Cav' Posted February 14, 2018 Posted February 14, 2018 Route Stage 1 We begin with a sprint stage in Lagos. We don’t have the amount of top sprinters that we had last year, but there is still plenty of quality. Expect to see a battle between Groenewegen, Démare and Degenkolb. Stage 2 The GC battles begins on the 2nd stage, with the climb to Fóia. The last 7.4km rises at an average of 6.1%. This is long enough to mean that only the climbers survive. Last year, we saw the peloton split to pieces on the lower slopes of the climb, could this happen again? Stage 3 The 3rd stage is a battle against the clock, a very demanding 20.3km ITT. Stage 4 The 4th stage is another battle for the sprinters. Stage 5 The race ends with the usual climb to Malhão. This steep little climb is perfect for the punchy riders. Amaro Antunes took a landmark win here in 2017, adding his name to an impress group of riders who have tasted success on this hill. Contenders Richie Porte – after another great performance in the Tour Down Under, Porte returns to a race he won back in 2012. That marked his first major result in professional cycling and he retuned to the race in 2015, finishing 4th, but he did go the wrong way in the TT! On both occasions he’s been here, he’s won the Malhão stage. That climb is very similar to Willunga Hill and we all know that Richie is the best in the world on these short, intense climbs. Given the form he showed in Australia, he starts the race as the man to beat. Peter Kennaugh – this is the type of race he’ll be targeting for Bora. After leaving Sky, he wanted more team leader opportunities and this is one. He’ll enjoy both GC days and can hold his own in the TT. After riding in the service of Jay McCarthy, in Australia, he should be ready to hit a good period of form. Bob Jungels – the QuickStep rider has just started his season, but I still think he’ll be a challenger in this race. He would hope to win the TT and put a fair amount of time into some of his rivals. As he continues to develop, so does his climbing ability. He should have no problems on these climbs. Simon Špilak – after a terrible 2016, it was great to see him return to form in 2017. A terrific one day racer, Špilak is always a threat in these races, but only managed to finish 12th here last year. He is a rider that usually gradually builds form, so I’m expecting him to be challenging for the top 10, but not the podium. Geraint Thomas – what a weird 2017 it was for the Welshman. His big target was the Giro, but a terrible crash denied him the chance of fighting for the pink jersey. However, he returned at the Tour de France and won the opening TT, meaning he was the yellow jersey, but disaster struck again and he crashed out on stage 9. It is safe to say, he has more than his fair share of crashes. This is a race he has fond memories of, he won here in 2015 and 2016. Sky start the race with a very strong team and he can count on Michal Kwiatkowski to help support him throughout every stage. Bauke Mollema – 2017 was a good year for the Trek rider, winning a stage in the Tour de France and finishing 7th in the Giro. Free of any Contador responsibilities, he will have a full year of being team leader. He started last year by winning the Tour of San Juan and he’ll be keen for a fast start this year. I would expect him to be challenging for the podium. Sam Oomen – still just 22 years old, this is a rider with huge potential. He’s been learning his trade for the last couple of years and I think he’s ready for a massive season. He’s a solid TT rider, but he will lose times to most of the big contenders for the overall. That means he’ll be aiming for the top 5. Jaime Roson – the talented youngster should be the leader for Movistar. Like Oomen, he’ll lose time in the TT, but will still be challenging for a high spot on GC and a stage win. He rode well in support of Valverde in Valenciana, he looks to have had a good winter of solid training. Dan Martin – like in previous years, he could well win a stage but his poor TT skills mean that he cannot win the GC.
