself is way to fast of a climb.

On a more general point, this stage is another find example of the progresses ASO has made in the last few years : It offers good variety.

I see another strong breakaway going for the win tomorrow, and possibly again second tier favorites doing what Bardet and TVG did today.

 

[christopherrowe]

You got to figure Thomas Damuseau and/or Alessandro de Marchi will try to go in the break to take the Mountains Jersey off the back of Kévin Réza, who hasn't sounded much like he plans to work to keep it from what I've read (and while I hope he does make an effort to keep it, I understand that doing so doesn't really play to his riding strengths).

AG2R had a big day today, I wonder if Sky and Tinkoff - Saxo will let their attention slip from the French squads tomorrow as well.

 

[Jspear]

You got to figure Thomas Damuseau and/or Alessandro de Marchi will try to go in the break to take the Mountains Jersey off the back of Kévin Réza, who hasn't sounded much like he plans to work to keep it from what I've read (and while I hope he does make an effort to keep it, I understand that doing so doesn't really play to his riding strengths).

AG2R had a big day today, I wonder if Sky and Tinkoff - Saxo will let their attention slip from the French squads tomorrow as well.

Sky was trying to give the yellow jersey to AG2R today to take the responsibility off them for a little while....just didn't quite work for them.

 

[christopherrowe]

Sky was trying to give the yellow jersey to AG2R today to take the responsibility off them for a little while....just didn't quite work for them.

Ah, I see. Pity it didn't (pity for AG2R, not for Sky), as I love to see French riders winning and leading races.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

In a tour de France or a Paris Nice it could make for great racing, but 3 weeks before the tour riders won't want to take too many risks, taking into account the heatwave as well : If there are no thunderstorms to cool the atmosphere and riders still have to race on 35°C roads without much wind, the big guys and their teammates will take it easy. Getting heatstruck 3 weeks before the tour would be silly wouldn't it ?

snipped..

oh I don't expect anything to happen with the top Tour contenders here regardless of weather.

Simply pointing out I like the stage design, just like I think they got the overall route right this year.

Also by stepping up, I don't necessarily mean Froome or Contador. I'm equally happy if somebody lower in the ranks provides the action and takes the glory. A bit like today.

 

[theyoungest]

Yeah, got to be a break surely.

Usual suspects; Voeckler, Chavanel, Voigt, Bakelants will be involved or at least trying to be involved but I see the winner coming from a "lesser" name, someone not as heavily marked. If I had to pick I'd go with Lachlan Morton...

Reza also in the break for the KOM points.

Lachlan Morton's usual result at WT level is a DNF. As in this race, which he is no longer a part of.

 

[veji11]

oh I don't expect anything to happen with the top Tour contenders here regardless of weather.

Simply pointing out I like the stage design, just like I think they got the overall route right this year.

Also by stepping up, I don't necessarily mean Froome or Contador. I'm equally happy if somebody lower in the ranks provides the action and takes the glory. A bit like today.

Oh I fully agree with you. regarding the stage design I am 95% happy, the only change I would have made would have been to have one stage, not to hard but one nevertheless, with some big climbs in a sequence not only in the last 30 ks of the route.

To me the ideal overall route would have seen a 20k ITT in Lyon and a last stage replacement of the Courchevel stage looking like this : Openrunner ID 3692986 Megeève - St Jean de Maurienne : 171 ks going through the col des Saisies then Col de la Madeleine and Col de la Croix de fer, to finish with a descent on St Jean de Maurienne. It would have been a hard stage, but reasonable and would have seen for the only time in this Dauphine the riders confronted with 2 long 20/25 ks climbs, which means a final second of climbs starting 100 ks from the finish.

This to me would have been the ideal route, because the one thing missing in this Dauphine is a pair of long climbs.

 

[BeagRigh]

Lachlan Morton's usual result at WT level is a DNF. As in this race, which he is no longer a part of.

Haha, so much for my prediction then!

 

[christopherrowe]

Lachlan Morton's usual result at WT level is a DNF. As in this race, which he is no longer a part of.

Wow, that really is true, isn't it? HC races outside of North America don't seem to be to his liking either. Oh well, he's very young.

2014
Critérium du Dauphiné (2.UWT) | DNF
Tour de Romandie (2.UWT) | DNF
Tour Down Under (2.UWT) | DNF

2013
Il Lombardia (WT) | DNF
Tour de Suisse (WT) | 137
Tour de Romandie (WT) | DNF
Santos Tour Down Under (WT) | 32 (7 in Youth Classification)

 

[xanadu]

Yeah, got to be a break surely.

Usual suspects; Voeckler, Chavanel, Voigt, Bakelants will be involved or at least trying to be involved but I see the winner coming from a "lesser" name, someone not as heavily marked. If I had to pick I'd go with Lachlan Morton...

Reza also in the break for the KOM points.

Not a bad call, methinks the usual suspects will be stirring things up but as you say it may well be one of the lesser lights that steals the show.

 

[JaffaGT]

Voeckler i so heavily marked nowadays that there is no chanche to take a victory on french soil.

 

[Arredondo]

Voeckler isn't the big Voeckler anymore. He isn't that dangerous anymore. Is his end coming?

 

[murali]

Voeckler i so heavily marked nowadays that there is no chanche to take a victory on french soil.

He corrected the mistake by losing some time. he happily dropped back in the climb.

I think he is going for the win in this stage.

OPQS is stage hunting. OGE wants some action.

The stage will most likely have a very strong break hoping to get atleast a 3 min lead at the top of last climb.

If Froome gets isolated, then there will be fireworks.

 

[mortand]

Cyril Gautier vs. Peter Velits for the win. There you go. You can congratulate me on my marvellous prediction later.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The ASO's route design is 1942x better than the last couple, but they do still have a problem with loops, which they always tend to do in the wrong direction.

 

[The Blues]

I think teams such as Astana has the possibility to make this immensely interesting. All they need to do is have Fuglsang or Kangert attack early to test Froome and his team. It will probably not happen because Nibali is not feeling too strong, but we need some GC-focused team to really give it a go - otherwise it will be another breakaway-stage with no GC-action.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Hoping for a Voigt breakaway win. He usually ends up too well marked though allowing someone else to slip through.

Sky surely won't want to chase that hard with 2 tough stages to come. They may try and give the jersey away again too knowing only Contador is capable of matching Froome in the final stages.

 

[manafana]

voigt came to mind straight away any way. Wonder how big of a break they let go away here.

 

[maxmartin]

I think teams such as Astana has the possibility to make this immensely interesting. All they need to do is have Fuglsang or Kangert attack early to test Froome and his team. It will probably not happen because Nibali is not feeling too strong, but we need some GC-focused team to really give it a go - otherwise it will be another breakaway-stage with no GC-action.

Nibali always uses Dauphine as training purpose for Tour preparation, this is just his racing plan.

 

[wirral]

Contador will place some peons up the road and attack on the Col de la Morte. Froome to go into full panic spin-out seated washing machine crab mode.