It was a regular bunch sprint where the gradients made no difference at the end of the stage, a calmer day where Fabio Jakobsen further confirmed his return to the highest level by taking the win in the final sprint, beating Arnaud Démare and Magnus Cort Nielsen in what was a very nervous final sprint.
Positive: Jakobsen and Deceuninck taking their first win the race. Nielsen and Allegaert with good results in the sprint.
Negative: Taaramae having the bad luck crashing in the final kilometers, still in the lead as he was inside the final 3Km.
The Route
Another one. Not much to say here, flat roads all day long, perhaps very dangerous with the amount of exposure they'll face.
The finale is a regular one, not very technical, the peloton enters the city of Albacete and go through it's big avenues, there will be a couple of roundabouts that will stretch things out, and a final corner with 900 meters to go that will leave them in the final straight.
The Weather
Hot temperatures and some moderate wind from the south. It will be dangerous, another very nervous day, but all teams know exactly when they should be in front and should be fully prepared for it, so I doubt there will be much impact unless crashes occur. 31Km to go is the spot where a leadout race will be happening, from then on things will be exposed and dangerous, let's see which teams dare to attack. Inside Albacete it should be covered.
The Favourites
The script won't be too different. You've had 2 sprints so far, tomorrow will be a repitition of those but with possible different outcomes, the finale is not technical, and the only thing that could see some of the sprinters absence would be some echelons but those won't be easy. So you should expect the same names fighting for the win.
The sprint winners so far have been Jasper Philipsen and Fabio Jakobsen. You know how it works with sprinters, a win brings confidence, less stress which work as a big boost, they are the main favourites for tomorrow as one is brilliant with position, the other has the best leadout, and they will both be there looking for a second one.
To rival them will be Arnaud Démare, brilliant sprinter but not often does he manage to string together his sprints, today he did it right so I expect him to be up there again tomorrow, and also Juan Sebastian Molano who was uncomprehensibly not the team option today, he is the fastest man from the UAE squad and they have strong enough of a leadout to leave him in good position for the win, as long as he manages to get his timing right.
I'd say the fight for the win is between those riders, no-one outside of them has the speed to win with this competition, you have pretty fast sprinters like Alberto Dainese and Jon Aberasturi but the level is too high for them, you'll see Bora with either Martin Laas or Jordi Meeus targeting the finale aswell for a high finish, there's Israel with several options but none seem to be working properly, the team should no doubt be working for Davide Cimolai but that doesn't seem to be the case. You'll have Alex Aranburu and Michael Matthews looking for some points classification points, and further riders who can put their foot in the Top10 like Clement Venturini, Riccardo Minali, Piet Allegaert, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg and Florian Vermeersch.
Inside the Bus
This morning I talk to...
#154 Davide Cimolai - I know what's been happening in the background Davide. You signed with another team and someone isn't too happy about it. Well I've talked to that individual, and made it clear to him that if he wants his sponsor to get results in the sprints then he should be clear that the guys need to work for you. You rode brilliantly at the Giro, you have speed to be fighting for the win and the team to put you into place, trust the guys, Guy and Mads will make sure you enter and stay well positioned during the crosswinds, we are hoping it doesn't get too spicy, stay with Mads if something does happen and don't be shy of going near the limit, it's your best chance of getting a win. If it calms down you have Sep and Itamar to lead you out, alongside Mads of course, their job is to leave you as well positioned as deep into the sprint as possible, they know how to do this work and I expect them to do it well, you do your thing and try to beat those guys.
#3 Robert Gesink - Keeping Primoz safe is the work at all times. Today will be nervous, echelons are possible and we have to make sure we're positioned well at all times, well before the 31Km to go mark. Nathan is set to be the prime support for Primoz, but I don't want him hitting the wind at any moment before that turn because of the headwind. You and Lennard have the task to work together and keep both of them in the head of the peloton for that long, and make sure we enter the crosswinds in strong position. There let Primoz ride in his wheel, you follow them if you can, try to stay near the front always as we don't know what may happen, but Primoz stays in second wheel the whole time in the final 30Km essentially, you're there as a safety net behind him.
#86 José Herrada - Nothing to see here José, stay in the back of the peloton and save your legs for the mountain days, I won't be fooling you regarding today.
Prediction Time
⭐ Aberasturi, Aranburu, Matthews, Nielsen, Cimolai, Laas, Dainese
I went for Jakobsen and Philipsen won, I went with Philipsen and Jakobsen won. I'll go with Jakobsen for tomorrow, now watch Philipsen have the second...
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