Tour of Beijing 2014 – Stage 3 Preview

By David Hunter

We get a repeat of the exact same stage from last year.

We have 176km of undulating road.

Last year, Movistar set a high pace for Rui Costa, on the final climb. We got a small split, but nothing conclusive. Tony Martin, attacked on the descent but was caught with 5km to go. Nacer Bouhanni took the win from Matthews, Tsatevich and Viviani. After the top 4, it was strong riders like Kohler and Bozic.

This year, the top sprinters are Mezgec, Ewan and Modolo. Luka Mezgec should be able to survive the climbs but I’m not sure about the others. This opens the door to fast finishing, strong riders.

With a lack of sprinters, there is a strong chance of an elite group forming on the climb/descent. If we get the right mix, they won’t be seen again. Likely contenders are Rui Costa, Jesus Herrada, Philippe Gilbert, Sergi Chernetckii, Dan Martin, Sami Sanchez, Paul Martens and Warren Barguil. If we get such a move, it will be very interesting to see the tactics employed by the teams.

If it comes back together for a sprint, Mezgec is the overwhelming favourite.

Prediction time…

I think we’ll get a sprint from a small group and I’ll go for Jesus Herrada. The former Spanish road champion is very quick and often underestimated.

David Hunter

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