PREVIEW | Tour de la Provence 2025 stage 2 - Can Sam Bennett win again or will Lidl-Trek have their revenge?
Cycling
From the 14th of the 16th of February the racing in France continues with another prestigious stage-race. In the south of the country, the Tour de la Provence will provide good opportunities for the sprinters and classics riders to work on their form and fight for stage wins. We preview stage 2.
Stage 2 of the race is perhaps more controlled, but also not an easy day by any means. The sprinters should have the spotlight, but they will need good climbing legs to win on the day. The 167-kilometer stage features a few small climbs towards the end that provide opportunities for attacks and changes in the overall classification.
However, if there are good sprinters with good legs on the day, there should be teams with enough interest to sacrifice plenty riders for a chase, before the finale into Manosque. It will be a tricky uphill sprint, averaging 4% in the final kilometer, which could see some puncheurs also getting in the mix - with both stage and GC interests.
Prediction Tour de la Provence 2025 stage 2:
*** Toms Skujins, Marijn van den Berg
** Mads Pedersen, Lukas Kubis, Matej Mohoric
* Sam Bennett, Mathieu Burgaudeau, Jake Stewart, Fred Wright, Pierre Gautherat, Raul García Pierna, Valentin Ferron, Ewen Costious, Jefferson Alexander Cepeda, Darren Rafferty
Pick: Toms Skujins
How: Lidl-Trek will not try to work for a sprint this time around, or at least make that a priority. I continue to firmly believe Toms Skujins has the best chances of winning with a late attack.
Original: Rúben Silva
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- You're dreaming LA Doper !frieders307-04-2025
- Care to retract that statement Johan !frieders307-04-2025
- BS! His son even admitted he was off a few % because he was sick after E3, even taking antibiotics. So he wasn't at Tadeg's level due to that !frieders307-04-2025
- TP, for me now, is an alien...
leedorney07-04-2025 - You have to keep all else held equal or you're not isolating the change. A lighter rider is faster at everything, save downhills, all else held equal, as I keep showing. As for wind, just as in flat TTs weight basically doesn't matter, except that lighter equals slightly less rolling resistance. In the same manner, for a 30 kph headwind, weight doesn't matter, as the relevant equation is power vs CdA. The reason why more weight is helpful downhill is the same reason it's hurtful uphill, it "gives back" the energy (not speed) you gained by going up the hill. Lastly, in a sprint, weight is again counterproductive, assuming one has to accelerate up to speed. Accelerating a mass takes energy, and a heavier one takes more energy than a lighter one. Now, at most sprint speeds, almost all energy goes into wind resistance, but the acceleration of mass still does play a part.acem8207-04-2025
- Agreed. He was dropped hard on every other climb. Without the run up he might have not been in the final sprint. And why not try it? Kudos for him for trying to make the race rather than just following.mij06-04-2025
- To me it seemed like an attempt to get through the climb closer to the front, since his burst power was lacking. If he starts earlier he can take the hill slower and still not be too far behind by the top. It kept him in that group of 4, where he might have been dropped had they all stayed together to the bottom of the climb. Who knows, though. I’m just guessing.RidesHills06-04-2025
- No idea, there have been suggestions something is amiss, maybe he doesn’t have all his mind connected at some moments, I’d definitely do a thorough review of his consciousness under effort.Mistermaumau06-04-2025
- Pogacar and van der Poel have won the last 6 Monuments, and 11 of the last 13 Monuments. There’s never been domination like this by two riders, and we are in our third year of it. (Merckx and de Vlaeminck won a total of 30 Monuments between 1966 and 1979, but others were winning along the way, as well.)RidesHills06-04-2025
- Yes but what was the dumb effort by Van Aert to drop Pogacar, Vanderpoel and Pederson about.? Just showing face? If he had stayed on the wheels and not wasted energy, he might have got on the podium in the runners up sprint.Cyclingsbestfan06-04-2025