Tour de Romandie 2015 Preview

By David Hunter

The peloton rolls into Switzerland for 6 stages: 1 TTT, 2 Medium Mountains, 1 High Mountains and 1 ITT. If this wasn’t enough, there’s plenty of rain and we might even get some snow!

Stage 1 is an easy 19.2km TTT. The route and profile suits big engines and the non-specialists could lose over 30 seconds.

Stage 2 heads straight into the mountains. The last climb might only be cat 2 but it’s 8km at 6.7%, this is very hard for the sprinters. A fast descent follows and the faster GC riders will hope for a small bunch sprint.

Stage 3 could see a bunch sprint, with 50km to go, after the final cat 2 climb. It’s 5km at 7.2%, so will see a selection. The final climb of the day is 1.8km at 7.4%. This crests with 25km to go and shouldn’t be decisive. The size of the bunch at the end really depends on how the peloton tackle the two cat 2 climbs. It’s probably going to be too tough for the quick men.

Stage 4 ends with a cat 2 climb that is 4.4km at 5.1% and a cat 3 climb, 3.8km at 3.7%. This could be a day for the sprinters.

Stage 5 is a brutal Queen stage, with four cat 1 climbs. We have 13.7km at 4%, 9.4km at 7.6%, 5.1km at 9.8% and 14.2km at 7%. What a day! The final two climbs are very close together and this is a real test for all the riders. Will those going to the Giro, really go deep today?

The race ends with a 17.3km ITT. It does feature two climbs but they shouldn’t bother any of the TT specialists.

Some of the best GT riders in the world are here and we should be in for a treat. We have Froome, Quintana, NIbali, Spilak, Rui Costa, Uran and Pinot.

Froome crashed in Fleche Wallone and hasn’t had a great run of form and fitness, in recent months. The crash wasn’t too bad and he only looked to suffer cuts and bruises. He’s only competed in Andalucia, Catalunya and Flèche, so he seems a little undercooked. His mountain helpers will be Kennaugh, Roche and Thomas. Roche was involved in a heavy crash in LBL, so we’ll see how he goes. Kennaugh is coming back from his own injuries and Thomas has just completed a heavy spring campaign. I’ve seen stronger Team Sky teams.

Nairo Quintana wasn’t quite up to scratch in Pais Vasco. He also arrives with a weak looking team. The Colombian is due to ride the Tour de Suisse, in June. I’m not really sure what his form is going to be like. At his best, he should make the podium, but he’s going to lose time in the TTT and ITT. However, he’ll want a big performance against his TDF rivals.

Vincenzo Nibali seems to be picking up a head of steam. Still not at his best, but certainly getting better. He seems to favour the one peak, these days, and has this penciled in for June and July. The weather will help him, especially considering his descending ability, but I still think he’ll be short of mountain form. The ITT doesn’t look great for him either.

Simon Spilak loves the rain and this race. He was 3rd in Paris-Nice and was sitting 6th, before the ITT in Pais Vasco. He had a mechanical, off the start ramp, and that cost him a good result. The Slovak is a very consistent rider and can be relied upon here. Katusha have a great chance of winning another race!

Rui Costa has finished 3rd here in the last 3 years. Another rider who doesn’t mind the rain, he is in great form: 4th in both Amstel and LBL. He’ll lose time in the TTT but will certainly be hoping for another podium performance. Is the Queen stage a little too hard for him?

Rigoberto Uran uses this race as final prep for the Giro. The GT starts in 12 days, so you don’t often find riders looking to be on top form yet. Last year, he was poor until the final ITT. The Queen stage is very difficult, so I don’t expect Uran to go deep into the red and risk his Giro. The bad weather is also a blow as he doesn’t want to catch a cold so close to his big target.

Thibaut Pinot has had a mixed year. He was 4th in Tirreno but blew the Criterium International. He finished 10th in Pais Vasco, on a route that didn’t exactly suit him. The Romandie parcours are much more his style. His TT ability continues to improve and I think he has a good chance of a big result.

Other possible contenders are Fuglsang, Frank, Bardet, Peraud, Majka and Scarponi. In fact, Astana arrive with a very strong team. They were brave in LBL and I would expect something similar here. They have Nibali, Fuglsang, Scarponi, Westra and Taaramae. A seriously impressive and attacking squad. I think we’ll see a lot of them, this week.

Prediction Time

The bad weather plays right into the hands of Simon Spilak and I expect him to take a big win.

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David Hunter

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