Posted by Phil Liggett on 7/3/2010 at 12:00AM
This opening stage of the Tour has been talked about a lot as a dangerous stage for the overall favorites. As was evidenced on similar roads in the Tour of Italy in May when it started from nearby Amsterdam, the roads in Holland are windswept and full of traffic signs and obstacles all designed to make the country safer for cyclists and to slow down vehicles.
What an irony that the Tour de France could see riders eliminated by the very traffic furniture designed for their safety!
The Dutch nation loves the Tour and will be out in their tens of thousands to wave farewell to the race as it heads for Belgium on the long 223 km stage from Rotterdam to Brussels. The route will take the riders down the west side of the small nation into Freisland, where the wind always blows and it is just a question of in which direction.
This is why the stage may not be for the sprinters as strong riders (remember Lance Armstrong last year in the crosswinds of the south of France) force the issue and try to split the field. Alberto Contador missed out last year and lost a few seconds and he must be more vigilant this time around. The Belgian border is crossed after 150 km of racing, but the route remains very flat as it winds its way into Brussels for a finish for only the tenth time since World War II ended.
The finish line along the dead straight Avenue Houba de Strooper is well-known to the riders in the Belgian Classic Paris-Brussels, and the winner of this race on five occasions, the Australian Robbie McEwen is particularly looking forward to the end of the day.
It will be a nervous start to the race as teams familiarize themselves with one another for the long road ahead
Slight chance of dry weather for first starters but then, serious risk (90%) of heavy rain and northwesterly winds in the second part of the race
Serious risk of temporarily heavy rain and strong winds in the second part of the "Prologue"
Winds : West to northwest 10 km/h, increasing 20 to 30 km/h, gusting temporarily 40 to 50 km/h under heavy rain