Volta a Catalunya 2016 Stage 3 Preview

By David Hunter

Girona – La Molina 172.1km

This is a tough day in the saddle with 4 cat 1 climbs.

The stage will give us a clear picture of who is capable of winning this race. We might not see huge time gaps between the top riders, but some will lose a fair chunk of time.

Alt de Coubet – 10km at 5.5%, max of 10%.

Alt de Toses – 6.3km at 7%, max 10%.

First ascent of Molina  – 10.1km at 4.5%, max 8%.

Second ascent of Molina – 11.1km at 4.5%, max 8%.

In terms of a mountaintop finish, La Molina is not the hardest. The riders even get a small downhill section, before the final 2km. Teammates and tactics are important here.

This stage is for the main GC riders. We have Froome, Contador, Aru, Quintana, Chaves, Bardet, Porte, Van Garderen, Rodriguez, Uran, Zakarin, Dan Martin, Pozzovivo, Gesink and Navarro. Any Grand Tour would be delighted with the standard of climbers we have here.

Team Sky and Chris Froome is the problem for all riders. They have such a strong squad, it will be hard for anyone to escape their clutches. We should see a very familiar pattern, as Team Sky hit the front and destroy the peloton. At 2km to go, they will look round and see who is left. If you manage to make the selection, you have a chance of a stage win. This type of climbing will suit Richie Porte, a man who knows the train well. He got sick after Paris-Nice, so we’ll have to see how he responds.

Nairo Quintana should be Froome’s big rival in 2016. He has finished runner up to Froome in two TDFs. Back in 2013 he lost by over 4 minutes, last year it was down to 1:12. There is no doubt, Quintana is getting closer to Froome. The Colombian will be looking towards Winner Anacona and Ruben Fernandez to provide him with support. If the Colombian could beat Froome here, it would mark a significant moment in his career.

Fabio Aru will also hope to challenge for the stage. He will ride the TDF for GC this year, his first attempt. Winning the Vuelta is one thing, going for the tour is another. Contador was better than him at the Giro, I wonder if Aru can continue his progression in 2016? If he does, he could push for another huge result.

It feels wrong to have Alberto Contador down in 4th place. The winner of the 2015 Giro and one of the best ever, I feel age is starting to get the better of him. I would be hugely surprised to see him challenge Froome for the title, but Contador does love surprises! His team isn’t the strongest, but this isn’t new for him. He was hampered by gearing issues in Paris-Nice, but he couldn’t shake off Richie Porte on Col d’Eze. I really hope Alberto can prove me wrong.

BMC will expect one of their riders to be challenging. If both are on form, they will force Sky to chase them down. Having two riders near the end of a mountain stage is a positive, not a negative. I do have my doubts about both their star riders. Tejay won here last year, but he was given freedom after losing time earlier in the race. A repeat performance would be hugely impressive. Porte was sick after Paris-Nice and Van Garderen faded out of Tirreno, I wonder if both of them can pull a big result out of the bag.

The rest of the riders fall into the maybe category, including former winner Joaquim Rodriguez. The season hasn’t started the way Purito would have expected, but it’s not too different from 2015. Last year, Purito started to show some form in Tirreno, taking two 3rd places. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him performing well here, but I’m not convinced. He’s now 36 years of age, I wonder how many peaks he has in a season.

Bardet, Chaves, Zakarin, Dan Martin, they all have a chance. What will go against them is the numbers of support riders in Sky, Astana and Movistar. I see the big teams holding this together, allowing us to get some frenetic attacks in the last 2km.

Prediction Time

I’ll go for the strongest rider from the strongest team, Chris Froome to start his World Tour season with a bang.

David Hunter

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