The final countdown to the 2018 Tour de France has begun, and with it comes Cyclingnews´ comprehensive look at the 21 stages that the 176 riders starting this year´s race will have to negotiate en route to the big finish in Paris. Starting in Noirmoutier-en-l´Ile in the Vendée on July 7, this year´s stages include a 35.5km team time trial around Cholet on stage 3 - a discipline that is often a very strong indicator of a team´s collective strength for the entire Tour - and a tough conclusion to the end of stage 6 with the climb of the Mûr-de-Bretagne, which last featured at the Tour in 2015, when AG2R`s Alexis Vuillermoz took the stage win ahead of Dan Martin. Stage 9 - on the day of the FIFA World Cup final - mimics the one-day Classic Paris-Roubaix, with its treacherous cobbled sectors, and the stage 17 mountain stage that, at just 65km long, should also provide fireworks - especially as the Tour will experiment with a unique start grid whereby the riders will set off together, but in order of the overall standings at that point in the race.ADVERTISEMENT There are three summit finishes - one of those being the legendary Alpe d´Huez, which returns to the race on stage 12 after a three-year absence - and two downhill finishes, at Le Grand Bornand on stage 10 and Bagnères-de-Luchon on stage 16, which can often be as much of an undoing for some riders as the challenge of the climbs. Alpe d`Huez makes a return to the race for the first time since 2015, when Thibaut Pinot, who will miss this year`s Tour, won the stage.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
|
