Last night, stage 3, and the biggest surprise to me was the failure of the HTC lead out train at the end. They delivered Cavendish to 1st in the peleton at the intermediate sprint, but came unstuck at the end. Farrar taking a win for the USA on the 4th July.
Tonight, and another interesting stage. I will leave it to an expert to analyse.
JEAN-FRANÇOIS PESCHEUX’S ANALYSIS : Brittany’s “mountain”
“This stage provides some innovation with a finish on the summit of the Mûr-de-Bretagne, which comes at the end of a beautiful but very tough two-kilometre climb. The road rises in such a straight line that even from the bottom the finish is almost visible. It’s going to be impressive, with steep ramps right from the bottom. But even before getting to that point, there is a series of hills in central Brittany where the twisting roads can be a real slog. The riders will have to be on their guard because these could lead to splits in the peloton and, consequently, a surprise or two. What is for sure is that there won’t be any sprinters in contention. Look instead for riders in the mould of Philippe Gilbert or Thomas Voeckler.”
Everyone seems to be saying Evans will be in Yellow by the end of this stage. I really hope not. It is too early.
