The combination of a tough final climb and a subsequent technical descent was too much for the sprinters in today's first stage of the Tour de Romandie but the fast finishers will get an immediate chance to take revenge in tomorrow's second stage which should be the easiest of the entire race. Nonetheless, the profile is still rather hilly and it will require a good set of climbing legs to be there at the end.

 

The course

The second stage could be another one of the fast finishers with a solid pair of climbing legs as it is again a very hard day in the saddle but with a long descent to the finish, the sprinters will fancy their chances. The stage heads over 166.5km from the previous day's finish in Sion to Montreux on the shores of the Lake Leman. The first part is very easy as it consists of long straight, slightly descending roads for the first 70km of the race.

 

Having passed through the finishing city of Montreux, the riders now go up a category 3 climb (11.4km, 3.3%) but it's more of a long, gradual uphill drag than a real climb. They will stay at a small plateau for a few kilometres before descending to the bottom of another category 3 climb (8.2km, 3.9%). Again it's a rather easy affair that is followed by a short descent and then an uncategorized ascent (5.4km 2.7%). From there, the final 31km are almost all downhill back to Montreux.

 

The roads level out for the final 7.3km that are mostly flat but there is a short little 1.5km rise with an average gradient of 2.9% whose top comes 3.2km from the finish. From there, it's slightly downhill until the final 2km that are completely flat. Unlike the previous finish, the finale is not technical as the riders do their final left-hand turn 1.9km from the finish and from there it is a straight road along the lake all the way to the finish.

 

 

 

The weather

Rain, cold and snow had been predicted for today's stage and the weather ended up having a massive impact on the racing as the stage was shortened and the big Simplonpass taken out of the race. By the time the stage finally got underway, however, the riders enjoyed beautiful and pleasant weather for the rider but they are unlikely to have similar luck in tomorrow's stage.

 

In the morning hours, it should be a beautiful sunny day but by the time the riders take off in the afternoon, clouds and rain will make their presence felt. Luckily it won't be too cold as the temperature in Montreux will reach a maximum of 12 degrees.

 

There will only be a light wind from a westerly direction which means that the riders will have a headwind in the first part of the stage before turning into a crosswind. On the final circuit, there will be a crosswind on the first climb and a headwind on the second one. There will be a cross-tailwind on the final descent and that will be the case all the way to the finish in Montreux.

 

The favourites

As expected, it would always be a close call whether the toughest sprinters would make it over the final climb in today's first stage and in many of the fast finishers still had contact with the main group when they crested the summit. However, they were all positioned rather far back in the main group and when it split on the subsequent technical descent, they fell out of contention, opening the door for the classics riders like eventual stage winner Michael Albasini.

 

Tomorrow's stage is the easiest of the entire race and the one that most of the fast finishers will have red-circled as the day to strike. The stage is certainly not flat but the climbing is rather easy and the total amount of elevation gain is just 1336m. Furthermore, the final climb comes far from the finish and so there is less of an incentive for attackers to try to split things up.

 

With this stage being the main target for several sprinters, it should make for some pretty controlled racing and with a very easy start to the stage, we could very well see a repeat of today's proceedings where an early break escapes almost straight from the gun before getting reeled in on the final circuit. Today many teams were a uncertain about their sprinters' chances and so they left the main work to Omega Pharma-Quick Step. Bigger time gaps have now opened up and so the Belgian team may be keen to let a non-dangerous break stay away. This could force the sprint teams into work and it would be no surprise to see teams like Giant-Shimano, Belkin and Trek join Omega Pharma-Quick Step in the early pace-setting duties.

 

By the time, we hit the final circuit, we should see some attacks but the climbs and rather easy descent should not be enough to prevent a bunch sprint in Montreux. The main question is how many of the fast finishers will still be in contention by the time the riders roll down the finishing straight.

 

Today Sky and Lampre-Merida did the damage on the final climb and it would be no surprise if the British team again animate the finale. Chris Froome has made no secret of the fact that he wants to use this race as a proper test and so wants it to be as hard as possible. Furthermore, it's a great way of staying safe if the peloton is a bit smaller and we can expect to see the Brits ride tempo on the front. Furthermore, Belkin have made it clear that they want to get rid of Marcel Kittel on this stage and if Moreno Hofland is feeling well, they could try to make things hard. Trek and Movistar could have similar plans and so there should be a lot of teams with an interest in making the final climbs a tough affair.

 

The final ascents are all rather long but not steep and the sprinters will have a much better chance of surviving the hills. As none of the really heavy guys are present in this mountainous race, we expect most of them to be present when it all comes down to a bunch sprint in the end.

 

Yesterday we made Luka Mezgec our favourite to win the stage and we will make it two in a row with the young Slovenian. Today's climb got a bit too tough in the end and even though Albert Timmer and Thierry Hupond did their best to bring him back, it was too late. Tomorrow's easier climbing should be no problem for the fast Slovenian whose specialty is his ability to overcome tough terrain before unleashing his lethal sprint.

