Kjellerup > Silkeborg 164km

The second stage is one that favours the sprinters more than the opening day. Okay, there’s another lap circuit which features a climb, but this is a day that most sprinters will expect to survive and fight out the win. 

Weather 

Cloudy sun, temperatures will be around 20 degrees. There’s more wind, but the majority of the route is well protected by trees. 

The Climb 

This is the hill the riders have to tackle three times in the final 15km of the stage, the final time up crests with just 3km to go. Despite that, as the climb is 1.2km at 4.6%, it shouldn’t cause the sprinters too many problems. The key is to remain near the front on the climb, getting back up the peloton in the final 3km will be tricky. 

Tactics 

Uno-X are in control of the race lead, they’ll take responsibility to chase the break as there’s every chance a rider within 1 minute is in the move. They won’t have to do all the work, Soudal – Quick Step will ride for Jakobsen, just like they did today. With Tim Declercq on the front, the break has no chance.  

Once the peloton hit the lap circuit, this is when things will get a little spicy. Jakobsen climbed well today, but teams will still want to test his legs in an attempt to take some sting out of his sprint. His team are without Mauri Vansevenant, he crashed hard today, but this stage is easier so Fabio should still have teammates left to help.

Last time the race finished here it was 2019 and Tiesj Benoot won. That day they climbed the final hill on five occasions, last time up a group of 7 broke away and Tiesj nipped off the front in the closing kilometre. The chasing peloton finished 3 seconds behind. Will something similar happen this year? 

For sure, Lidl – Trek will try something. They will go hard on the climb to try and force a group away, one that doesn’t include Jakobsen. The difficulty is they only do the climb three times this year, and into a strong headwind, is it possible to split the bunch? The other complication is the GC position, Uno-X will want to close down any Pedersen move, but will they be able to?

Contenders

Fabio Jakobsen – he coped better with today’s climbs than I thought. This means he’ll start this stage as the big favourite, he’s the fastest rider in the peloton. Not only that, but with Pedersen and Mørkøv as his sprint train, he’s got the best lead out too. Beating him won’t be easy. 

Mads Pedersen – wait for the sprint or attack? Bonus seconds will be important in the GC battle, I think Mads will wait and see what the wind is like on the climb. It’s a tricky call for him to make, if he goes full on the climb he risks not competing if it ends in a sprint. The good news is just how strong he was today, the dude was flying.

Søren Wærenskjold – took a brilliant win today, thanks to a perfectly timed attack. The big Norwegian doesn’t have to do anything silly, it’s about saving all his energy for the sprint and trying to match Pedersen. He’s fast, a spot on the podium wouldn’t be a surprise. 

Tobias Andresen – he’ll again be in the mix for the podium.

Mattias Skjelmose – looked very strong today, but can he get away from the peloton last time up the climb? It’s going to be hard, but it could happen.

Michael Valgren – it was great to see him looking strong today. This stage is another opportunity for him to attack and go for a solo win.

Prediction Time 

A relatively big bunch sprint, the headwind on the climb is strong.

Embed from Getty Images

It’s going to be a win for Fabio Jakobsen.