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Stage 2 of the 2015 Criterium du Dauphine travels 173 kilometres from Le Bourget-du-Lac to Parc des Oiseaux Villars-les-Dombes. Join The Roar for all the live action from 8:30pm (AEST).
The climbing begins early today, with a category two heart starter appearing just 200 metres into the race.
That’s right folks, the 2.8 kilometre accent of Col du Chat will be visible from the starting line. Although its 6.8 per cent gradient shouldn’t provide too many troubles for the peloton, it is not the nicest way to ease into a stage. Pity the poor overweight sprinter who gets dropped this early!
The real action won’t start until mid-race though with the appearance of the Col du Cuvey. Rated a category one climb, it probably still comes too far from the finish of the race to be a decisive feature, but at 8.7 kilometres and 6.7 per cent, there are some who may fancy their chances of opening up a break.
They will have to be committed though, because with the 98 kilometres remaining after the climb being mainly downhill, things will more than likely come back together. The general classification contenders will probably try to keep their powder dry, hoping for a no-nonsense stage.
Of interest to Australian and British fans will be how the Yates brothers, Simon and Adam, handle the Col du Cuvey. The English-born Orica-GreenEDGE riders have the potential to become very handy GC riders and we’ll get a glimpse of their ongoing development today as they climb with the likes of Chris Froome (Sky), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Tejay van Garderen (BMC), Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha).
Prediction
If the sprinters don’t manage to rejoin the peloton after the Col du Curvey then look out for Australia’s own Simon Gerrans. The Orica-GreenEDGE rider has had an awful lot of bad luck this season with crashes and injuries, but appears to be back up to full form following a fifth place on last night’s Stage 1.
Join The Roar for all the Stage 2 action of the 2015 Criterium du Dauphine from 8:30pm (AEST), and be sure to leave your comments below.
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