A long coastal section with exposed roads that are narrow in parts, enough to fray the nerves any day but the forecast is for more crosswinds. The stage ends with a punchy uphill finish, perfect for Peter Sagan and everyone who tries to follow his wheel.
This Tour always means more cycling coverage and there are only so many hours a day you can watch the Tour de France and read about it online. For the rest there’s a podcast.
This year brings an explosion in the number of podcasts to download, here are some thoughts and links to some of them.
Almost a rest day, this stage was promised for the sprinters and supposed to offer a predictable scenario. Only strong winds are forecast and we could have an afternoon of crosswind action.
The stage and the yellow jersey for Tony Martin. Since Stage 1 he’s been second on GC and it was becoming a comedy skit where he stands in line in the queue for the yellow jersey and only for someone to jump in front each time its his turn. On the Mur de Huy Chris Froome was timed as 0.94 seconds behind Joaquim Rodriguez and since it wasn’t a clear full second it left Martin was second on GC and out of yellow for just 0.06 seconds. This time even a puncture and riding on a team mates bike didn’t stop him.
Want to draw your own route for the Tour de France? You could start with a map and a pen but what you really need is a TV remote control, if not in your hand then in your mind. More than ever the Tour de France route is being designed for television viewers, to make racing rhyme with ratings and ensuring that the opening week is as worth watching as the mountain stages. Today’s feared cobbled stage is just one example.
Crosswinds, the Ardennes and now it’s time for some cobbles in the North of France. The Tour de France continues its tour of the spring classics.
Fabian Cancellara is out with a broken back, others left the race too and all before today’s stage, the most feared of them all.
The first hills of the Tour de France with the infamous Mur de Huy and its 20% slopes as the finish. Unlike the spring classic this is climbed only once so there are subtle differences between today’s stage and April’s Flèche Wallonne race.
A flat run across before the finish on the coastal defences that stop the Netherlands from being submerged by the North Sea. The clue is in the oxymoronic name: Zeeland, sea land.
The rubber hits the road as the 102nd Tour de France opens with a 14km time trial around Utrecht.
Is this going to be fairy tale Tour? A win for Tom Dumoulin in front of a home crowd is the perfect start however this looks like a predictable win for Tony Martin.
Do you really want to know who’s going to win? Hopefully we’ll be kept waiting until the final mountain stage and the climb to Alpe d’Huez.
This year’s race is open with four names at the top of the bill and there’s a supporting cast to bring surprises. Here’s the preview of the main names hoping to win the yellow jersey.