Once upon a time a “grand tour” was a term applied to the journey young noblemen would take around Europe to finish off their education, perfecting languages and learning new things. As a cycling term it seems only to have appeared only in the 1990s as a collective label for the respective tours of Spain, Italy and France and implies a three week race. But with women’s cycling building its own calendar, can the women’s peloton have its own grand tours in new places?
Wout Poels has punched ahead for the stage win but behind Jacob Fuglsand and Emanuel Buchmann are ahead of the rest of the contenders. The photo tells us plenty about the week with the wet weather visible and an Ineos worker unleashed.
The final stage of the Dauphiné and there’s still all to play for with the overall classification still wide open. Jacob Fuglsang leads but can he defend and win this race for the second time?
The big mountain stage that’s just 133km, today’s stage has a succession of climbs leading to the long slog up to the ski resort of Pipay.
The first of three mountain stages, today’s route is all about the final climb and it’s twisty descent with 20 hairpins to the finish.
The last chance for the sprinters as the race heads to the foot of the Alps. Sam Bennett made it look easy last time, can he play it again?
A rugged day across the Auvergne featuring narrow, rural roads and a passage through Brioude where Romain Bardet grew up and a Tour de France host town later this year. The final climb with 20km to go is steep and irregular and should ruin the day for several sprinters again.
A short loop around the Cantal region and its extinct volcanoes. The best bit is the climb of the Puy Mary, too early for TV but a spectacular road before a finishing circuit fearing a climb that will rumble any sprinters short of form. Note the early finish today to avoid a TV schedule clash with the tennis in Roland Garros.
