Tour of Britain 2014 – Stage 1 Preview

By David Hunter

The race begins with a circuit race, around the streets of Liverpool.  We have 8 laps of 13.1km, so that’s 104.8km in total. The lap is fairy easy, with few corners.

The profile is virtually flat, so it all looks good for a big, sprint finish. Who are the contenders?

The two names that jump out are Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish.

Kittel won 4 stages at the Tour de France. He returned to racing in the Arctic Tour of Norway, but didn’t look at his best. He was 6th in Vattenfall, where the climbs sapped his sprinting legs. This stage is flat and short. He should be full of energy and ready to deliver one of his power sprints.

After crashing in the Tour, Cavendish has slowly returned to action. He raced the Tour de l’Ain, but was lead-out man for Meersman. He was a solid 5th in Vattenfall, before claiming 2 stages, in Tour de Poitou-Charentes. He is certainly starting to find his form again and some confidence.

The other sprinters in the race are: Ben Swift, Heinrich Haussler, Daniel McLay, Tyler Farrar, Nicola Ruffoni, Sonny Colbrelli, Barry Markus, Sam Bennett, Adam Blythe and Nikolay Trusov.

It’s a massive race for Sam Bennett. His performance, in 2013, got him a contract with NetApp and he would love to take a stage win.

Nicola Ruffoni comes into the race with some good form, winning a stage in Tour du Poitou-Charentes. He is very fast!

The others will find it very difficult to challenge on the flat days and will look to achieve something when Kittel and Cavendish are not there.

Prediction time…

A flat, easy stage, that has a long finishing straight = Marcel Kittel. Cavendish to finish 2nd, with Ruffoni 3rd.

Related: Overall preview:https://bicis.frangandara.net/tour-of-britain-2014-overall-preview/

David Hunter

Follow us in facebook https://www.facebook.com/CiclismoInternacionalLatinoamerica?fref=ts … or Twitter @CiclismoInter