On a day that had nothing but breakaway written in it a very big and pleasant surprise came in the form of a rare bunch sprint in this race, although the start of the stage was again very hard and with moves from some riders of the Top10, a strong group eventually went up the road and was certain to win but the cold and the brutal headwind the riders faced most of the day proved deadly to the escapees who one by one were caught by a peloton led by a lot of teams on their final chances of trying to take a win. It all came back together and on the uphill finish of Puebla de Sanabria Jasper Philipsen took a strong win in front of Ackermann and Steimle in a tight finish. Regarding the overall everything remained the same.
Positive: Philipsen and UAE finally taking their wanted win, Steimle and Fred Wright nice surprises there in contention.
Negative: The stage hunters who had a day for them but suffered with the conditions, spending important energies that could be worth it tomorrow.
The Route
Stage 17 is another transitional day with the finish in Ciudad Rodrigo as planned. However instead of starting in Portugal, Viseu, it will begin in Salamanca and is another stage perfectly suited for a breakaway.
The Puerto el Portillo summits with 71.5Km to go and is 14.3Km long at 4.4%, not a constant climb but one that will set things up and make it hard for the peloton to chase and the sprinters don't fare well with such long climbs. Then after a big descent there's the final categorized climb into Puerto El Robledo.
It summits with 35.5Km away from the finish. Again it's not a constant climb, it has some rough gradients, not a brutal climb but one that can see several attacks to set up for a stage win. After it there's still some little hilltops, uncategorized, 16.5Km to go is pretty much the point where the climbing finishes and the roads become gentle for everyone, mostly descending with also some flat sections to it.
The Weather
With some more rain overnight and the lack of sunlight we're set to see another stage full of wet slick roads, it won't get too cold but the wind will again be very strong mostly from the southeast, will change a bit during the day but should be a plain out tailwind for the final section of the stage.
The Favourites
Well today proved me and everyone else wrong, even with the weather conditions I never thought there would be enough organization to pull of a chase like that, but tomorrow shouldn't be similar and the wind will be clearly in favour of the escapees in the final part of the stage unlike today and the favourites well, they are the same as today's and yesterday's pretty much, the same kind of riders those that can climb reasonably well, have a lot of power for the flat terrain and also have some good form going on.
So yet again, for the last time this year, let's play breakaway roulette:
Climbers:
Michael Storer
Ion Izagirre & Gorka Izagirre
Michael Woods
Clement Champoussin
José Herrada
Gino Mader
Marc Soler & Carlos Verona
Puncheurs:
Jonas Vingegaard
Andrea Bagioli
Davide Formolo & Sergio Henao
Omar Fraile
Anthony Roux
Santiago Buitrago
Jonathan Hivert
Gonzalo Serrano
Rouleurs:
Remi Cavagna
Ivo Oliveira
Luis Leon Sanchez
Dylan van Baarle
Bruno Armirail
Nans Peters & Dorian Godon
Will Barta
Nelson Oliveira
Willie Smit
Michael Valgren
Faster men:
Jannik Steimle
Alexandr Riabushenko
Alex Aranburu
Dion Smith
Magnus Cort Nielsen
Now you probably understood by now, yes, this is pretty much the same list as today's, the climbing is a bit harder and the wind won't block any differences for sure, but then again the start is much flatter which does not suit climbers to get in the front group. So it'll be another big salad of riders of all kinds trying to get in front and like today I can name several dozens of riders with realistic chances of winning, even more so because it will be the last chance for most of the men on this list.
The wind was the protagonist today and didn't allow the race to split much, tomorrow the opposite should happen, the climbs aren't steep enough and again I believe in the big possibility of a rouleur taking glory as those final little ascents are perfect for those kind of riders and the tailwind combined with the slightly downhill finish are ideal for a solo winner to take it.
Prediction Time
⭐ Aranburu, Steimle, Smith, I.Oliveira, I.Izagirre, Formolo, Vingegaard
I don't think the victory tomorrow eludes the Frenchmen, there are lots of them who will love the stage, conditions and are just ideal for this kind of terrain. As I did for today I'll opt for a french rouleur but this time in Remi Cavagna, to win solo after a race where he's struggled to succeed.
Make sure to let me in on your opinion, and of course follow me on twitter for the latest updates!