So, the bears are loose after Monday! A hard-fought sprint earned Bryan Coquard a victory in Regensdorf after a thrilling finale. What about Tuesday? More of the same! However, the finish is slightly different. Once again, there is a lot of climbing to do before the riders can compete for the flowers in the second stage. The finish will be uphill, giving another group of riders a chance to compete. IDLProCycling.com takes you through the stage.
Course stage 2 Tour of Switzerland 2024
In stage two, like the day before, another stage is on the cards for the men with panache in their legs. In the 161-kilometer ride between Steinmaur and Rüschlikon, the necessary altimeters will again be conquered, although it is unlikely to cause much fireworks among the classification riders.
The last quarter towards the finish in Rüschlikon contains most of the climbing, eventually ending on a sloping section of seven hundred meters at 7.1 percent. A sprint between strong sprinters, puncheurs, and GC contenders is thus certainly in the offing!
Climbs
128.3 km: Oberwil (2.9 km a 6.0%)
146.0 km: Auegst am Albis (2.6 km a 7.0%)
151.2 km: Albispass (1.8 km a 6.0%)
Times
Start: 1 p.m.
Finish: around 5 p.m.
Weather stage 2 Tour of Switzerland 2024
Tuesday morning brings rather bad weather to the starting town of Steinmaur (and also to the finishing town of Rüschlikon), but the riders are in luck. The gloomy weather is expected to clear around eleven o'clock. Meteorologically speaking, the riders will probably race in fine conditions, with temperatures rising to around seventeen degrees Celsius.
Favorites stage 2 Tour of Switzerland 2024
Because of the tricky finale and the ascending sections, Tuesday's stage will be more difficult for the sprinters' teams to control. Therefore, riders like Marijn van den Berg, Monday's laureate Bryan Coquard, and Arnaud De Lie have only a small chance. Michael Matthews, however, is usually capable of pulling off the sprint to the top of the little hill. Additionally, Bling seems to be in shape just in time.
Riders we saw in Monday's final, such as Paul Lapeira and Alberto Bettiol, will also be at the front again on Tuesday. Home rider Marc Hirschi wasn't in the mix in Regensdorf, but with a win in the Flèche Wallonne a few years back, he has good credentials for Tuesday's ride. And with his recent performances, Thibau Nys is also a dark horse, although Lidl-Trek hinted that the young Belgian wasn't feeling his best on Monday.
Chances are we will also see some GC contenders, but who has a finishing sprint strong enough for the day's victory? Richard Carapaz has pulled off such feats before, and the same goes for Mattias Skjelmose. The finale should also suit Tom Pidcock and Maxim Van Gils well. The latter may be able to make up for his unfortunate teammate De Lie.
Alpecin-Deceuninck will be hoping Axel Laurance has a top day and can join the fight. Otherwise, Søren Kragh Andersen is a good second option, someone who can hold his own in the hectic finale. The same goes for Flèche Wallonne winner Stephen Williams. Lenny Martinez and Adam Yates know how to finish strong, but they are, of course, also focused on the general classification.
According to IDLProCycling.com, who are the favorites for stage 2 Tour of Switzerland 2024?
Top favorite: Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla)
Outsiders: Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny), Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost)
Long shots: Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Mattias Skjelmose and Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), Axel Laurance and Soren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates)
Place comments
0 Comments
You are currently seeing only the comments you are notified about, if you want to see all comments from this post, click the button below.
Show all comments