The first bloc of racing at this year's Tour ends with a Team Time Trial over a medium length course. Whilst unlikely to be the difference between winning and losing on the GC, it will nonetheless shake up the pecking order among the contenders for the GC, and shape the race.
The Course
A 28 kilometre run from Vannes to Plumelec, which should be one for the specialist teams, but it offers enough of a varied challenge for the teams with more climbers on board to feel that they have a chance. It starts with 9 km of flat, non-technical roads, followed by a 3.5 km uphill drag, which averages 3%. 4 km of flat follow, and then an easy descent for 3 km which leads into another uphill drag at 2.6% for 2.5 km. The 5 km descent from there is a fast pedalling one and leads into the foot of the finishing climb, the Cote de Cadoudal (1.7 km, 6.2%), the most significant climbing challenge of the day.
The weather is predicted to be fine and warm, with a moderate wind from the west. The wind could make things tricky as it will be a cross-tailwind for most of the stage, and more cross than tail for the most part. This will have the effect of fatiguing the whole team much more, as they will all constantly be under pressure, rather than more of the burden being taken by the riders who spend the most time on the front.
A 28 kilometre run from Vannes to Plumelec, which should be one for the specialist teams, but it offers enough of a varied challenge for the teams with more climbers on board to feel that they have a chance. It starts with 9 km of flat, non-technical roads, followed by a 3.5 km uphill drag, which averages 3%. 4 km of flat follow, and then an easy descent for 3 km which leads into another uphill drag at 2.6% for 2.5 km. The 5 km descent from there is a fast pedalling one and leads into the foot of the finishing climb, the Cote de Cadoudal (1.7 km, 6.2%), the most significant climbing challenge of the day.
The weather is predicted to be fine and warm, with a moderate wind from the west. The wind could make things tricky as it will be a cross-tailwind for most of the stage, and more cross than tail for the most part. This will have the effect of fatiguing the whole team much more, as they will all constantly be under pressure, rather than more of the burden being taken by the riders who spend the most time on the front.
The Tactics
Not so many tactics to speak of here, but it will be interesting to see how each team interprets the pacing of this course. I would say that it's going to be a very tough day in the saddle for those that hit out too fast, as the crosswind and climbs after the initial tailwind and flat section are going to make for an unwelcome surprise.
Not so many tactics to speak of here, but it will be interesting to see how each team interprets the pacing of this course. I would say that it's going to be a very tough day in the saddle for those that hit out too fast, as the crosswind and climbs after the initial tailwind and flat section are going to make for an unwelcome surprise.
Local Trivia
Vannes, the starting city for this stage, is a beautiful medieval town, which still bears many hallmarks of Middle-Ages architecture and town planning. It is a popular tourist destination for this reason, and will no doubt that hosting the Tour de France will help in giving a boost to that sector of the economy.
Vannes, the starting city for this stage, is a beautiful medieval town, which still bears many hallmarks of Middle-Ages architecture and town planning. It is a popular tourist destination for this reason, and will no doubt that hosting the Tour de France will help in giving a boost to that sector of the economy.
The Contenders
BMC will come in as the favourites here, after winning the world TTT title last year, and bringing a team that comprises 4 of the 6 members that was present there. They may have benefited a bit from weather conditions on that day, but they also won the recent Dauphine TTT, with largely the same team that lines up here. They have kept 9 from 9 so far in this year's Tour, and are deserved favourites.
Etixx-Quickstep may have gone into this race expecting to do well here, but they have expended an awful lot of energy to date, and find themselves down a key member of the team in Tony Martin, who really is the best rider in the team, perhaps even the world in this discipline. They've brought a decent squad here, but by no means their best, and will struggle to keep up.
Orica-Greenedge are a reliable top performer in the TTT normally, and even with a significantly underpower squad in the Dauphine, they still managed a respectable 5th on the stage. They would have held high hopes for this stage at the start of the race, but the loss of Gerrans, Albasini and Impey, and carrying the riding the wounded in Matthews is going to leave the Australian team far too underpowered to look at anything other than beating the time cut. Which is a pity as they otherwise have a good team here.