Cav' Posted February 14, 2018 Author Posted February 14, 2018 BMC Racing Team1 GERRANS Simon2 KÜNG Stefan3 PORTE Richie4 ROELANDTS Jurgen5 TEUNS Dylan6 VAN GARDEREN Tejay7 VLIEGEN Loïc BORA - hansgrohe11 BENEDETTI Cesare12 GROSSSCHARTNER Felix13 PELUCCHI Matteo14 KONRAD Patrick15 PÖSTLBERGER Lukas16 SARAMOTINS Aleksejs17 SCHILLINGER Andreas FDJ21 DÉMARE Arnaud22 CIMOLAI Davide23 DELAGE Mickaël24 GUARNIERI Jacopo25 KONOVALOVAS Ignatas26 LE GAC Olivier27 SINKELDAM Ramon Lotto Soudal31 CAMPENAERTS Victor32 DE BUYST Jasper33 DEBUSSCHERE Jens34 KEUKELEIRE Jens35 MAES Nikolas36 NAESEN Lawrence37 WALLAYS Jelle Movistar Team41 BICO Nuno42 OLIVEIRA Nelson43 ROSON Jaime44 SEPÚLVEDA Eduardo45 SÜTTERLIN Jasha46 VALLS RafaelQuick-Step Floors51 GILBERT Philippe52 JUNGELS Bob53 LAMPAERT Yves54 SCHACHMANN Maximilian55 SÉNÉCHAL Florian56 SERRY Pieter57 STYBAR Zdenek Dimension Data61 MEINTJES Louis62 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald63 KING Benjamin64 ANTON Igor65 PAUWELS Serge66 THWAITES Scott67 VAN ZYL Johann Team Katusha - Alpecin71 GONÇALVES José72 SMIT Willie73 LAMMERTINK Maurits74 MACHADO Tiago75 MARTIN Tony76 RESTREPO Jhonatan77 ŠPILAK Simon Team LottoNL-Jumbo81 GROENEWEGEN Dylan82 JANSEN Amund Grondahl83 KUSS Sepp84 LINDEMAN Bert-Jan85 MARTENS Paul86 ROOSEN Timo87 TANKINK Bram
Cav' Posted February 14, 2018 Author Posted February 14, 2018 Team Sky91 DOULL Owain92 ELISSONDE Kenny93 GOLAS Michal94 KWIATKOWSKI Michal95 KIRYIENKA Vasil96 THOMAS Geraint97 WIŚNIOWSKI Łukasz Team Sunweb 101 GESCHKE Simon102 HINDLEY Jai103 HOFSTEDE Lennard104 KÄMNA Lennard105 OOMEN Sam106 TEN DAM Laurens107 HAGA Chad Trek - Segafredo111 BRÄNDLE Matthias112 DEGENKOLB John113 GUERREIRO Ruben114 MOLLEMA Bauke115 MULLEN Ryan116 RAST Gregory117 STUYVEN Jasper UAE-Team Emirates121 CONTI Valerio122 LAENGEN Vegard Stake 123 MARTIN Daniel124 POLANC Jan125 RAVASI Edward126 SUTHERLAND Rory127 SWIFT Ben Caja Rural - Seguros RGA131 REIS Rafael132 SILVA Joaquim133 ZABALA Josu134 LASTRA Jonathan135 MOREIRA Mauricio136 AMEZQUETA Julen Cofidis, Solutions Crédits141 HERRADA José142 BONNAFOND Guillaume143 CLAEYS Dimitri144 HOFSTETTER Hugo145 LE TURNIER Mathias146 TURGIS Jimmy147 VAN STAEYEN Michael Wanty - Groupe Gobert151 DUPONT Timothy152 OFFREDO Yoann153 BACKAERT Frederik154 DEVRIENDT Tom155 VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume156 VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter157 SMITH Dion Aviludo-Louletano161 MENDONÇA Luis162 GARCIA DE MATEOS Vicente163 FERNANDES Luis164 PEREZ Juan Ignacio165 EVANGELISTA Andre 166 RODRIGUES Rui Emanuel167 BARBOSA Márcio Efapel171 MESTRE Daniel172 SILVA Rafael173 PAULINHO Pedro174 JURADO Marcos175 SILVA Bruno176 CASIMIRO Henrique177 DEL PINO Jesus LA Aluminios-Metalusa181 ALMEIDA Nuno182 RIBEIRO David183 VIDEIRA Patrick184 LEAÇA Gonçalo185 MANSILHAS Fabio186 SILVA Paulo187 FERNANDES João Liberty Seguros - Carglass191 CRISPIM André192 CARVALHO Andre193 MARTINGIL Cesar194 LOURENCO Rafael195 GONCALVES Gaspar196 LOPES Pedro Jose197 FERNANDES Venceslau Miranda - Mortágua201 BARBIO António202 MEIRELES Nuno203 NUNES Hugo204 CORDEIRO Damien205 CARVALHO Goncalo206 MAGALHÃES Jorge207 CAMPOS Francisco Radio Popular Boavista211 GONÇALVES Domingos212 PELEGRÍ Óscar213 TROFIMOV Yuri214 GOMES Luis215 SILIN Egor216 BENTA Joao217 RODRIGUES David Miguel Costa Sporting Clube de Portugal/Tavira221 NOCENTINI Rinaldo222 BRANDÃO Joni223 TOFFALI Nicola224 GRIGORYEV Alexander225 LIVRAMENTO David226 GONZALEZ Mario227 MARQUE Alejandro Vito-Feirense-BlackJack231 PINTO Edgar232 SANCHO Hugo233 AFONSO Luis234 COUTINHO Leonel235 MATIAS Joao236 SANTOS Goncalo237 ERRAZKIN Xuban W52/FC Porto 241 VELOSO Gustavo Cesar242 MESTRE Ricardo243 FONTE César244 VINHAS Rui245 RODRIGUES Joao246 FERNANDES José247 CALDEIRA Samuel
