It’s the first (and often best) GT of the season!
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.
Regulations
UCI points are attributed to the first 15 riders in each stage.
Time bonuses are granted to the first 3 riders in each mass stage (10, 6 and 4 seconds).
There is also 1 ‘Red Bull km’ sprint per mass stage granting 6, 4, and 2 seconds to the first 3 riding across it, and points to the first 5 riders (15, 8, 5, 3 and 1 points), points which only account for this specific classification. The winner of the Red Bull km sprint will wear a blue number on the next day.
Besides, there are 2 regular intermediate sprints per mass stage, granting points to the first 5 riders (12, 8, 5, 3, 1). Those account for points classification and for intermediate sprints classification.
Points classification
‘Cyclamen’ jersey.
Classification is made on the total of points won at the stage finishes and at intermediate sprints (regular only, not Red Bull km sprint)
Stages without difficulties or with light difficulties grant points to the first 15 riders: 50, 35, 25, 18, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
Stages with medium difficulties grant points to the first 10 riders: 25, 18, 12, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
Stages with high difficulties also grant points to the first 10 riders: 15, 12, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
Ties are discriminated according to the number of stage victories, then the number of intermediate sprints victories, and finally the GC ranking.
Intermediate sprints classification
Same principle but only takes into account the regular intermediate sprints points (2 sprints per stage, points for the first 5 riders: 12, 8, 5, 3, 1).
No jersey, no special number either as far as I could tell.
Mountain classification
Blue jersey.
The ‘cima Coppi’, which is this year the Finestre Pass (20th stage) grants to the first 9 riders: 50, 30, 20, 14, 10, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points.
1st category climbs as stage finish grant to the first 8 riders: 50, 24, 16, 9, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points.
1st category climbs in the middle of a stage grant to the first 8 riders: 40, 18, 12, 9, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points.
2nd category climbs grant to the first 6 riders: 18, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points.
3rd category climbs grant to the first 4 riders: 9, 4, 2 and 1 points.
4th category climbs grant to the first 4 riders: 3, 2 and 1 points.
Ties are discriminated by the potential lead across the ‘cima Coppi’, then by the number of leads across the 1st category climbs, then across 2nd cat. climbs, then across 3rd cat. climbs, then 4th cat. climbs, and finally by the GC.
Breakaway classification
For reach rider, there is a count of how many kilometres he has been in a breakaway, that is alone or in a group of no more than 10 riders (the kilometres are only credited when this situation lasts at least 5 km).
No jersey, no special number either as far as I could tell.
Fighting spirit classification
Each day, one rider is arbitrarily selected. He shall wear a red number on the next day.
At the end of the tout, a prize is awarded to the riders most often selected. NB: nothing seems to be planned about ties.
Team classification
It is the sum of the times of the 3 best riders of a team in each stage.
The first criterium to discriminate ties if the sum of the daily rankings of those 3 daily best riders. Then there are other complicated criteria, but as ties are very unlikely in this classification, I won’t bother :-)
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.
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 2nd position of the peloton.
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.
Most beautiful race. My favourite GT!
This is Derek Gee’s year!!
The past couple of years have been disappointing, but I am happy Pogacar is not there this year so we might get some excitement :)
Also looking forward to seeing Mads Pedersen and the EF Danes and what they can do!
I’m hoping this might be Yates’ time to shine. We’ll see…
I think yates supposed to be working for ayuso
I am happy Pogacar is not there this year so we might get some excitement :)
Well, if it is going to be one of these tours where Roglitch sets the pace, there won’t be much excitement for the GC, just a looong wait overall, and each mountain stage resulting in a small sprint in the last few 100 metres. (I don’t dislike the guy, but as long as he is in control of the situation, he will calculate everything to minimise his effort.)
As far as I am concerned, I do not mind much, as long as the stages are disputed: I liked the 2023 edition much, with Healy and Gee on fire, mixed with the usual Italians and some (odd at times) fighting for secondary classifications. But that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
I think Ayuso can put up a fight, much as I dislike UAE dominance. But will he have the stamina to hang on in the third week?
Ayuso indeed seems to often have bad days after a while, and to be unable to conceal them.
On the other hand, the Bora team has been pretty crappy lately. On the other hand of the other hand, it wasn’t the part of the team which rides with Roglitch: most of these didn’t ride anything since Catalonia in March!
There’s also the fact that Ayusos team doesn’t really like him, and probably won’t work too hard for him…
Yeah, I concur that we often get this feeling, and we heard rumours. I don’t know how grounded they are.
Do you know if Vine, who has been involved in the major crash of the last descent, is injured? That might simplify a bit the hierarchy within UAE 😃
edit: well, it appears that Vine came behind by 4 minutes… so, injured or not, he is pretty much out of the GC game already.
