If Bert Dietz, Miguel Indurain or Abraham Olano were still racing they would be rubbing their hands in glee at today’s time trial course in the Vuelta a España, which could see Chris Froome (Team Sky) take an almost unbreakable lead in the overall classification.
At 40 kilometres in length, the stage 16 time trial is something of a throwback to the 1990s and 2000s. There aren’t any sections on motorways but the high percentage of flat or gently undulating, fairly well surfaced roads would have been perfect for Indurain and the power time trialists.
There’s also the lack of climbing, particularly when compared to the weekend’s mountain marathon stages. Compared to the 3300 metres of vertical climbing on Sunday, there’s just 350 metres in the time trial and no classified climbs at all. The radical change of pace, combined with the notoriously unpredictable effects of a rest-day, could thrown a spanner in the works of some riders’ ambitions.
ADVERTISEMENT
The course starts on the flat Navarre motor racing circuit and is well suited to power time triallists, although some of the curves are somewhat technical to handle.
This isn’t the first time a Vuelta time trial has ventured into four wheeled racing territory. The 2009 Vuelta had an opening prologue in northern Holland on a motor racing circuit at Assen. Predictably enough, the 2009 Vuelta opener was won by Fabian Cancellara and the Navarre motor racing circuit features occasionally as part of Navarre’s top one-day race, the GP Miguel Indurain.
Having come out of the motor circuit the time trial course hits one of the few narrow segments of the stage, a one-car width road-cum-bike path which takes the route via a bridge and a sharp couple of turns into the first section of longer, straight roads.
Rolling middle section
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2j0aWR2
No comments:
Post a Comment