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Tour Down Under 2013: Early season climbs have a very different dynamic

Expert
26th January, 2013
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Early season professional cycling events are a different breed to the monumental and historically engraved Grand Tours of Italy, France and Spain.

When considering who the best climbers and sprinters in the world are, we only need to look at these three Grand Tours, and compare all the winners. The prestige associated a Grand Tour, as well as the prize and sponsorship money potentially gained, is great enough to attract the best riders in the world.

These riders spend upward of six months beforehand preparing for each event to arrive in optimal condition.

We cannot expect to see these same riders, the best of the best, winning and competing in early season events as well. If we think of the cycling season as a day, midday would be the Tour de France, the other two ‘grandies’ would be either side of lunch, and the Tour Down Under would be considered before dawn.

Even though that might sound like a negative attribute, I don’t think it is. It provides exciting racing that is bred through a highly diverse range of fitness levels.

January sees some riders come from mid-winter in Northern Europe, some from warm southern Spain, mild southern Italy. Many weather types could be seen in the USA alone.

Secondly, some riders are aiming to win races in two months, but some are aiming for six months away.

When the whole European peloton is in their peak form in July, the levels of climbing and sprinting prowess vary greatly. The sprinters are phenomenally fast, the climbers are phenomenally strong.

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We see battles between two or three riders in the high mountains that might last half an hour. Consecutive mountains and mountain stages will pass, and a core group of riders will continue to dominate our TV screens.

This isn’t the case in the TDU, as shown today when Jurgen Roelandts attacked with one lap to go, on the climb, then it was the not-so-small Champion of Norway, Edvald Boassen Hagen who dissolved the field with effervescence on the final 3km climb up to Old Willunga and the finish line.

These two men, Roelandts and Boassen Hagen aren’t ‘climbers’ so to speak. It is only because this race is an early season event that we see highly varying levels of form, and so the guys who are usually ‘rouleurs’ in major European events have the chance to compete on these short sharp climbs around Adelaide if they are in better overall form than the pure climbers.

Roelandts has had amazing form all weak, doing the lead out work for all of the victories ‘The Great Silverback’ Andre Greipel has achieved, so his good form has carried into decent climbing and speed work.

This dissimilarity in form provides very strange uphill battles, where a guy like Jens Voigt will win on mountains in Paris Nice (over and over) just because he is in great form and the pure climbers from around the world are in average form.

Early season climbing in professional races are slow, we see guys try and attack but not go anywhere. Constantly you will see riders attack in Tirreno-Adriatico or TDU or Paris Nice, they will get 20 metres off the front and then just drop back, repeatedly.

There will be many, many attacks, but none with the vigour of Alberto Contador or Andy Schleck laying the smack down in Le Tour. That potency and vigour is lacking early season, which is kind of nice.

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I like watching early season climbing races, because it’s a much different dynamic. There are many more contenders and this makes for thrilling viewing.

Today it was pure experience and a bit of form that won Simon Gerrans stage five of the TDU. He helped all Australians celebrate the birth of our beautiful country and all it encompasses.

Learning from last year’s mistake, he took control of his competition by breaking away very late in the race, 1km to go, and making sure he hit the final corner in first place.

The fact he waited so long to make his move shows too that Simon Gerrans doesn’t have the amazing form he has had in the past years. This to me appears a positive sign, as we hope to see him find peak form come July and the Tour de France, where he is more than capable of winning a stage.

Tomorrow we wait to see the final stage of this year’s Tour Down Under, where you’ll be able to catch me blogging my opinions live. Tom-Jelte Slagter of Team Blanco is the new race leader after a fortifying second place today, and he looks to have strength enough to hold on to his Ochre Jersey.

Follow Adam on Twitter @adamsemple

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