Le Tour de France is just days away! The 102nd edition starts on Saturday, July 4th, and ends on Sunday, July 26th.
RACE PREVIEW
The first week of Le Tour will be a crucial opportunity for Etixx - Quick-Step. The Grand Depart takes place in Utrecht (Netherlands) with a 13.7km individual time trial. Stage two is a seacoast race, going along the harbor from Utrecht to Zeeland during a completely flat 166km stage. The race then takes on an Classics feel as it moves into Belgium during Stage 3, 159.9km in total distance, from Anvers to Huy with a finish on Category 3 Mur de Huy. The Mur de Huy is 1.3km at 9.6% average gradient, but there is a ramp on this finale that reaches 19 percent gradient. There is also Category 4 Cote de Bohissau, Category 4 Cote d'Ereffe, and Category 4 Cote de Cherave to ascend during this stage. Stage 4, from Seraing to Cambrai, features the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix along its 223.5km of total distance. There are a total of seven sectors for a total of 13 kilometers. Six of these sectors are within a 30 kilometer span of the stage, with the last sector at the 210.5 kilometer mark. Stage 6, 189.5km from Arras Communauté Urbaine to Amiens Métropole, is an up-and-down affair through some of the battle regions of World War I. However, a sprint finale is anticipated. The 191.5km 6th Stage, from Abbeville to Le Havre, goes along the windy coast of Normandy. The parcours is undulating with three Category 4 ascents, and there is a small uphill going into the finish. Stage 7, from Livarot to Fougères, again has a slightly uphill into the finish, and while the stage could end in a group arrival, this might be a chance for a breakaway to make it to the line. This stage wraps up a period of several chances for the sprinters. Stage 8, from Rennes to Mûr-de-Bretagne, may be the first real opportunity for GC contenders to establish some time gaps. The Mûr-de-Bretagne concludes the 181.5km stage, and the riders will have to fight for two kilometers on a 6.9% average gradient with some steep ramps. Finally, to conclude the first week, there is the 28km TTT from Vannes to Plumelec. This is a hilly time trial including the Côte de Cadoudal (1.7km, 6.2%) to conclude the race against the clock.
After the first rest day the fight for the yellow jersey gets into full swing for the GC contenders. There is the Stage 10 finale on HC La Pierre Saint-Martin (15.3 kilometre-long climb at 7.4%), a climb featured in Le Tour for the first time in its history (it was a descent in 2007) with several very steep slopes. The are three stages spent in the Pyrenees, and several more up-and-down parcours in the southern portion of the Massif Central. Finally, the Tour de France heads into the Alps for the last week of racing. The high mountain summit stages, while shorter in distance, will be action packed as the top riders of the classification will be trying to further establish their advantages, or perhaps move up in the overall. The 110.5km penultimate stage of Le Tour includes a finale on the legendary Alpe d'Huez (13.8km, 8.1% average gradient), but HC Col de la Croix (29km, 5.2%) could lead to the peloton being splintered well before they reach the foot of the final climb. The Tour de France concludes with the prestigious arrival on the Paris Champs-Élysées.
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Good luck to all our riders and staff over the next few weeks! #OurWay