Tour de Suisse 2018 – Stage 1 Preview
By David Hunter
Frauenfeld 18.3km TTT
The race gets underway with a TTT around the streets of Frauenfeld.
There are two little climbs along the way, but with only 180m of ascension, they are more like little bumps along the road. Both the start and finish of the stage are very technical, with lots of corners, but the rest of the course is easy.
Weather
With only a small chance of rain, the route should be dry for all teams. The weather remains constant throughout the day, so it shouldn’t have an impact.
Contenders
BMC – they arrive with a strong looking team. With Porte, Van Garderen and Küng they have proper TT quality and they also have De Marchi and Van Avermaet. They will start the stage as the big favourites and will hope to take time on Porte’s GC rivals.
Mitchelton Scott – a team that always goes well in this discipline, they will be hoping for a podium position. They might only have Durbridge as a recognised TT rider, but the strength of Kreuziger, Meyer, Albasini, Haig, Juul-Jensen and Bewley cannot be underestimated.
Sunweb – the team contains four of their winning squad from the worlds: Oomen, Matthews, Andersen and Kelderman. They don’t have Dumoulin, but Arndt, Geschke and Theuns will provide some strength.
Bora – the German squad could be the surprise package. As the distance is relatively short, it means sprinters can be very useful. Bora arrive with both Sagans, Oss, Bodnar, Mühlberger, Konrad and Burghardt. This looks like a team full of power and I think we’ll see them challenge for the podium.
QuickStep – the Belgians don’t have a lot of their usual TTT squad. They do have the power of Gilbert, Lampaert and Gaviria but I think they look a little weak compared to some of their rivals. A top 5 spot will be a good result for them.
Prediction Time
Can’t see anything else apart from a BMC win. They do love a TTT.
David Hunter
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