Tour de Yorkshire 2018 – Stage 3 Preview

By David Hunter

Richmond – Scarborough 181.5km

Will the sprint teams make a mess of this one?

A stage with only two climbs, both of which crest a long way from home. There is an interesting little bump with 7km remaining, but this shouldn’t be a concern for the sprinters.

Finale

The run for home is right on the sea front, which means that wind can be an issue. Not only that, but the roads are rarely straight. The big sweeping bends means that it can be hard to judge the finish. It is important to be on the front of the bunch, allowing you to take the inside line.

Weather

Dry, with a little bit of wind coming from the south. As most of the stage heads east, we have the perfect direction for crosswinds, but is the wind strong enough?

Contenders

Mark Cavendish – a lot has been made about his motivation to win a stage, something he hasn’t done in Britain since 2013. Given the level of his rival sprinters, he really should be taking the win. With Renshaw to lead out the sprint, it’s hard to see the others challenging Cavendish. His lack of racing is an issue, it’s the only worry I have.

Max Walscheid – “won” the bunch sprint on Thursday, and he did look fast. The German burst onto the scene, late in 2016, winning 5 stages in the Tour of Hainan. He didn’t make the impact I expected in 2017, only picking up a win in the Tour of Denmark. The German will turn 25 in June, he really needs to start taking some more wins.

Bryan Coquard – another rider desperately in need of a few wins. He left Direct Energie to further his career, instead, he seems to have taken a few steps backwards. Back in 2016 he seemed to have the world at his feet, but it all seems to have gone wrong. He has the speed required to win the stage, but crashed today. We shall have to see if he has recovered.

Magnus Cort Nielsen – after his stunning victory today, the Dane starts as the race leader. Astana will be very keen on holding the race together and seeing if their leader can claim some bonus seconds in the sprint. Any extra time he takes will be a blow to his GC rivals.

Team Sky – both Lawless and Halvorsen crashed today, with Lawless having to abandon the race. The Norwegian has the speed to challenge for the win, but we’ll need to see how he has recovered from his crash.

Adam Blythe – I’m getting a little worried about Blythe. He seems to be struggling just now, but that could all change with one good performance. Aqua Blue will be keen to impress and Blythe does have the speed to challenge. Can he reverse a disappointing period of form?

Prediction Time

I backed him to win on Thursday and I see no reason to change my mind, it will be a win for Mark Cavendish.

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