Velorooms - Cycling Forum

Professional Cycling => 2019 Race Archives => Race Archives => Road Races => Tour de France => Topic started by: Leadbelly on June 21, 2019, 10:31

Title: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Leadbelly on June 21, 2019, 10:31
Tour de France Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)

You'll be disappointed to know this preview won't be in Google Translated French.

(http://i64.tinypic.com/9jhzbo.png)

The stage title is a bit of a give-away, but this is where the stage will be starting. It's currently unknown if the ASO have persuaded the Belgian Royal Family to hold the TT bikes on the start ramp. We can but hope.

(http://i65.tinypic.com/2w5658w.png)

This is the route the teams will take through the city. A quick look on streetview shows wide boulevards and avenues, but you never know how they will barricade it (hopefully commonsensically).

(http://i67.tinypic.com/34ovbwl.png)

The profile is rather exaggerated. Those slopes are ~3% I think.

(http://i64.tinypic.com/biphug.png)

The finish line will be somewhere in the vicinity of this. Cue jokes about chemistry or balls.
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Leadbelly on June 21, 2019, 11:07
We don't know the teams yet, so no point giving out Leading Lights, but we can look at some of the more recent TTTs to give us an idea of how it might pan out.

A couple from 2018 first......

TDF Stage 3 (35.5km) Top-5 (BMC, Sky, Quick-Step, Mitchelton and Sunweb) all covered by 11 seconds. Bigger gaps after that.

Worlds TTT (62.8km) It was the usual suspects of  Quick-Step, Sunweb and BMC at the top. Don't forget though there was a nasty old climb in the middle of the stage which we obviously won't have in Bruxelles.

......and now into 2019.

Colombia 2.1 Stage 1 (14km) EF won just ahead of Deceunick and INEOS. Bear in mind the time of season and team composition.

UAE Stage 1 (16km) Jumbo beat a strong Sunweb team. Bahrain in third.

Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 1 (21.5km) Mitchelton were 12th in UAE, but with a much better suited squad in Italy they did a whole lot better. Jumbo and Sunweb were again on the podium.

Coppi e Bartali Stage 1b (13.3km) Mitchelton won again, but not a lot to be learnt from this.

Hammer Stavanager TTT (48.9km) CCC and INEOS were close and then larger gaps, but the nature of the competition means times weren't the be and end all.

Hammer Limburg TTT (49.6km) Mitchelton repeated their trick from UAE-TA. 1m46 down on CCC in Norway, but a short while later beat the Polish team by 16s to take the win here.
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Drummer Boy on July 03, 2019, 14:16
I had never even heard of the Atomium until search's Stage One preview.  :P

Should make for some entertaining camera work though.

Interesting looking route. I hope no significant gaps are formed in the GC though. Having a TTT at such an early stage is risky because it can affect the composition of the race without offering a true test between individuals.

I'll save my annual rant against TT bikes, and how I desperately wish the teams were required to use road bikes instead...

Actually, it's too late. I've already started!
I just don't see the point of forcing riders onto machines that they train so little on. If TTT bikes are faster than road bikes, then what is the point if everyone is using them? It's not good for the sport when the inevitable mishaps cause the top riders in the world to look like rank amateurs. Veering off turns, crashing with no obstacles in sight, taking down their own teammates—most of the more visible and circus-like disasters wouldn't be occurring with road bikes.

Let them shine, let them be at their best...let them stay upright!  :D

I'd like to see less of this...
(https://tunedintocycling.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/team-garmin-sharp-poc-crash-team-time-trial-giro-d-italia-2014.jpg)


and more of this.
(http://d1sdo0x0jmbeil.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Colombia-stage-1-1.jpg)

Is it too much to ask for?
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Leadbelly on July 03, 2019, 20:43
Quote from: Leadbelly on June 21, 2019, 10:31
A quick look on streetview shows wide boulevards and avenues, but you never know how they will barricade it (hopefully commonsensically).

