King of the Sprints: update #1

This series will attempt to keep check on the top sprinters throughout the season and is really a continuation of an article about the three elite sprinters from last season, which can be found here https://procyclingkev.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/king-of-the-sprints-mark-cavendish-vs-andre-greipel-vs-marcel-kittel/

The first blood was drawn in the battle of the sprinters when Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) beat Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) in the People’s Choice Classic, an unclassified criterium that is held prior to the start of the Tour Down Under. After some work on the front by Team Sky, Lotto Belisol hit the front a little early for this point of the season. I say a little early because the riders aren’t capable of sustaining the high effort on the front for as long a period of time as they will be able to in a few weeks, when the season is really hitting its stride. As it is Lotto Belisol seemed to run out of support riders too early so that when Jurgen Roelandts pulled over Greipel was launching his sprint from further than he’d like. Even so he hit the front hard putting a couple of bike lengths between himself and Kittel, and would normally be expected to win from there, but Kittel showed terrific acceleration to close the gap and take the win. It may not be a race that is important in the grand scheme of things but it offered confirmation of sorts of what had transpired in the Tour de France. There is a danger of reading too much into it, Greipel and his team made mistakes, and the season is just starting so no one is fully fit nor do they have enough racing in their legs, but even knowing all that Kittel still looked terrific. Australia’s great sprint hope Caleb Ewan, 19, managed an impressive 3rd and is certainly one to keep an eye out for later in the season when he joins Orica GreenEDGE.

The opening stage of the Tour Down Under also featured a sprint of sorts, though it was one with a tough run-in. Most of that difficulty came inside the final 15km when the peloton reached Menglers Hill, a 5.7km climb with a steep opening half followed by a more gradual uphill drag, tough enough to drop most of the sprinters. After the climb the peloton descended down towards the final kilometre, where there was another brief kick before an uphill drag to the finish line. Andre Greipel was surprised to find himself in contention but once again had to launch his sprint very early, Simon Gerrans was able to follow his wheel then beat him to the line. It was something of a shock to see Greipel lose like that, but opening up a sprint early and into a head wind is not a good combination and the slight incline definitely favoured a rider like Gerrans. Coming as it did, after a tough climb which had likely stretched Greipel to his limits, and with suggestions that he was over geared for the incline; well it’s not surprising that he didn’t have his usual speed. Greipel was certainly surprised to find himself in contention, he had actually been working for Adam Hansen on Menglers Hill, helping Hansen launch the attack that took the maximum KoM points, had Greipel been aiming for the stage win then he wouldn’t have wasted that energy.

While he can’t have been pleased to lose his first two outings in 2014, one feature of Greipel’s early season form has been his climbing, as he showed again on stages two and five. On the lumpy second stage Greipel was able to remain with the lead group and even rejoining it before a puncture forced him to lose contact on a late climb. That chase back onto the group was probably the difference between him trying to contest for the win and finishing 19th. On the fifth stage Greipel made it over Old Willunga Hill with the front group, surviving the fast paced ascent so that he could do a little work for Adam Hansen before the final climb. In my original article I mentioned that Greipel is the best climber of the elite sprinters and could transition to more of a classics rider, he has shown the ability to do well on the short steep hills in the Eneco Tour or in sections of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

The fourth stage looked perfect for a bunch sprint, but the clever use of crosswinds robbed us of the anticipated showdown between Greipel and Kittel. It was a terrific move and the Lotto Belisol team definitely played their cards right, leaving behind Kittel along with the majority of the recognised sprinters in the race. As a result the run-in went smoothly, Lotto Belisol were able to wait until they were inside the final kilometre before opening up their lead out in earnest, allowing Jurge Roelandts to deliver Greipel almost to the line, ensuring victory in the process. So good was the lead out that Roelandts was able to claim 2nd place himself. Third went to Elia Viviani of Cannondale who showed terrific burst to recover from being badly positioned in the run in.

The sixth and final stage gave the sprinters one last chance but it failed to provide the showdown between Greipel and Kittel that everyone had been waiting for. Instead with Kittel and Giant-Shimano getting disorganised in the bunch behind, Lotto Belisol hit the front hard with a little over 1km to go. Marcel Sieberg lifted the pace and Jens Debusschere drove the peloton towards the line before letting Jurgen Roelandts provide Greipel with another terrific lead out. The Omega Pharma-Quick Step pairing of Mark Renshaw and Andy Fenn were well positioned behind Greipel and Renshaw tried to get a jump on him, but once Greipel opened up his sprint the contest was over. Michael Kolar, 21, the Tinkoff-Saxo sprinter finished 9th on the day, a solid result given this was his World Tour debut.

In the Tour de San Luis there were two bunch sprints, both were on uphill drags which changes the dynamic a little, though neither was a true uphill sprint. When the peloton arrived at the finish of stage three they were being led by Lampre-Merida, however once Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) opened up his lead out for Tom Boonen, those Lampre riders were left behind. Boonen hit the front hard and was looking good, but he couldn’t compete with the pace of Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing), who having manouvered around Cavendish, promptly accelerated to the line. Boonen sat up early, either hitting the wall or just knowing that Nizzolo had the win, and that let Francisco Ventoso (Movistar) pass him for second, and almost let Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp) do the same.

On the final stage the Lampre-Merida team played a cannier game, letting the Cannondale team stretch out the peloton in an attempt to set up Peter Sagan, before launching their own sprint late. It was a more successful tactic as Sacha Modolo was able to claim his first win as a Lampre-Merida rider, with Sagan in second and Modolo’s team mate and lead out man Maximiliano Richeze rounding out the podium.

In summary: despite Marcel Kittel looking like he is the class sprinter in cycling right now, it was Andre Greipel and his Lotto Belisol team who have laid their marker down after this early flurry of racing. We can now look forward to the Tour of Dubai and a likely clash between Kittel and Cavendish in early February.