Race analysis, favourites, and predictions for Ethias - Tour de Wallonie 2021

The Tour de Wallonie has found its place on the calendar between this summer's two major sporting events, the Tour de France and the Olympic Games. Luckily for the race, the mountainous profile of the Olympics’ course means that the quality of the startlist has not suffered too much, and it includes several top level riders.

Route

Wallonia is the French-speaking region of Belgium, and the route passes through the 5 provinces that make it up. Of the five stages, only the first seems destined for a bunch sprint finish. The second stage takes place in the surroundings of Liège and passes through traditional climbs of the Ardennes classics, such as La Redoute, and will surely be decisive for the general classification. The third stage also has a hilly profile, ideal for puncheurs, while stages 4 and 5 end in two final circuits with some elevation, so it is likely that they will end in some type of sprint of a selected group.

Favorites

Each stage grants 10, 6, and 4 seconds to the top three at the finish, and intermediate sprints give 3, 2, and 1 seconds. The starting list includes several sprinters with the ability to overcome the côtes, so it is possible that some of them can compete in the general classification. Among this type of cyclist, the European champion Giacomo Nizzolo (800) stands out, as they do Alexander Kristoff (600), Bryan Coquard (600), Andrea Vendrame (600), John Degenkolb (600), Kristoffer Halvorsen (600), Florian Senechal (400) Amaury Capiot (400) or Marc Sarreau (400).

Other candidates for the GC are men with more capacity uphill, such as Yves Lampaert (600) or the Italians Fausto Masnada (400), Gianluca Brambilla (400), Matteo Fabbro (400), Andrea Bagioli (400) or Alessandro de Marchi (400).