Tour 2015: Stage 2 Utrecht > Zeeland
STAGE FACT
Utrecht is the hometown of Dick Bruna, the creator of Miffy, the much-loved literary cartoon rabbit whose giant effigy has been driven around the Tour for the last few years.
The Tour peloton will head straight into battle on the first road stage of this year’s race. The route might be flat as a stroopwafel — a local caramel waffle originating in Gouda — but crosswinds are almost guaranteed as the race heads south-west from Utrecht towards the coast.
Where are we going?
The stage finishes on Neeltje Jans, an artificial island built in the 1980s to facilitate the construction of a huge storm surge barrier (so big that it is considered by some architects to be the eighth wonder of the world). The island is now home to a nature reserve, a theme park and an aquarium where you can go swimming with sharks.
Echelons! There’s a fine art to riding in the crosswinds. The bunch tends to form a diagonal shape pointing into the wind until the riders at the back are right in the gutter. GC teams will be fighting to keep themselves — and their team leaders — close to the front of the pack. With the final 40 km right along the coast, it’s going to mean a brutal day out.
What could happen?
The spectacular 13th stage of the 2013 Tour, where Quick Step blew the race to bits and Mark Cavendish won the stage, shows just how devastating splits in the crosswinds can be. Some riders, like Pierre Rolland and Alejandro Valverde, lost 10 minutes that day.
Commenti
Posta un commento