After a 2.3 kilometer individual time trial Prologue stage in the city of Sibiu, Romania opened the 2017 Sibiu Cycling Tour, Stage 1 will sent the riders out into the Romanian countryside for a long day in the saddle.
Stage 1 will once again depart from the city of Sibiu, with the peloton heading out of the city and into the rolling Transylvanian hills for 212 kilometers before another finish in Sibiu.
The stage will have endless excitement, as there will be seven significant climbs with mountains classification points up for grabs for the riders to face, and three intermediate sprints checkpoints along the way for the points classification.
The first climb the peloton will meet is just 7.3 km into the stage at the commune of Sura Mare, which involves over 100 meters of climbing at an average gradient of 4.64% for 2.2 kilometers. Soon after the first climb, at the 21.7 km mark, the riders will come to the first of the three intermediate sprint checkpoints in the village of Rusi. Less than 9 kilometers after the first sprint, there will be another sprint up to Seica Mare, which boasts the steepest average gradient of the day at 6.11%. The peloton will have until the 55 km mark until they reach the second intermediate sprint of the stage in the city of Blaj, followed by three consecutive 100 meter climbs at Cergaul Mare, Vingard, and Spring. Two more climbs at Presaca and Apoldu will be waiting for riders at the 139 and 174 km marks, respectively. Less than 5 kilometers after their final climb of the day, they will reach the third and final intermediate sprint in Sacel, 32 kilometers from the finish. Once the riders have summited the climb at Apoldu, it will be primarily all downhill from there back to Sibiu.
The finish in Sibiu will be fast and fast, with the final 3 kilometers being full straightaways except for a roundabout and two right-turns the riders must navigate.
There will undoubtedly be an early breakaway group that will look to capitalize on the significant length and numerous climbs on Stage 1.
Team Illuminate rider Edwin Avila, who currently sits 7 seconds back of the lead in 13th place overall, as well as CCC Sprandi Polkowice's Maciej Paterski will be favorites to take over the lead in the general classification after stage 1. Both riders put in solid showings at the Prologue, and have the experience and results in multi-day races to take the general classification lead. Avila and Paterski are both powerful and comfortable on the climbs, which will favor them on Stage 1.
The Italian duo of Andrea Palini and Luca Pacioni for Androni Giacattoli-Sidermec, who currently sit 1st and 2nd overall, have put themselves in great position after day 1, and will look to hold onto their positions after Stage 1. Both Palini and Pacioni have displayed outstanding power, and if they are able to position themselves well for the final 3 kilometers of Stage 1, they will both have a great chance of taking home the stage victory.
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