Here’s a downloadable calendar of the Tour de France for your electronic diary or phone with brief details of each stage.
The format proves very popular, perhaps there’s a big demand to schedule work and social life around the crucial days? With this in mind each stage has a star rating, a subjective take on the stage’s importance to the race, whether drama or likely importance for the overall classification.
New for 2017 all stages will be broadcast live from start to finish so more than ever it will pay to tune on for the big days and drop out for the duller ones. All stages are scheduled to finish around 5.00pm CET with the exception of the opening stage and the last one.
If you’re familiar with ical files, here’s the URL for the ics file:
Save the ics / iCal / iCalendar file and you can import it into your electronic diary. One or two clicks and it’s on your iPhone / Outlook etc. The default settings have alerts switched off but check your device to avoid annoyance.
Alternatively if you use Google then see calendar below and the +Google Calendar link on the bottom-right. Note this method can work with Android phones when the iCal file might not.
If you want more help on how to make use of this, see the inrng.com/calendar page which has the calendar for all the main men’s and women’s pro races in 2017 and a fuller explanation of how to put a calendar into Outlook, an iPhone, your diary etc.
Excitement builds.
Predictions. Quintana Porte Bardet. Froome collapse on mountains stages ends 5th behind Fuglsang.
Be still my beating heart.
That’s a pretty gutsy prediction. I rather suspect we will see a different Froome to the one that looked so erratic and even vulnerable in the Dauphine.
I personally hope Porte or Bardet win, but expect I’ll be disappointed on both counts.
I’m fascinated how prevalent the view is that someone can magically transform their form in 3 weeks. 21 days to significantly improve multiple facets of performance? It’s near impossible to entertain the notion that a transformation of that magnitude is possible without doping. Yet many people seem to take it as an article of faith that it’s not only possible but likely in the modern era.
If Froome does consistently outclimb the likes of Porte, Bardet, Aru and Quintana and/or replicate any of his impressive feats from last year (escaping in the crosswinds, imperious time-trialling, close behind the puncheurs on explosive steep finishes) – it will certainly raise my eyebrows.
As anyone who’s ever trained to an elite level will tell you, it’s extremely difficult to find that absolute peak of form and it’s only there briefly when you do find it. I’m far from a Sky apologist, but to me the fact that there is an obvious process of building form towards and peaking for one specific brief period is a stronger indication of a lack of doping rather than its presence.
Nibali 2014 had less pre TdF form than Froome this year.
And Evans 2012 had similar results to Froome so far 😉
Surely it is 2011? As Evans didn’t do that well at the Tour in 2012.
😉
I probably over-egged the point about doping. I don’t doubt the science behind peaking or achieving a ‘super-peak’. I just struggle with the magnitude of the change. Not quite zero to hero, but not all that far off either.
You’re absolutely right about Nibali. He was dropped consistently in the Dauphine but rode so strongly at the TdF that I have my doubts Froome or Contador could have overhauled him without their crashes.
I will be surprised if Porte or Bardet make the podium but happy to be proven wrong. Would also like to see Quintana attacking more convincingly than he was able to during the Giro.
Thanks as ever for this, really useful!
Thanks for putting this together, very useful.
The star system is useful, let’s hope there’s side-winds and/or successful breakaways for the one star stages to make them more interesting.
La Planche des Belles Filles, wonder if it’ll be as iconic as it was in 2012. As I recall, all of these happened, but I’m probably wrong on some (or all) of them:
-A great photo near the top of Evans, Wiggins, Froome and Nibali (outgoing champion, eventual champion of that year’s race and the winners of the next two tours de France)
-Froome’s first TdF stage win
-Wiggins into yellow for the first time in TdF
-First time we saw the infamous Sky train obliterate the field (love it or hate it) in a grand tour.
As an aside, my phone just auto-corrected Froome to “Drop me”. Not a word of a lie. Prophetic? Let’s see.
Countdown to first time in many years that Skytrain is derailed at Tdf.
Since the cortisone scandals and disclosure, can anyone name a mountain top finish between the GC guys, this year, that a Sky rider has won? Just one?
Not Landa who finished 3rd at a GT pre Sky..
Tour of the Alps stage 3
You discounting Landa’s Giro win because he wasn’t a contender because of the crash?
I’m one of the few Froomey opponents here ; ) but hope Froome for the sake of clean sport loses this time. Twice TUE (two TDF victories as a result), hypocrisy of him and Brailsford, their two faced policies… 4th victory like that will be a blow for the sport – plus UKAD investigation still rolling. Hope fresh wind will blow: 1. PORTE 2. NAIRO 3. CONTADOR
You have this wrong Sebas. You’ve misunderstood the what the how the why of TUE’s. It’s doubtful Team Sky and Froome will give you your wish of Postal/Armstrong MKII. Let’s just deal with facts though till we know different here? Not informed or helpful these sorts of comments.
I hope Porte or Nairo does it also though.
Although I think you’re on cloud cuckoo land thinking Contador will podium. Nada chance.
You cheer for Froome to lose in part because the dark cloud over Team Sky, but Porte spent some quality years developing under Team Sky….
Further, if you really want fresh wind to blow why do you cheer for a) past Operation Puerto athlete (Contador), b) leader of team who’s Manager led teamwide doping of Banesto, BigMig and Valverde, c) Porte (developed under Team Sky’s dark cloud, Team CSC, etc).
I’m not saying either of Contador, Nairo or Porte doped… but if you want a fresh wind… you need to look further!
Relating Valverde’s proven doping to the Movistar structure = knowing nothing at all about it. Great confusion about Indurain, too (the reasons to believe he was doping were outside the team!!! You can’t assume he was doping, perhaps with reasonable elements to think so, and then link that to the team…).
Not disagreeing about the message you try to convey, not at all, but let’s avoid spreading fake infos
Thanks buddy, another great post.
My point was, fresh blood doesn’t start with Movistar, Porte or Contador. You completely agreed with it.
Ibanesto paid Conconi for advice and other services (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/report-indurain-and-banesto-were-conconi-clients/), so yes Miguel Indurain’s training was taken care of by the team.
Top contenders are so close that it might get down to who has best team around. Froome built advantage on flats last year. Contador looks quite vulnerable in team context, also Aru.
have to swallow that expired beer. Berti’s team looks up for a task
Produce a calendar and the comments turn to doping. It must be July soon 😉
It’s a shame.
Great calendar though!
I think everyone commenting still loves cycling and will be watching despite any doping obsession, so hopefully it’s not all bad – just something to fill the time with.
Looking forward to your previews! Judith
Looking forward to the other previews too.
The “Who will win the Yellow/Green/Polka Dot jersey” posts are like Slade in the run up to Chrimbo.
Sorry! I’m not sure what came over me.
I apologise! I know… it must be cycling’s biggest month of the year!
That and we’re sitting in our offices in late June bored from work and dying to get into cycling.
Thanks for the great calendar. One suggestion would be to add a brief stage type to the event info (“sprint”, “mountain-top finish”, “mountain descent”, etc.) It is good to see the TT days on the event info.