DANGER AND DELIGHT

Bahrain Merida team members received a wet and windy start to their debut in the Tour de France as the opening stages produced drama and defining moments aplenty.

The venue for Le Grand Depart was Dusseldorf as 198 riders started their 3,500km race to Paris. On paper the opening stage looked to be a relatively straightforward individual time trial of 14km while subsequent stages saw the greatest professional endurance event wind its way through Belgium and Luxembourg before settling in France.

The stage was described as the battle for sprinters so everyone was waiting for the last kilometres and a long sprint in Liége.

Bahrain Marida Team’s main strategy for the race was to bring Sonny Colbrelli in the best possible place for his sprint and with hard work the team mostly succeeded. In the last two kilometres, Colbrelli was in front all the time. Finally, he decided to push harder and provoked the final sprint along with Peter Sagan.

In the last 20 metres, another group of sprinters started their sprint finish. Sonny took an excellent sixth place and finished the race in company with some famous sprinters.

Colbrelli showed once again that he has every right to chase the sprinter podiums at Tour de France this year and said after the race: “I started the sprint too early, but it was the only way to try to beat such sprinters in this kind of finish. Anyway, it’s important that I was there with them to compete.

“The Tour has just started and the next stage suits me. I feel good and the team is ready to support me. Let’s see how it goes.”

The treacherous conditions in Germany presented opportunities to teams and riders willing to take risks. As such the surprise holder of the yellow jersey was Welshman, Geraint Thomas.

While a proficient time trailer, he was not expected to challenge the leaderboard and was even missed by the official television feed as they focused on French General Classification hopeful, Romain Bardet, who set off ahead of Thomas and yet crossed the line almost together. He becomes the eighth British rider to wear yellow and the first Welshman.

Perhaps more significantly for the race was that his Team Sky colleague and team leader, Chris Froome, finished only 12 seconds behind him yet gained over 30 seconds on the majority of his main rivals. The four-time British winning team looked in ominous form posting four riders in the top ten.

The most significant of the crashes to occur was the one that forced Spaniard, Alejandro Valverde, to retire from the race with a broken kneecap.  While it is individuals that largely take the glory, he was hoping to help lead his teammate, Nairo Quintana, to victory. His is absence punches a massive hole in his hopes.

The second stage also saw Froome crash, taken down as riders in front of him slipped, although fortunately he was able to recover, although a problem with his bike threatened to ruin his day again after working hard to rejoin the peleton.

The finish in Luxembourg was one for the sprinters. German Marcel Kittel powered across the line, watched by his greatest rival Mark Cavendish, who was happy to finish fourth having been suffering from glandular fever.

The opening stages have also seen the first accusations of cheating although fortunately nothing relating to performance-enhancing substances.

Team Sky, with the largest budget and a reputation for innovation as they seek ‘marginal gains’ across the organisation, received complaints about their luxury camper vans and panelling around their warm-up area. 

Two of their rivals then reported them to race referees concerning their latest skin suits that contain panels incorporating small pellets that improve the air flow and therefore efficiency of the rider. The complaints were dismissed.

Froome’s main rival is Richie Porte (BMC), his former teammate, who will be bidding to become the second Australian after Cadel Evans to be first into Paris.  Of all riders his form entering the race looks the strongest winning the Tour Down Under (that included two uphill finishes), the Tour de Romandie, a mountain-top finish at Paris-Nice and a second place in the Criterium du Dauphine that includes some of the same sections.

The Tasmanian was isolated in the Dauphine but has brought a stronger team to le Tour. His roster includes Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet and climbers Nicolas Roche and Damiano Caruso as BMC go all-out for victory.

Ironically, given the emphasis placed on climbing strength, his greatest weakness is considered to be his descents, which was effectively how Froome blew apart the race last year with a surprising attack.

Nairo Quintana was targeting the Giro d’Italia – Tour de France double.  Having finished second in Italy, the Colombian’s chances have weakened with the loss of Valverde who would have been a strong contender in his own right.

