Volta ao Algarve 2022 – Stage 4
A TT-day. The most important GC day.
The climb
It is not that difficult, but this is not a pan-flat TT. It is up or down most of the time.
Weather
Weather is important in TT’s. The first rider starts at 14:08 and the last starts at 16:50. I imagine the TT to take around 40 minutes. The wind will pick up through the day. The riders are going to ride mainly with a cross-tailwind.
Contenders
It is quite an open terrain today which means the first half of the race with a crosswind will be quite tough. It is also the uphill section. The downhill and flat home are with a tailwind but I do not think it is here the big time gaps will be made.
Evenepoel is going to start as the favorite. There are some climbing meters and we all know he is going well. He is normally very good on long TT’s, I think he will be very hard to beat.
Küng is the man to beat Evenepoel. That effort up Foia. I think it is a good length for him too and the tailwind is better for the big guys. I think he will finish in the podium.
McNulty should also look for a good result ahead of Malhao tomorrow. I do not think he can beat Evenepoel or Küng. I think he will finish close to the podium.
Foss crashed on stage 2 but it did not look too bad. He is a good time trialist but I doubt it will be good enough to beat the competition here. A top-5.
Martinez will lose some time. He only beat Chaves by 12 seconds in the nationals over 38.3 km. I do not know the route for that course but it does not look promising.
Hayter is a good TT rider too. After a slow start to the season, as he had covid-19 prior to Provence, he is looking better in Portugal. I think a top-5 is within reach.
Who will win?
I will take a win for Remco Evenepoel.
