Until 1802, Torrevieja existed only as an ancient guard tower, which gave the town its name (Torre Vieja means Old Tower). But in 1803, Charles IV authorised the movement of the salt production offices from La Mata to the town itself and allowed the construction of dwellings there.
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.
If I understood correctly, the vuelta version is #jumbo without the beetrain - that can't be as fast as the TdF setup, can it? (especially on a pancake flat course)
:dizzy
#burgos
Nicolas Edet said he'll "attack on from day one". Does that bring #cofidis Cofidis back in play for the fight with Burgos? :dizzy
Looks like it's going to be perfect weather for this.
So no drama from that standpoint.
1. | ;) |
RANK | TEAM | INT | INT -> FIN | FIN |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | ![]() | 08:10 (01.) | <- 06:41 (04.) -> | 14:51 |
2. | ![]() | 08:19 (07.) | <- 06:34 (01.) -> | 14:53 |
3. | ![]() | 08:16 (03.) | <- 06:40 (03.) -> | 14:56 |
4. | ![]() | 08:20 (08.) | <- 06:38 (02.) -> | 14:58 |
5. | ![]() | 08:17 (05.) | <- 06:47 (09.) -> | 15:04 |
6. | ![]() | 08:23 (11.) | <- 06:43 (05.) -> | 15:06 |
7. | ![]() | 08:23 (12.) | <- 06:44 (06.) -> | 15:07 |
8. | ![]() | 08:16 (02.) | <- 06:51 (11.) -> | 15:07 |
9. | ![]() | 08:22 (10.) | <- 06:47 (08.) -> | 15:09 |
10. | ![]() | 08:25 (14.) | <- 06:45 (07.) -> | 15:10 |
11. | ![]() | 08:22 (09.) | <- 06:54 (15.) -> | 15:16 |
12. | ![]() | 08:24 (13.) | <- 06:53 (14.) -> | 15:17 |
13. | ![]() | 08:31 (17.) | <- 06:53 (13.) -> | 15:24 |
14. | ![]() | 08:28 (16.) | <- 06:57 (16.) -> | 15:25 |
15. | ![]() | 08:35 (19.) | <- 06:51 (10.) -> | 15:26 |
16. | ![]() | 08:35 (20.) | <- 06:53 (12.) -> | 15:28 |
17. | ![]() | 08:26 (15.) | <- 07:02 (19.) -> | 15:28 |
18. | ![]() | 08:17 (04.) | <- 07:14 (21.) -> | 15:31 |
19. | ![]() | 08:35 (18.) | <- 06:59 (18.) -> | 15:34 |
20. | ![]() | 08:39 (21.) | <- 06:58 (17.) -> | 15:37 |
21. | ![]() | 08:19 (06.) | <- 07:39 (22.) -> | 15:58 |
22. | ![]() | 09:02 (22.) | <- 07:11 (20.) -> | 16:13 |
It’s a blow to Rogla and Pogacar, Aru probably benefitted.
UAE's crash at the same spot was much worse.
TT tyres being blamed for a lot of the crashes.
The Jumbo trio were using them as was Nicholas Roche.
You would think that Jumbo would have cottoned on, if not after the first, but the second.
OK, there were some reports on twitter this morning which (if true...as yet they're a bit unconfirmed) paints a bleak picture of ASO's efforts when it comes to rider safety.
- A race motorcycle went down at the Valverde/Izaguirre +++ corner, spilling some fluid (oil or fuel) making it extra slippery. This was the cause of many of the accidents that happened there.
- Taylor Phinney narrowly missed hitting Ion Izaguirre lying injured on the ground.
I come from a skiing background and I see plenty of lame excuses for poor safety work in pro cycling. Yes, riders have to accept that there is a risk when riding on the edge that will never go away. However, with relatively simple means they could have had far less falls and less serious injuries yesterday. It's not like it was the first time it rains in Düsseldorf, so it is a bit exaggerated to blame everything that happened on the weather.
12 turns in a race (at least a race of this economical magnitude) can easily and at fairly low cost be safe-guarded better than what we saw yesterday. It's pretty much routine in ski-racing.
Yesterday, they could have:
- avoided inverted Y shape barriers on the outside far ends of all turns
- padded the barriers with something cushioning (RCS often use hayballs, which actually works quite well). Yesterday yellow crash pads were added on one turn that had a particularily narrow exit, but not where we saw all the crashes.
- prioritized which turns to provide extra safeguarding in by entry speed, not street width. It was the downhill off the bridge that provided the extra energy that made this catastrophe for Valverde and Izaguirre and provided narrow misses for many others.
- waved off approaching riders after falls when there is a victim on the ground. This is of course not ideal. They'll have to go back and start all over. It is not fair and equal competition for all anymore then. However, safety will be dramatically improved for the injured rider on the ground, the rescue crew (whoever that may be) and last but not least, the approaching rider. This is standard procedure after crashes in high speed motor sports, downhill skiing etc and why it is not done in cycling team trials? A cyclist at 70 km/h has the same damage potential as a skier at similar speeds (potentially lethal on a bad day). Traffic incident practice is alway secure the location before calling for help and starting first aid - this golden rule is not followed in cycling. :slow
Stopping the race and cleaning up the corner could have had a huge impact on the serious incident statistics, if it is true that spilled fluids from a race motorcycle was a factor in most of the accidents. Also, stopping the race for evacuation of Izaguirre would have avoided the near-miss incident of Phinney. In an ITT these are real options as it is different from the "show most go on" road race where one rider fallen seldom has consequences that can be dealt with in a timely fashion to reduce risk for the rest of the riders. In an ITT the race organizers have choices to make.
EDIT: Norwegian TV2 confirms Movistar are blaming a race motorcycle accident. (http://www.tv2.no/sport/9223262/)
I seem to remember lots of #jumbo guys crashing, and some discussions about their slippery tires unable to cope with water. (Crown Victoria or something like that...):D
Excellent point about stopping the race.
For a TTT, this shouldn't have presented a major problem. It could've been managed.
I can't see how.
For a TTT, this shouldn't have presented a major problem. It could've been managed.I think the teams who were on course at the time of stoppage wouldn't exactly be excited to be set on 'pause' mid-effort ...
I think the teams who were on course at the time of stoppage wouldn't exactly be excited to be set on 'pause' mid-effort ...
... but they would probably prefer that to crashing.
If you want to prioritize safety, sometimes you have to sacrifice fair race for safe race.