This could also be the last opportunity for Alberto Contador to add to his two Tour wins.  The Spaniard, unpopular amongst many fans as a result of his previous drug bans, is a dangerous prospect, particularly as he has the support of Bauke Mollema.

French hopes rest on the shoulders of Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) who was third overall in 2014 and Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) who finished second overall last year. Pundits suspect that both will struggle to win the race yet will challenge strongly for stage wins.

Another rider showing strong form is Italian Champion Fabio Aru, the 2015 Vuelta winner. Despite injury and illness curtailing his build-up he will be one of the most aggressive in the mountains.

After several days of stage racing that will favour the sprinters - cross-winds and rain permitting - today sees one of the most interesting finishes for the General Classification contenders.

Tour tradition determines that whoever is leading the race at the top of Alpe D’Huez will win in Paris. Wednesday sees the riders finish at the top of La Planche des Belles Filles, nicknamed ‘Le Petit Alpe D’Huez’, as much as for the ferocity of the gradient as for the fact that the two leaders to have led here (Sir Bradley Wiggins and Bahrain Merida’s Vincenzo Nibali) have gone on to claim overall victory.

The final altitude at a little over 1,000m is not high, nor the distance of the climb at 5.9km not long, yet the final kilometer has a gradient of 20 per cent that can see time gaps extend into minutes, particularly as teams will be racing at their maximum entering the climb as they jostle for position.

Stage 8 looks fairly innocuous in the Juma Mountains although could therefore witness a tactical surprise for Froome or Contador as they look to dictate a race that is the most open for years.

Stage 9 is one of the most demanding bringing half of the six hors-categorie climbs in the entire race.

This is therefore critical for the polka-dot climber’s jersey yet is also a stage where those with overall aspirations should be prominent up the final climb on Mont du Chat.

Stage 12 brings a brutal final 80km and features the second of only three mountain-top finishes while Stage 13 continues the trend for short, sharp mountain stages that encourage serious attacks.

Stages 17 and 18 are the classic mountain stages featuring some of the most legendary cols in the history of the race including the Col de la Croix de fer and the Galibier from its hardest side.

If the pure climbers have gained time on Froome at this stage he will hope to reclaim the lead on Stage 20 with a 22.5km time trial that finishes in the Stade Velodrome.

The other stages represent tremendous opportunities for all-rounders and it is on these that Bahrain will have high hopes for Colbrelli and others to feature in a breakaway and claim a stage win.

Unfortunately, statistics don’t provide much assistance in determining the winner.

Eight of the last 10 champions have won twice already in the year (ruling out Froome) while no winner since 1998 has also ridden the Giro D’Italia (ruling in Froome!)

Froome has opted for a lighter race schedule this year as he gambles on trying to secure the Tour de France followed by the Vuelta later in the year.

Abu’s Prediction: Froome to make it three in a row!

Crunch comes for  leader

Ion Izagirre who started as the last from Bahrain Merida’s team, crashed badly in a corner, close to the point where competitor Alejandro Valverde had crashed as well.

It was a very hard hit into the fence. Izagirre was then immediately transported in an ambulance to the hospital, accompanied by the team doctor, Luca Pollastri.

The first diagnosis said that he had sustained an unstable lumbar fracture and needs surgery.

“We are deeply saddened that Ion will not continue this year’s Tour de France, where he was meant to be the team leader after his strong performance this season. It is a big loss for the team,” a team spokesman said. “All riders and staff will put heads together and bite into the further challenges of Tour de France.”

Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team is one of the first cycling teams to be based in the Middle East.

The project started two years ago, with a casual bike ride in the desert of Bahrain between His Highness Sheikh Nasser, representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Work and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee President, and Vincenzo Nibali, an Italian professional road bicycle racer, considered one of the strongest stage riders.

The world tour team will race all around six continents at the highest level of competition, proudly wearing the colours of Bahrain and the Taiwan-based bicycle design and manufacturer as co-title sponsor.