Tour de Romandie 2024 – Stage 3 (ITT)
It is time for the second time trial. It is a fair bit of climbing and descending.
The most vital part should be the first part to the checkpoint, as you can often take more time uphill than downhill. Therefore, a fast start is required.
Weather
It might come down to the weather once more. It will rain a fair bit at 10:00 but that should dry out before they start at 14:30. It does look like on some forecasts, that it then starts raining again at 15:00 – 17:00. So some might get lucky, as the forecast is never 100% true. However, everyone will likely race on wet roads and perhaps even in rain.
Contenders
The organizers expect a winning time between 17:00 – 20:00 minutes. So, that is not far from yesterday’s main climb. It gives a bit of an indication and how well some of these riders may go today. As I wrote in the GC preview, I do think this is the second most important stage.
Brandon McNulty – one of the early starters. I haven’t figured out the reason why he lost more than 8 minutes on stage where it looked like Ayuso and Yates could have used his legs. It must mean he likely saved his legs from tomorrow and already had required the thumbs up before the last climb. If he avoids the rain, starting before 15:00, he may just have a long day in the hot seat.
Ethan Hayter – missed the last corner the other day. That will make anyone go insane. He was also dropped on stage 1, which was a surprise. A bad one. I just don’t hope we will see more talent go to waste over at INEOS. I think he will do a top-10. He could do better, especially as he is an early starter too.
Magnus Sheffield – I think the distance today suits him. However, I did like his chances more for the prologue. I’d go for a top-5.
Julian Alaphilippe – Loulou attacking makes me feel like a cow, who has been let back out into the field after a long winter in the stables. It makes me happy. A few years ago, he would have been a favorite for this type of time trial. Today, he will likely finish in the top-10.
Simon Yates – had a little attack yesterday that didn’t bear any fruit. I’d imagine a top-10.
Adam Yates – same goes for Adam, who is recovering too. 7th was bad on the first mountain top finish.
Alexandr Vlasov – he has become a consistent time trial rider over the past few seasons. He will hope to take a bit of time on his rivals, but i’d be surprised if he gets more than a top-10.
Juan Ayuso – I think he is the best TT rider here. You could argue he is at the same level as McNulty, they are fairly similar in that regard. The question is the weather, will it stay dry? It doesn’t look like it. A top-3.
Ilan Van Wilder – I’d imagine a top-5.
Luke Plapp – a very strong attack today. As I said, the climb yesterday is the same effort timewise as the time trial today. However, he likely has to wear a skinsuit (youth GC) that isn’t optimal. I can’t remember the rules. I’d think he can top-5.
Who will win?
I will listen to the weather Gods, and take a win for Brandon McNulty. His chances of riding in dry conditions looks much better than the rest. This is despite the fact that he hasn’t looked very good since Basque Country.
