Tour de Romandie 2014 – Preview
By David Hunter
After the Ardennes Classics it’s time for the big GC riders to get back to what they know best. We have a prologue, an ITT and 4 other stages. It’s a mini grand tour and attracts some of the best riders in the world. Both Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali are here but with some big questions to answer. Time to look at the stages:
I have to admit that on first viewing the route doesn’t look the most interesting. Stage 3 is the Queen stage and the only day we should see significant GC movement. It features 4 cat 1 climbs, the final 2 are difficult, but with almost 20km to the finish, it gives an opportunity for a regroupment.
That means the prologue and ITT will be very important. The ITT on the final stage is very interesting, it has a 2.2km climb at an average of 8.3%. This will ensure a very exciting finish to the race.
So the winner of the race will be a climber who can time-trial well. The contenders are: Froome, Nibali, Spilak, Van Garderen, Talansky, Peraud, and Rui Costa. I would immediately discount Costa as he had to abandon on Sunday. There are big question marks about Froome as he didn’t start LBL due to a chest infection. Nibali completed all 3 of the Ardennes classics, surely he must be tired?
Peraud has been in amazing form this year. He won the Criterium, was 2nd in Tour de Med, 3rd in Pais Vasco and 4th in Tirreno. Of all the riders he has the best form.
Van Garderen was 3rd in Catalunya but slightly disappointing in Pais Vasco, finishing 6th. He was 9th in the ITT, which was way below expectations.
Andrew Talansky is a rider I really like. The American was a solid 7th in Catalunya and will go well here.
Simon Spilak is a very dangerous rider. He was 4th in Pais Vasco, thanks to a 4th place in the ITT. He likes bad weather and has to be a major threat for the overall title.
A lot of people are talking about Tony Martin and Michal Kwaitkowski but stage 3 will see off big Tony and the Pole will be very tired after the last week and will try to support Uran. The Colombian started the season with 3rd place in Oman but has disappointed since. Will he rediscover his form?
Prediction time…
Despite withdrawing for LBL, I think that this race is all about Chris Froome. He was 6th in Catalunya, whilst getting over a bad back, and this course suits him down to the ground. If Nibali is on form he should be 2nd(but I have my doubts), with Van Garderen, Talansky, Peraud and Spilak fighting it out for the podium.
If you’re interested in a long shot, how about Johann Tschopp of IAM Cycling. This is a major target for him and his leader Mathias Frank, might just struggle after a tough Flèche and LBL. This race is of massive importance to his Swiss team and they will go all out to try and get a rider in the top 10.
Related: Prologue preview: https://bicis.frangandara.net/tour-de-romandie-2014-prologue-preview/
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