I naturally can't find it now, but I did see a YouTube video which showed the last few km and it does get a bit more complicated in that section. A few sharp corners and a narrow one-lane route through the park around the Atomium.

Quote from: Drummer Boy on July 03, 2019, 14:16
Should make for some entertaining camera work though.

Speaking of cameras. Will we miss out on heli shots of the end of stage 1 and start of stage 2 due to flight restrictions in the area? I'm sure I read about it.
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: LukasCPH on July 04, 2019, 07:44
Quote from: Drummer Boy on July 03, 2019, 14:16
I had never even heard of the Atomium until search's Stage One preview.  :P
:o

Quote from: Drummer Boy on July 03, 2019, 14:16
I'll save my annual rant against TT bikes, and how I desperately wish the teams were required to use road bikes instead...
Fully agree with the rant.

Quote from: Leadbelly on July 03, 2019, 20:43
Speaking of cameras. Will we miss out on heli shots of the end of stage 1 and start of stage 2 due to flight restrictions in the area? I'm sure I read about it.
Hm. If this were any other race, I'd say yes. But with the Tour, they're not unlikely to make an exception even from that rule.
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Leadbelly on July 05, 2019, 11:38
Let's assume we don't have a crash-fest on stage 1......

:onfire1 :onfire1 :onfire1

#jumbo

First and second in the two WT TTTs this year. Lots of big engines in the team. Groenewegen likely to be dropped, so we could see Teunissen in yellow or maybe even Van Aert.

:onfire1 :onfire1

#mitchelton
#bahrain
#ineos
#sunweb

Mitchelton usually get it right on the night. No Dumoulin of course for Sunweb, but they still have a very strong squad for this event.

:onfire1

#bora
#astana
#deceuninck
#ef
#ccc

Deceuninck are the reigning World TTT champs, but they are a bit weaker now. Of that winning team, only two will be riding. EF riders in general have been putting in some vastly improved ITTs, but we haven't seen that in the team versions yet.

:dizzy

#arkea
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Leadbelly on July 06, 2019, 17:01
Teunissen in yellow one stage earlier than I thought.

No bonus seconds at the intermediate today (what's that all about) means he enjoys a four second lead over his nearest realistic challenger Sagan/Bora. Everybody else is at ten seconds, which isn't much, but as we saw in last year's TTT, the gaps can be very small and those seconds could be crucial.
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Leadbelly on July 06, 2019, 17:07
Weather for Bruxelles tomorrow:

(http://i64.tinypic.com/30tkynd.png)

Going by that (avg wind speed increasing slightly though the day) it may very fractionally favour earlier starters (Ineos are off first), but I don't see it really effecting the outcome much.
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Leadbelly on July 06, 2019, 18:03
Start order and times:

14:30:00 TEAM INEOS
14:35:00 TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC
14:40:00 ASTANA PRO TEAM
14:45:00 GROUPAMA – FDJ
14:50:00 AG2R LA MONDIALE
14:55:00 MOVISTAR TEAM
15:00:00 TOTAL DIRECT ENERGIE
15:05:00 CCC TEAM
15:10:00 UAE TEAM EMIRATES
15:15:00 TREK – SEGAFREDO
15:20:00 TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN
15:25:00 COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
15:30:00 TEAM DIMENSION DATA
15:35:00 TEAM SUNWEB
15:40:00 BORA – HANSGROHE
15:45:00 LOTTO SOUDAL
15:50:00 MITCHELTON – SCOTT
15:55:00 BAHRAIN – MERIDA
16:00:00 EF EDUCATION FIRST
16:05:00 DECEUNINCK – QUICK – STEP
16:10:00 WANTY – GOBERT CYCLING TEAM
16:15:00 TEAM JUMBO – VISMA
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: LukasCPH on July 06, 2019, 19:48
Quote from: Leadbelly on July 06, 2019, 17:01
No bonus seconds at the intermediate today (what's that all about)
My guess is that you can give out time bonifications only at one kind of intermediate sprints - either the regular ones (like most other races do), or the top of selected climbs (like the Tour does this year - but not at both.
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Drummer Boy on July 06, 2019, 21:52
Quote from: Leadbelly on July 05, 2019, 11:38
Groenewegen likely to be dropped, so we could see Teunissen in yellow or maybe even Van Aert.