Cav' Posted February 14, 2018 Author Posted February 14, 2018 Stage 1 Results: 1 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 4:47:58 2 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 3 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 4 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 5 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) BMC Racing Team 6 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo 7 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal 8 Matteo Peluc (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 9 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 10 Luis Mendonça (Por) LA Aluminios
Cav' Posted February 15, 2018 Author Posted February 15, 2018 http://www.steephill.tv/2018/volta-ao-algarve/photos/stage-01/070-CORVOS_00029099-003.jpg
Cav' Posted February 15, 2018 Author Posted February 15, 2018 http://www.steephill.tv/2018/volta-ao-algarve/photos/stage-01/080-CORVOS_00029099-023.jpg
Cav' Posted February 15, 2018 Author Posted February 15, 2018 http://www.steephill.tv/2018/volta-ao-algarve/photos/stage-01/085-CORVOS_00029099-017.jpg
Cav' Posted February 15, 2018 Author Posted February 15, 2018 http://www.steephill.tv/2018/volta-ao-algarve/photos/stage-01/200-CORVOS_00029099-018.jpg
Cav' Posted February 15, 2018 Author Posted February 15, 2018 http://www.steephill.tv/2018/volta-ao-algarve/photos/stage-01/318-CORVOS_00029099-026.jpg
Cav' Posted February 15, 2018 Author Posted February 15, 2018 http://www.steephill.tv/2018/volta-ao-algarve/photos/stage-01/321-CORVOS_00029099-001.jpg
Cav' Posted February 15, 2018 Author Posted February 15, 2018 http://www.steephill.tv/2018/volta-ao-algarve/photos/stage-01/400-CORVOS_00029099-033.jpg
bertusras Posted February 15, 2018 Posted February 15, 2018 Stage 1 Results: 1 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 4:47:582 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ3 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits4 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert5 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) BMC Racing Team6 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo7 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal8 Matteo Peluc (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe9 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors10 Luis Mendonça (Por) LA Aluminios 14 Willie Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin Our boy got the lead out from Katusha, and whilst not being a sprinter, gave it his best shot
Cheese Posted February 15, 2018 Posted February 15, 2018 Today we will see how much the time spend in Lesotho paid of for Louis Meintjies.. Although it is his first race of the year so we can not expect to much, as could be seen from Edvald yesterday.
Cav' Posted February 15, 2018 Author Posted February 15, 2018 Will be nice to see who has the best current form between Porte, Martin and Thomas. Someone like Kwiatkowski might surprise with an attack.
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