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The opening three stages of the Tour have had it all, and what is often referred to as the greatest spectacle in sport has lived up to its name.
The gorgeous island of Corsica has turned on amazing weather and proved to be a real test of many riders’ character, and it was clear from the outset that the 100th Tour will be one to remember.
When was the last time we watched a GC contender (let alone the favourite in Team Sky’s Chris Froome) attack off the front to chase a bunch?
You would have to go back to the days of Lance and Co. to find something like it.
The first week is always very tough with 198 riders all trying to either get their teams into position for a sprint finish or protect their key riders.
So far there have been some major crashes, and the Orica-GreenEDGE bus getting stuck under the gantry created absolute chaos.
Corsica is likely to be remembered as the most challenging Grand Depart since San Sebastian in 1992.
Many riders will be looking forward to Stage 4, which is a flat and not-too-technical 24.8km team time trial in Nice.
Some teams, like Euskaltel-Euskadi, will probably see this as a bit of a rest day but for the top GC contender teams this will be an epic battle.
As I have learnt myself over the last six months, time trials are an absolutely brutal affair and you can detonate yourself within the first 2km.
It is important to set a nice rhythm and build into the ‘race of truth’.
In a team time trial it is critical to have a good pace-setter initially and the look to hold that wattage and cadence over the entire distance to deliver a result.
Before the carnage of Corsica, Sky would have been looking at Stage 4 as the real starting point of their assault on the yellow jersey.
But with Ian Stannard nursing some damage after a crash in Corsica and Geraint Thomas having a fractured pelvis has certainly thrown a spanner in the works for Sky as two key men for Stage 4 are not 100 percent.
I expect BMC, who have come out of Corsica in great shape (no riders hurt) to have a real crack at Team Sky and try to put some time into them tomorrow.
The race can’t be won in the first week but it can be lost. While I expect Sky to be right in the mix for the yellow jersey noting Froome (and Porte) have the form to really push on, I am keen to see how Sky perform and how Froome handles any pressure or speculation if Sky don’t belt the TTT.
The other two teams to watch are Orica GreenEDGE who after Stage 3’s epic win will be brimming with confidence and will look to have a real crack. Gerrans is only one second off the yellow jersey so this is a huge motivator.
The course is not dissimilar to that which they surprised their rivals to win at the 2012 Tirreno-Adriatico, albeit slightly longer.
Gerrans will be the man for the team, driven by the strength of Svein Tuft, Daryl Impey, Cameron Meyer and Brett Lancaster.
The team to beat though are among the poorest in the peloton in Garmin Sharp, who won the same event in last year’s Tour de France.
This team carry significant firepower against the clock, piloted by yellow jersey hopeful David Millar with Rohan Dennis, Ramunas Navardauskas and Christian Vande Velde.
Until next time, clip in.
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