One Day to go - Prologue Preview

Time is running out to pick a Velogames team. The field for this year's Fantasy Tour De France, (or FTDF) is now even larger than the field for the Luxembourg time trial championships, and the battle for the prestigious Tour De Pance minileague title is sure to be just as fierce. In less than 24 hours, the first rider will be leaving the start-house, rolling down the start-ramp, and taking a quick spin around the streets of Rotterdam. Here's the route for the prologue time trial then.

At 8.9Km, it won't take too long for the top guys to get around - a bit over 10 minutes perhaps - even if it might be a bit windy in parts with a couple of corners to negotiate. As you can see there's not much in the way of hills to worry about, even the burliest of sprinters shouldn't be concerned about a climb of 16m. Those of you in the UK, (or if you're not in the UK and have a vpn connection) can watch a little video about the course on the ITV4 website.

If you're having trouble visualising the length of the circuit, I like to think of it in terms of my old commute to work. It's almost the exact distance from the crossroads on the A64, to my old house in York, with the time check coming at that bridge over the A64. My record for this trip seems to be 11:37, although I must confess I did have a bit of help from the Coastliner bus. Then again, I did have to stop for a bit, to turn into the Groves.

It's traditional for Fabian Cancellara to win the prologue and I can see no reason why this year will be any different - especially now he's got that electric bike. Also no slouches against the clock are Wiggins, Contador, Kreuziger, Martin and Evans. I can't really see anyone beating Fabian though, unless he gets hit with some bad weather or forgets to charge his battery.