Tour du Suisse 2022 – Stage 2
What a lovely surprise win on the first day. A stage that gave a lot of answers, with Martinez, Mader and Carthy all being out of the GC. It is time for another day with plenty of climbing. The riders will head west before doing a circuit clockwise.
The key points.
The circuit. Two climbs and two descents.
The first climb starts with 45 km to go. It is likely a bit early to see fireworks here, but I expect the pace to go up significantly. It is time to stay at the front to avoid accidents.
The next climb is harder and closer to the finish. Just 14.2 km from the finish – you would imagine an attack going over the top, with 800 meters over 9%. From there, it is mostly downhill to the end. Just before this climb, they have a few sharp turns in Laufen, the intensity will be high.
The descent is not too technical, but it is hard for a peloton to gain any time on attackers when it is going downhill. With just 4 km left, after 10 km of descending, it is a 4 km run into the line.
Weather
A headwind for most of the stage. There will be a headwind on the last climb, but the road bends to the right, heading into a crosswind just before the top. That means the steep section is with a crosswind and is covered from the wind by trees. If you have a gap at the bottom, there is a cross-tailwind to the line. Again a day with no rain but lower temperatures, tomorrow around 22 degrees C.
How will the stage unfold?
One can imagine Bahrain would like to keep the jersey! Expect them to do some pulling throughout the day. The headwind is not ideal either for the breakaway. Who will help them?
Matthews fell out of the back today as soon as the tempo increased. BikeExchange does not have the team to control the day, but they should be more confident tomorrow since the climb is a bit further from the finish. However, it is more difficult.
It would look like a day for Evenepoel to attack and see who can follow him. Bora-Hansgrohe and UAE should be interested in this too. I think the riders we saw today are likely the same ones we are going to see tomorrow.
Contenders
Hirschi – did some work today on the climb that might have cost him the stage win. That is the price you pay for riding at UAE without Pogacar in your team, everyone will fancy their own chances (Covi…). Tomorrow is another good chance for him. He was quick in the sprint, he just started too far back.
Schachmann – the German finally has found some form this year. He has been gathering second-places this week, something he would love to swap out for a stage win. We will see what Bora-Hansgrohe does tomorrow. They have three riders who all were offensive today. They will likely have the numerical advantage again tomorrow, a big bonus.
Kron – perfect timing to be finding some form. If the current form does not give him a Tour de France start in Denmark, I do not what will get you a piece of the pie at Lotto. He is fast in a flat sprint, but I’m not sure he is fast enough.
Evenepoel – likely to light it all up! Brilliant move to follow Fuglsang, it felt like he was holding something back instead of just working to get a few seconds and perhaps bonus seconds in the end. Afterward, he shut down Vlasov. I doubt he can win in a sprint, but he will try and distance the others.
Higuita – the second rider from Bora. Normally very quick, but he too likes to ride his own race. I’m uncertain if he tried to lead Schachmann out in the finale, it looks like it on the replay. If they can time it a bit better tomorrow, they stand a good chance.
Powless – on the move today! If he makes it over with the best, he is fast. San Sebastian is proof of that.
Küng – the diesel is warm. A late attack on the flat run-in? This is the man! Surprised they were so afraid of him. Is it too hard tomorrow? I think if we look at his spring results, I would say it is not.
Williams – well he won today? Let’s see how he will do defending the jersey tomorrow.
Who will win?
A solo from Küng on the flat. He is not a threat to the GC at all. I was very surprised they brought him back.