Movistar is another reliably strong team in the TTT, even when the squad looks like it is packed full of climbers. Certainly, most of the team here are climbers, but they made that work for them in the recent Dauphine TTT, finishing 3rd, only 5 seconds down. They are strengthened by the inclusion of former hour record holder Alex Dowsett and rising TT star Adriano Malori, whilst Spanish TT champion Jonathan Castroviejo is an important cog as well. Dowsett did suffer a nasty injury on Stage 4, but he has had time to recover, and he was on the front of the peleton, helping his leader yesterday, so he'll likely be fine. They'll be a tough team to beat, especially with the hillier type of course.
Astana are another team with a good history of strong TTT riding, and they were in good form at the Dauphine, finishing 2nd, within 4 seconds of BMC. They have possibly an even stronger squad here, and they certainly have the potential to turn the tables on BMC. They don't have the stars of the other teams, but it is a really strong squad, which will have no weak links. Which is perhaps why it was such a surprise that Nibali was one of those to lose time in the Stage 2 winds, as his team should have been able to close down the gap. Maybe there were coordination problems, and there were a number of Astana riders caught in the third group, but it didn't inspire much confidence.
Sky won't win this time trial, but they can limit the damage successfully with a good ride. Thomas, Froome and Porte are all strong time-triallists, but they haven't put it together for a while now, and their best TTT riders that rode strongly in the Worlds TTT aren't present apart from Thomas. They conceded 35 seconds to BMC in the recent Dauphine TTT, and I think a similar result is likely here.
Katusha are going to be on the defensive here as well, but with a weak squad, I think they will be very happy if they can keep Rodriguez within a minute of the stage winners here.
BMC will come in as the favourites here, after winning the world TTT title last year, and bringing a team that comprises 4 of the 6 members that was present there. They may have benefited a bit from weather conditions on that day, but they also won the recent Dauphine TTT, with largely the same team that lines up here. They have kept 9 from 9 so far in this year's Tour, and are deserved favourites.
Etixx-Quickstep may have gone into this race expecting to do well here, but they have expended an awful lot of energy to date, and find themselves down a key member of the team in Tony Martin, who really is the best rider in the team, perhaps even the world in this discipline. They've brought a decent squad here, but by no means their best, and will struggle to keep up.
Orica-Greenedge are a reliable top performer in the TTT normally, and even with a significantly underpower squad in the Dauphine, they still managed a respectable 5th on the stage. They would have held high hopes for this stage at the start of the race, but the loss of Gerrans, Albasini and Impey, and carrying the riding the wounded in Matthews is going to leave the Australian team far too underpowered to look at anything other than beating the time cut. Which is a pity as they otherwise have a good team here.
Movistar is another reliably strong team in the TTT, even when the squad looks like it is packed full of climbers. Certainly, most of the team here are climbers, but they made that work for them in the recent Dauphine TTT, finishing 3rd, only 5 seconds down. They are strengthened by the inclusion of former hour record holder Alex Dowsett and rising TT star Adriano Malori, whilst Spanish TT champion Jonathan Castroviejo is an important cog as well. Dowsett did suffer a nasty injury on Stage 4, but he has had time to recover, and he was on the front of the peleton, helping his leader yesterday, so he'll likely be fine. They'll be a tough team to beat, especially with the hillier type of course.
Astana are another team with a good history of strong TTT riding, and they were in good form at the Dauphine, finishing 2nd, within 4 seconds of BMC. They have possibly an even stronger squad here, and they certainly have the potential to turn the tables on BMC. They don't have the stars of the other teams, but it is a really strong squad, which will have no weak links. Which is perhaps why it was such a surprise that Nibali was one of those to lose time in the Stage 2 winds, as his team should have been able to close down the gap. Maybe there were coordination problems, and there were a number of Astana riders caught in the third group, but it didn't inspire much confidence.
Sky won't win this time trial, but they can limit the damage successfully with a good ride. Thomas, Froome and Porte are all strong time-triallists, but they haven't put it together for a while now, and their best TTT riders that rode strongly in the Worlds TTT aren't present apart from Thomas. They conceded 35 seconds to BMC in the recent Dauphine TTT, and I think a similar result is likely here.
Katusha are going to be on the defensive here as well, but with a weak squad, I think they will be very happy if they can keep Rodriguez within a minute of the stage winners here.