Tour de La Provence 2020 (2.Pro) - February 13-16

[Wvv]

5th Tour de La Provence:
13/2: Stage 1 - Châteaurenard › Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (149,5 km)
14/2: Stage 2 - Aubagne › La Ciotat (174,9 km)
15/2: Stage 3 - Istres › Mont Ventoux/Chalet Reynard (140,2 km)
16/2: Stage 4 - Avignon › Aix-en-Provence (170,5 km)

Nice enough race to deserve a thread on its own. Only the first stage is flat, and we get (a part of) the mytical Ventoux on Saturday! Comeback race of Pinot, Pozzovivo and Oomen after (horrible) injuries, first UCI-race of Quintana in Arkea's colours and Masnada with CCC. Also there: Lutsenko, Sivakov, Vanmarcke, Nizzolo, Gaudu, Barguil, Hirschi, Dunbar ...


I might pimp this post later on, I'm at work right now.

 

[Wvv]

Stage 1
Start at 13:00 CET, 7:00am U.S. ET
Finish at 16:33, 10:33am U.S. ET
Live at GCN Racing

 

[RedheadDane]

What an impressive landscape.
And now imagine if there had been cross winds! We might have ended up with a bit of accidental triatlon...

 

[Wvv]

The wind is certainly there though.
Average speed of the second hour: 47,1 km/h.

 

[Cinemaniak]

A sprint stage without any of the top class sprinters. I can see quite a few punchy guys escaping the peloton in the final.

 

[Wvv]

Not top class, but Bouhanni, Nizzolo, Barbier, Dupont ... aren't that bad. I wonder if Mareczko will get back up to speed soon, CCC needs that victory.

 

[Salvarani]

Bouhanni wins!

 

[Wvv]

Very nice attempt by Mareczko in search of CCC's first. Almost got it, but Bouhanni has his confidence back.

 

[postmanhat]

Bouhanni looked like he knew exactly when to go.

 

[RedheadDane]

That team change definitely did Bouhanni good.
And what the *** was that *** crossing the road right in front of the riders doing?

 

[JosephK]

That team change definitely did Bouhanni good.
And what the * was that * crossing the road right in front of the riders doing?

That lady almost caused a catastrophe. She (and the riders) got lucky, this time.

 

[postmanhat]

Actually, from the overhead, he was also miles quicker!

 

[shalgo]

That team change definitely did Bouhanni good.

Indeed; Bouhanni has seven race days this year and his worst finish is 8th. His second-worst finish is 5th.

 

[shalgo]

Quinn Simmons with his first top-10 finish as a professional.

 

[Salvarani]

Indeed; Bouhanni has seven race days this year and his worst finish is 8th. His second-worst finish is 5th.

Yup. He looks to be back in form and confidence again. He might be able to reach his 2013-2017 level of consistency.

 

[red_flanders]

That lady almost caused a catastrophe. She (and the riders) got lucky, this time.

Idiotic for sure, but can't help thinking the telephoto lens causes a lot of compression and it wasn't as close as it looked.

 

[yaco]

Problem for Bouhanni is he's up to a win a stage at the Giro or the Vuelta but the TDF may be a step too far.

 

[Wvv]

And what the * was that * crossing the road right in front of the riders doing?

So stupid.

 

[Anderis]

Considering the sprinting field is not stellar here, I hoped for more from Cort after his Etoile de Besseges performances.

 

[repre]

Considering the sprinting field is not stellar here, I hoped for more from Cort after his Etoile de Besseges performances.

He wasn't in position to sprint today. You had to be in the front before the last turn to contest this sprint. He wasn't and didn't even bother to sprint being in the 7-8th position. Lack of preparation or support from teammates cost him good place today.

 

[yaco]

Cort doesn't enjoy the hustle and bustle of a sprint finish and so he is hit and miss - His sprinting and classics riding haven't improved since he left Mitchelton Scott, though his climbing has gone through the roof.

 

[Wvv]

Stage 2 - Friday, February 14
Start at 12:15 CET, 6:15am ET
Finish at 16:52, 10:52am ET

 

[Squire]

Andrea Bagioli will win this bike race (today's stage).

 

[SafeBet]

Andrea Bagioli will win this bike race (today's stage).

We need to get the "Andrea Bagioli is the new Paolo Bettini" thread going afterall.

 

[Cinemaniak]

Andrea Bagioli will win this bike race (today's stage).

Never heard of the boy, but he seems to have some nice results. Bit unrealistic to expect anything from him today, other than surviving the first half of the peloton. Way too much climbing powerhouses