So, one stage done, six to go. Onto stage two...
Distance: 123.87 km
Vertical Metres: 2,998 m
Passes: Timmelsjoch, Jaufenpass
Stage 2 Preview
Timmelsjoch Preview (as climbed by Garmin-Barracuda's Christophe Le Mével)
Early Start...
Logistics of the day meant that desopite the stage not starting until 9am, all bags had to be put in reception by 6:30am! This meant that everything packed and ready the night before and a snap decision at 6:25am what to wear - bear in mind that the forecast was for torrential rain all morning, 9 degrees C at resort level and 4 degrees at the summit. When the alarm went off it wasn;t looking to bad out there so I optied for minimal rain cover (rain jacket, wind gilet & too warmers). By 8am, I had breakfasted, and typically the weather had gotten a whole lot heaver, it was absolutely pouring out there. On the way to the start there was a stark contrast of optimists like me (summer attire & rain jackets) and pessimists in the full on storm gear (booties, waterproof trousers, gortex jackets & waterproof helmet covers were all typical).
The real challenge for today (other than the weather) is the 2 major climbs, once these are done the leg to the finish should be straightforward.
Summary of the day. A day of two halves. The morning in Austria in the wet, the afternoon in Italy in the sun...
The morning: Climb of the Timmelsjoch in the rain:
The afternoon: The Jaufenpass in the sun:
On to Brixen...
Once the tricky, switchbacked descent of the Jaufenpass is completed, there was still 36k down the valley to Brixen. This is where we got a decent bit of luck as almost immediately after we hit the valley floor we were able to latch onto the back of a bunch with five other teams all doing there bit to keep the pace high ensuring that we all made excellent progress to the finish.
Stats...
Totals ~ Duration: 5:34:01 ~ Riding: 5:20:59 ~ Dist: 123.7km ~ Elevation Gain: 2787mAverages ~ Speed: 23.1kph ~ Power: 183w ~ Heart Rate: 134 ~ Cadence: 69 ~ Temp: 20.8
Max ~ Speed: 66.2kph ~ Power: 836w ~ Heartrate: 156 ~ Cadence: 184 ~ Temp: 33.0C
Metrics ~ TSS: 313 ~ NP: 218w ~ IF: 0.757
Conclusions...
Stage 2 - Pos 313/660 teams. Overall - Pos 322/660 teams. A better day all round. Not only did I feel stronger, but we also moved up 24 positions (348 > 322) - it would have been more if we hadn't been beset with a flat - and are working our way towards Pen B...
Tomorrow...
Lined up for us tomorrow is a beut of a stage. At 85km it is very much a case of 'short and sweet' - as it includes two major climbs (Wurzjoch & Furkelpass) for 2,939 metres of climbing. Practically the same as today's 125km stage! Oh, and the rain seems to have moved on as the forecast is for warm & sunny.
Stage 3 Route Profile and Preview
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