Looks like it would fit my definition of a hilly stage—not mountain or medium mountain, but hilly.
Headwind too according to a weather forecast. This is why we pay our Max subscription!
Who are you referring to? I know that I have said that countless of times, but I like this as a sprinter's stage. The problem kinda is though that all the the best sprinters in this race should be able to get over these hills tbf.
Arkéa in particular are baffling, they have a bunch of mediocre sprinters and could really do with the UCI points.
Oh yeah, I remember that. I have a hope that some riders will try to use the last couple of hills do to something, and anyways, you are going to have sprints, so have stages like this Im totally fine with given the rest of the route. Only negative is its on a Sunday, and it could also have been fun to see the field tackle some of the climbs from the Volta, but I have no clue have the geography of Portugal at all. I know where Algarve is and thats it.. speaking of which, Malhao would have brilliant on stage 2 as well.
If Van Aert finishes second, then Groves is pretty much the only one who can win. Because I don't see the likes of Coquard, Bittner, Strong or Marit beating both of them barring crashes/mechanicals.
mainly for the "early" part (well, first 150k), though. So yeah, not good news for the breakaway, but once they turn east for the hilly part in the end, it's more cross/tail wind. Late attacks could still stick.
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