Binck Bank Tour 2018 – Stage 3 Preview

By David Hunter

Aalter – Antwerp 166km

Another day for the sprinters.

Exactly the same as the opening stage, with the golden kilometre coming a little far out from the end of the stage.

Weather

Not a bad day for the bunch, with dry roads and only a gentle wind.

Finale

More corners than the opening stage, which will help the sprint trains get some structure in the final 3km. What the picture doesn’t show is a very technical section with around 5km to go. With narrow roads and quite a few corners, I would expect to see the battle for control of the peloton to start a little earlier than usual.

Kittel Watch

Big Marcel doesn’t mind a TT, in fact he was 3rd in the under 23 World Championships back in 2010. After yesterday’s confidence boost, he set out with the thought of posting a competitive time. At the line he was in 36th place, 44 seconds behind Küng. Another positive day for the big man.

Contenders

Dylan Groenewegen – stage 1 was his first race since the Tour and he looked a little rusty. With that in the legs, he’ll be much better in this stage. Jumbo have a very strong sprint train to help deliver him into position and then it’s up to their young star. He’s probably only around 90% just now, but that could be enough to win the stage.

Marcel Kittel – the “surprise” of the opening stage. After a season of disappointment, Kittel seems to have refound his hunger, which has been sadly missing for a number of months. Monday’s sprint was hugely impressive, he was by far the fastest in the final 200m, but started too far back. Rick Zabel wasn’t around on Monday, an earlier crash had stopped him, but with him back in front of Kittel, he has a big chance of taking his first win since March.

Caleb Ewan – after being left to look after himself in the final kilometre, Ewan had to launch his sprint from 300m, on Monday. He showed a good burst of speed, but understandably, he started to fade at the very end. It was a surprise to me that Mitchelton-Scott didn’t have more men to help Ewan, something I think they’ll look to put right in this stage. If they get him in the right position, he can finish it off.

Fabio Jakobsen – took his first World Tour win on Monday, not too bad at all! The young Dutchman is a very fast sprinter and was put into a wonderful position by Florian Sénéchal, but he still needed to finish it off. Wins breed confidence and he’ll be looking forward to taking another stage, but it certainly won’t be easy. If QuickStep can dominate the final kilometre, he has the speed to finish it off. I’m not sure he has the speed to come from behind the others, he needs to lead from the front.

Max Walscheid – given that Sunweb have told Matthews and Theuns that they won’t be sprinting, there is a huge amount of pressure on the shoulders of the German. He took a good win in the Tour of Yorkshire, but that is his only success in 2018. This pattern is similar to 2017, with just one win to his name. I don’t agree with the decision to let him sprint, Theuns should be their man, but it is what it is! Walscheid is big and powerful, but will struggle to beat the riders already mentioned.

Prediction Time

I’ve thought long and hard about this… It’s got to be a win for Marcel Kittel! Just you wait for Kittel Watch tomorrow.

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