Stage 1: Durrës – Tirana, 160 km (friday 9, dep. 13:10-13:30, ETA 17:00-17:25)
Stage with medium difficulties, 25 points to the winner.
The 3 km rule applies for falls/incidents in the finish.
Delays : 11% if ≤ 35 km/h; 12% if ≤ 39 km/h; 13% otherwise.
Everyone thought that there would be one of those big, long fights to make a breakaway with big punchers/breakawaymen names, but the fight just lasted a couple of miles, and 10 km after real start, a standard group of 'small' riders (3 Italians + 1 Cofidis) already has a gap of nearly 2 mn. Let's see if it starts again later in the stage, in the main climb for example...
Well... I think the peloton assumes that Trek, Visma, and Alpecin have enough in the tank to easily pull everything back together for the final hill, so probably not.
Disappointing stage, given what was proposed by the organiser, and given that tomorrow is the Time Trial, about which only leaders, outsiders and TT specialists should care.
Nobody fought for anything, except the 4 breakaway riders for the mountain points of the first climb which would determine the jersey wearer for tomorrow. Nobody in the bunch wanted it apparently, as the peloton who never let them loose could have easily caught this breakaway before the summit of this 13 km long climb.
Fortunato (🇮🇹 Astana) grabbed the mountain points of the first passage over the circuit climb because he was the only one who cared a little bit (he made no real attack, he just passed in front of the rider was pulling the peloton), nobody else contested it (perhaps a Barhain a bit?). Nobody in the bunch attempted to get the intermediate sprints points despite the fact that they grant big points, or the Red Bull km sprint (same thing: the peloton could almost have come back any time it wanted so).
The result of such non-fight is, as often: 2 GC leaders already gone in the ambulance: Landa (🇪🇸 Soudal-QS) and Bouchard (🇫🇷 Decathlon). 😢
I reckon we should see Fortunato trying to get more mountain points in the following days, it could be a goal for him.
So you're an optimist, nothing wrong with that :D The stage went pretty much as I expected it to...
This is the first time I am being called so 😉
Anyway, it looked like a common expectation on the (French) web forums I read. I mean, there was nothing to lose for most potential contenders of today's stage if it was raced as breakaway/puncher race, tomorrow is not their race. And for smaller riders, there were plenty of jerseys/distinctions that could be gotten, more easily than in future stages.
What they got today is a glacial pace all day long, until Trek starting pulling in the last 30-40 km. And Trek couldn't have pulled so long, and so accurately strongly in the final, if they had to chase for real during the race. By 'accurately', I mean that, in the end, Ciccone was pulling as strong as possible while keeping Pedersen and his launcher Vacek in his wheel. Before that, they could employ successively at least 3 other teammates, which could still be there and fresh because of the glacial pace and the lack of chase.
So all other teams/riders were leaving the victory to Trek/Visma, and the side classifications to (5 then) 4 breakaway riders, before a 'neutral' day. 2 of those teams ended up with the extra bonus of losing their leader.
Well, that was a very convincing sprint!
Pedersen made his usual 'mistake' of starting early, but the 3 (?) guys in his wheel never managed to pass him, as he kept going strong.
I don't think it's a mistake, it's a tactic. He can keep sprinting for longer, but with lower top speed. 350 m is pretty optimal for him.
He lost several sprints to (normally) inferior sprinters on the first small French races of the season, by launching his sprint too early.
He can keep sprinting for longer, but with lower top speed.
That's perfect... to launch other sprinters 😃 I mean, when he doesn't vastly overpower other sprinters, that's what actually happens.
edit: today, he was really very very strong, since he also took more wind before the sprint than any other rider, as while his team was leading – and that lasted a fair number of kilometres –, he was often in 2^nd^ position of the peloton.
Stage 2 : Tirana, 14 km (Saturday 10, dep. 13h55, ETA 17h15)
Time trial. 15 points to the winner.
Delays: 30%.
Standings after stage 1:
Pedersen (🇩🇰 Lidl-trek), Van Aert (🇧🇪 Visma), Aular (🇻🇪 Movistar) scored the time bonuses at finish.
A bunch of more than 30 riders in the same time follows, including the vast majority of designed/potential GC leaders.
I think that the slope in the TT course is what was ridden today as the downhill after the 'Redbull km' sprint.
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