Quote from: Leadbelly on July 06, 2019, 17:01
Teunissen in yellow one stage earlier than I thought.

I'll say!  :cool

(http://velorooms.com/avatars/avatar_2373_1540757176.png)

(https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/9-hands-on-crystal-ball-and-cryptocurrency-allan-swart.jpg)

(https://s27394.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GettyImages-1160409218.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Drummer Boy on July 07, 2019, 12:42
https://twitter.com/Lotto_Soudal/status/1147799066371416065

(https://rouleur.cc/editorial/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/OFS_Faema_team_1969_04.jpg)
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Leadbelly on July 07, 2019, 18:17
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-4rFNuWkAAeKSD.jpg)



Ain't no stopping the Jumbo train.

Big performances from Katusha, Groupama and Cofidis. Mitchelton probably the most disappointed in terms of what they might have expected beforehand.
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Joelsim on July 07, 2019, 20:35
How on earth have Jumbo improved so much at TTs so quickly?
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Leadbelly on July 07, 2019, 21:11
Quote from: Joelsim on July 07, 2019, 20:35
How on earth have Jumbo improved so much at TTs so quickly?

Tony Martin, Van Aert and De Plus might have something to do with it.

Not that the team were a complete bunch of no-hopers before that, but the chump to champ ratio is now definitely in favour of the latter. Compare it to last year when they had to rely on time-trialling luminaries such as Tolhoek and Gesink in the Tour TTT.
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: PeteFromLeeds on July 07, 2019, 21:42
Great to see Teunissen continue his stint in yellow, Jumbo smashed it out the park today.
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Drummer Boy on July 08, 2019, 00:50
Quote from: Joelsim on July 07, 2019, 20:35
How on earth have Jumbo improved so much at TTs so quickly?

Haven't you heard?

The Yellow Jersey gives you wings.

(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTjJ_VhnChCAtDm4dAmMlsRHWiz69cXpBB9MmO3uTwTY6jH5gm_)
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Drummer Boy on July 08, 2019, 01:44
This is one improvement to the coverage of the sport that I'm really enjoying.  :cool

Tour de France 2019
Velon - STAGE TWO HIGHLIGHTS - Velon
https://twitter.com/VelonCC/status/1147912083738103812

https://twitter.com/VelonCC/status/1147950913329475586

https://twitter.com/VelonCC/status/1147915839368249344

Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Drummer Boy on July 08, 2019, 02:18
https://twitter.com/friebos/status/1147924811479470080

Quote
Daniel Friebe
‏@friebos

Asked Jumbo-Visma boffin Mathieu Heijboer when they started working towards today, thinking he’d say January or something similar.

Him: "2015"

 #jumbo :win #jumbo :win #jumbo :win #jumbo
Title: Re: Stage 2 - Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium TTT (27.6km)
Post by: Drummer Boy on July 08, 2019, 05:13
Speaking of...

(https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/9-hands-on-crystal-ball-and-cryptocurrency-allan-swart.jpg)


I have to say, Johan Bruyneel's predictions ahead of Stage Two were uncannily accurate.  :shh

There are five minutes or so that are really worth listening to here, starting @ 22:35.

https://soundcloud.com/user-411867241/2019-tour-de-france-johan-and-jb-show (https://soundcloud.com/user-411867241/2019-tour-de-france-johan-and-jb-show)

FWIW, his pick for the overall?

Spoiler (hover to show)