Volta a Catalunya 2015 – Stage 1 Preview
By David Hunter
Calella – Calella 191.1km
The race begins with a familiar looking stage. Both 2013 and 2014 started with a similar stage, finishing in Calella. Luca Mezgec took a big, bunch sprint in 2014 and Gianni Meersman won a small, bunch sprint in 2013.
Like all stages in this race, we have plenty of climbs for the riders to enjoy. The cat 1 climb is 7.8km at 5.2%. It is long but with 55.5km till the end of the stage, it shouldn’t be hard enough to split the bunch. The cat 3 climb is 7.4km at 3%. Cresting just 14.7km from the end, it gives attacking riders a fair chance of success.
It wasn’t hard enough to deny the sprinters in 2014 but in 2013 it did cause a split. That was due to Team Sky setting a fierce pace on the climb and descent. The descent is vey technical and you have to sit high in the peloton. All GC riders will know this and the rush for a good position, can lead to nervous racing and the possibility of crashes.
Due to the parcours of the race, we have a lack of sprinting talent. The big sprinters here are Rojas, Pelucchi, Stuyven, Ferrari, Vallee, Henderson, Ewan, Mezgec, Hivert, Bole, Van Staeyen and Coquard.
Luka Mezgec is a big fan of this race. He won three stages in 2014 and dominated all the sprints. Having crashed in Tirreno, it’s unsure if he’ll be ready for stage 1.
Caleb Ewan won two stages in Langkawi and everyone will be watching his progress carefully. The climbs don’t bother him and the lack of the sprinting elite means it’s a clever choice of race by Orica. The jump of standard from Langkawi to here is big, so don’t expect too much from him. Although, he’ll expect to compete for stage wins.
JJ Rojas is having a consistent season, as usual! A victory is certainly within his capabilities but having raced in MSR, on Sunday, it’s hard to believe that he’ll have the legs to challenge, in stage 1.
Greg Henderson is flying. He recently achieved 7.06w/kg in a 5 minute power test, his best ever figures. He should be good to survive the climb and being a Girona resident, he’ll know these roads well. It would be great to see the 38 year old roll back the clock.
Jesper Stuyven rides his first race, since crashing in Strade Bianche. It might take him a few days to get going, so Trek will look towards their Portuguese sprinter, Fabio Silvestre.
Bryan Coquard has been riding into good form. These culminated in a 2nd place in Paris Nice. Still just 22 years old, the Frenchman is a massive talent and a very fast sprinter. This race looks perfect for him as he can climb well and is faster than most here. It’s a shame that he longer has Kevin Reza to help him and has to look after himself, in the sprints.
There is a strong chance of rain, which would make the final descent a scary one. A stage like this to open the week can often lead to some peloton politics. The break will go, but who will control it? Most teams will look towards Sky, Tinkoff and Movistar but without top sprinters there might be some hesitation and the break has a good chance of success. Remember what happened in stage 1 of the TDU.
If that’s the case, Thomas De Gendt is clearly a good candidate. Another would be Christian Meier of Orica.
Prediction Time
Teams like Sky, Movistar and Tinkoff will want a fast pace on the climb. This will deter any GC attacks and I think we’ll get a bunch sprint. Despite a weak looking train, it should be easy enough for Bryan Coquard to maintain a good position, in the closing kilometres.
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