A few punchy climbs including Mount Cassel which was ridden as a circuit on the Four days of Dunkirk this year and on the National Championship two years ago, but way too far from the finish line seem to promise a bunch sprint (and crashes?). There might be echelons earlier in the race.
I think Philipsen will take this one. Milan and Merlier have arguably better results this year but this sprint will be so crowded and nervous, Philipsen thrives in that situation. Also Alpecin got a mad train with Groves and VDP.
The scenario with an echelon in the end of course wasn’t really expected (the mid-course was more likely to create them), but as he was in the good group, the result was the same! 😀
A group of 5 including Armirail broke away at km 0. No chase, not a single counter-attack, and the peloton started pissing at km 2. Switched the TV off, will come back after a couple of hours.
1st stage (Saturday 5, 13:10–13:40 → 17:35–18:00)
A few punchy climbs including Mount Cassel which was ridden as a circuit on the Four days of Dunkirk this year and on the National Championship two years ago, but way too far from the finish line seem to promise a bunch sprint (and crashes?). There might be echelons earlier in the race.
I think Philipsen will take this one. Milan and Merlier have arguably better results this year but this sprint will be so crowded and nervous, Philipsen thrives in that situation. Also Alpecin got a mad train with Groves and VDP.
The scenario with an echelon in the end of course wasn’t really expected (the mid-course was more likely to create them), but as he was in the good group, the result was the same! 😀
A group of 5 including Armirail broke away at km 0. No chase, not a single counter-attack, and the peloton started pissing at km 2. Switched the TV off, will come back after a couple of hours.