 

Last year he showed great potential but in the Volta a Catalunya where he won three stages he proved that he has become a lot faster by doing specific sprint training over the winter. In this peloton, it is probably only his teammate Marcel Kittel who is faster than him and so his main rival could come from his own ranks.

 

If Kittel is there in the end, the team is likely support their fastest finisher but we doubt that the big German will be there at the end. In fact, he has made it clear that he is mostly here to prepare for the Giro and after today's stage, Giant-Shimano coach Lionel Marie made it clear that they were focusing on Mezgec tomorrow. Kittel will of course try to get over the climbs but he is unlikely to dig too deep. In fact it is a good opportunity to give Mezgec his own chance as he is expected to work for Kittel at the Giro.

 

Mezgec will be up against teams with better lead-out trains as Kittel and Tom Veelers are likely to get dropped but with few sprinters in this race, the battle for position won't be too fierce. Furthermore, he proved in Catalunya that he knows how to handle sprints on his own and finally the cross-tailwind will make it easier for him to do a long sprint which makes positioning less crucial. As we regard him as the second fastest rider in this race, he is again our favourite to win the stage.

 

However, Kittel is clearly more of a winner candidate than he was today. He has improved his climbing massively and he has been in excellent condition all year. In Dubai and De Panne, he climbed really well and his prologue shows that he hasn't slowed down at all. It is certainly not impossible for Kittel to survive the climbing and tomorrow is his best chance to win a stage in this race. If he is there at the end, he will have excellent support from the likes of Albert Timmer and Mezgec (Veelers is likely to get dropped) and the long power sprint with a cross-tailwind suits him down to the ground. If he makes it over the climbs, it is hard to imagine anyone beating the big German.

 

Giacomo Nizzolo did really well in today's stage and would actually have made the front group if he hadn't been caught up in a crash on the descent. His great climbing comes just one day after his fourth place in the prologue and he is clearly in excellent condition at the moment. He has fully recovered from his broken collarbone and is ready for his big targets at the Giro d'Italia.

 

Nizzolo is clearly one of the fastest riders in this field and he usually only gets better when the sprint comes at the end of a hard race. Furthermore, he is supported by one of the best lead-out men in the world as he has Danilo Hondo at his side. With an in-form Jesse Sergent also there to ramp up the speed in the end, Nizzolo has a great chance to take his second win of the season.

 

Belkin  are here with an eye on stage wins and they have three fast finishers in their ranks. Today's climbing was too much for Hofland and so Jonathan Hivert got his chance but the strong Dutchman wasn't too far off the mark. Like Mezgec, he specializes in sprints that comes at the end of hard races and tomorrow's stage suits him down to the ground.

 

His team has made no secret of the fact that the stage is a big goal for Hofland and with Hivert and Paul Martens there to lead him out, he has some solid support. He won a stage in this year's Paris-Nice and almost beat Tom Boonen in Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne and so obviously has the speed to win in this field.

 

Movistar are here with Juan Jose Lobato who has taken a massive step up since joining his new team at the start of the season. Today the climbing was a bit too tough for him and he may still be hampered a bit by his crash in the prologue.

 

By finishing 4th in Mila-Sanremo, however, he has proved his ability to sprint at the end of a hard race and there is no doubt that the first big win is just around the corner. He may have to do it a bit on his own in the sprint and this will be a clear disadvantage but if he positions himself well, tomorrow could be the day of his big breakthrough.

 

Davide Appollonio has put his health issues behind and this year he has again been able to show his characteristics as a sprinter who climbs really well. Today's stage was too hard for him but tomorrow's easier course should suit him perfectly. He has been in great form all season, most evidently in Roma Maxima where he finished 2nd after surviving some really tough climbing, and he has been building his form for the Giro. The Ag2r team may lack fast lead-out riders but in the past he has shown that he knows how to handle sprints on his own.

 

Finally, we will select our joker. Alexey Tsatevich is not your usual sprinter as he is more of a classics rider but the young Russian has a really fast kick at the end. He is perfectly suited to a hilly race like Romandie where the tough climbs will tire out his rivals ahead of the final sprint and tomorrow's stage seems to suit him well. Today he won the sprint of the second group but tomorrow he should be up there with the best.

 

His main weakness has always been his lack of ability to position himself but in this race there a fewer sprinters and this makes the positioning battle less fierce. With strong riders like Pavel Brutt and Sergey Chernetskii to assist him in the finale, he can expect solid support. He may not be as fast as the pure sprinters but if he handles things well, a podium spot is certainly within his reach.

 

CyclingQuotes' stage winner pick: Luka Mezgec

Other winner candidates: Marcel Kittel, Giacomo Nizzolo

Outsiders: Moreno Hofland, Juan Jose Lobato, Davide Appollonio

Joker: Alexey Tsatevich