Cycling: The first stage of a Tour de France is always something very special. All drivers have the chance to achieve multiple successes with just one win. The winner of the opening time trial will not only win a stage in the Tour de France, but will also take on the green and yellow jersey at the same time. Who has the best cards when every second is at stake in Düsseldorf this Saturday? Velomotion bets on a German-speaking winner in this preview!
Will the fight against the clock at the start of the Tour de France fall through?
The start times for all riders are set. Elie Gesbert (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) will open the time trial in Düsseldorf at 15:15 PM and set the first time. According to current forecasts, the asphalt will not remain dry throughout the entire race. Instead, changeable conditions are expected, with drying expected only towards the end. This benefits the already favored riders, who have chosen a later start number. But who will ultimately prevail in the rain-soaked Düsseldorf battle? Will there be a home victory for Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin), or perhaps even an upset by an outsider? Velomotion has taken a close look at the start list and assesses the field as follows:
***Tony Martin
** Stefan Küng, Jos Van Emden
* Primoz Roglic, Jonathan Castroviejo, Luke Durbridge
Our tip: Tony Martin has a colorful wardrobe
The tip on Tony Martin is obvious. After all, the pro from Team Katusha-Alpecin is a multiple world champion in this discipline. He also has the chance here in Düsseldorf to secure the yellow jersey in front of his home crowd. After a period of weakness at the beginning of last year, Tony Martin has improved significantly in the fight against the clock. He wasn't completely satisfied with his narrow victory in the time trial at the German championship, but the dress rehearsal can still be described as a success. Should Tony Martin actually get the win at the start, he will truly have access to a colorful wardrobe. With the world champion jersey, the jersey of the German champion, the green jersey and the yellow jersey, he owns several special jerseys. If it doesn't work out with a win, then we'll see Tony Martin in the red jersey of his Katusha-Alpecin team on Sunday.
Who benefits from the weather conditions?
We have identified the Swiss Stefan Küng (BMC) as his biggest challenger. The young time trial specialist also became time trial champion in his country last weekend and was thus the successor to Fabian Cancellara. Rainy weather would suit him. The two pros from the LottoNL-Jumbo team should not be underestimated: Primoz Roglic and Jos Van Emden have proven to be outstanding rollers. At 17:24 the Spaniard Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar) is the first of our favorites to start. If the weather turns even worse afterwards, he could be the laughing winner. Of course, he also wears the jersey of the national champion. We can call Luke Durbridge (Orica-Scott) the Dark Horse. The Australian originally comes from the track and loves smooth profiles. This short distance suits him too. In the end, at the start of the Tour de France 2017, it will not only be the physical strength of the riders that will decide, but also, as so often, the head - and the weather over Düsseldorf's old town.
