When Guillaume Van Keirsbulck took off yesterday we got to see his attack live on TV and then the rest of the 200km procession. Good TV? Perhaps not unless you’re tuning in for the scenery but it’s better than the alternatives on a midweek afternoon.
Having all the stages televised live from start to finish is a novelty for 2017. Why? It’s a story of supply, demand and dull daytime TV schedules.
The first mountain stage of the race with the Planche des Belles Filles “summit finish”, a hard climb and the first time we’ll get a a vertical pecking order among the contenders for the overall win. All without Peter Sagan.
A hilly stage with a lively uphill finish. The different finish means different teams will chase today because the slopes in Longwy are too much for most sprinters which in turn means more riders might fancy their chance in the day’s breakaway.
Much has been made of Team Sky placing four riders in the top-10 of the Tour de France’s opening stage, including the special skinsuit with talk of a special new fabric incorporating aerodynamic advantages. Here’s a closer look at the material and the topic.
The choice of Düsseldorf was no accident. For sure it’s just over the border from France and the Tour de France likes its foreign starts, think of Yorkshire, Rotterdam and London in recent years. These foreign starts pay handsomely for the privilege and Düsseldorf paid close to €5 million. Look at this is an investment by Tour de France and the sport in general in the future of cycling in Germany, Europe’s biggest consumer market but a barren land for pro cycling.
Liège sans Bastogne and a stage out of Germany and into Belgium where big crowds and a sprint finish await. There’s the chance of crosswinds today too but don’t get your hopes up, the weather forecast says the winds could just get strong enough to make this happen but it’s not certain. If not then a sprint royale awaits.
The show begins with a 14km time trial around the city of Düsseldorf. Can Tony Martin deliver a home win and das Gelbe Trikot or will his record of close calls continue?
Chris Froome and Ritchie Porte are the top picks. Spend too long watching them and someone else will ride away, just as we saw in the recent Critérium du Dauphiné when Astana set up Jacob Fuglsang for the win. With a varied route ahead it’ll be as interesting to see how the win happens as well as who stands atop the podium in Paris.
With enough unknowns to keep Heisenberg, Socrates and Karl Popper guessing here’s a closer look at the contenders and pretenders for the podium in Paris.
Peter Sagan? Casual followers of the sport who tune in for the Tour de France rather than the whole season can be forgiven for thinking Sagan’s team kit is green given spends he spends most of July in the maillot vert and he’s won it five times in a row.
So another verdant victory? Probably but this year’s route offers more stages to the pure sprinters than usual allowing a dominant sprinter to rack up points ahead of a consistent Sagan. Here’s a look at the competition, the points scale, the stages and the likely challengers for the green jersey and the sprint stages.
