In the past, the Tour de France course often featured lots of time trialling that gave the climbers the upper hand over the climbers. Since Christian Prudhomme took over the role of race director, the balance has tipped and the amount of individual racing has been significantly scaled back. With only 13.8km of racing against the clock and no less than 7 stages in the Alps and the Pyrenees, this year’s Tour de France definitely favours the climbers but to get to the major ascents they will have to survive a brutal first week that is made up of a series of classics that will set the scene for nervous racing and create more selection than usual. CyclingQuotes.com takes a look at each of the 21 stages that will make for a huge three-week celebration of cycling.

 

During Jean-Marie Leblanc’s tenure as race director, the Tour de France courses were usually loaded with time trials. It was not unusual for the race to include a prologue, two long, mostly flat individual TTs of more than 50km and a team time trial. In those years, the climbers struggled against the complete riders and it was very hard to conquer the world’s biggest race without possessing solid TT skills.

 

When he took over the reins, Christian Prudhomme started to gradually transform the event by scaling back the amount of time trialling. Already in 2008, one of the individual time trials had been shortened significantly and the prologue had been skipped. In 2009, there was only one long time trial of 40km after the race had kicked off with a short, hilly TT in Monaco and included a short technical team time trial. The 2010 and 2011 editions both had only one longer time trial and in 2013 one of the time trials was one for climbers and not specialists. In 2014, there was just a single long time trial at the end. Only the 2012 edition bucked the trend as that race featured two long TTs and a limited amount of climbing.

 

This development has made the race more suited to climbers but for the 2015 edition, the trend has been taken a further step. For the first time ever, ASO have designed a course where the riders will only do 13.8km of individual time trialling and they all come on the very first day on the race. While the Giro and the Vuelta have usually had limited amount of time trialling, it’s a novelty for the Tour to put the time triallists so much at a disadvantage. When the course was announced, Chris Froome – clearly the best time trialling among the GC contenders – even considered to skip the event in favour of the Giro-Vuelta double. However, in the end, he decided to return to the race in a bid to take a second consecutive win.

 

In addition to cutting down the amount of time trialling, ASO have included more mountain stages than they have had in recent history. This year the race won’t venture into the Vosges or the Jura mountains but with no less than three big stages in the Pyrenees and four consecutive stages in the Alps at the end of the race, the balance is clearly tipped towards the climbers. Furthermore, the stages are tougher than usual. Very often the stages in the first mountain range has been rather mellow to avoid making an early decision but this year even the Pyrenean stages can do a lot of damage before the riders get to the decisive battle in the Alps. To make things even better for the climbers, they will have the upper hand right until the end as the final mountain stage comes on the penultimate day, with just the ceremonial stage to Paris remaining.

 

The race usually alternates between giving the Pyrenees and the Alps the role as race decider and after last year’s big climax in the former mountain range, the final battle will now take place in the mountains on the French-Italian border. Furthermore, the transitional stages in the second week have been made harder than usual as the riders will both head into the hilly Massif Central for a tough summit finish on the famous and very steep Montee Laurent Jalabert in Mende and tackle the famous final Col de Manse circuit around Gap.

 

However, it will not be all about the climbs and the TTs. In the past, the first week has often been a sprint festival but this year the script has been changed. For the second time in the history, the race will start abroad two years in a row as last year’s English grand depart will be followed by a start in the Dutch city of Utrecht. After the opening time trial, the riders will travel through the traditional classics terrain in the Netherlands, Belgium and Northern France in what is simply a brutal first week that can be regarded as a series of 7 consecutive classics. In the second stage, they will be challenged by the Dutch wind in the Zeeland province, one day later the GC riders will have their first battle in a mini Fleche Wallonne with a finish on the Mur de Huy and on the fourth day the feared Paris-Roubaix cobbles will be back for a second consecutive year. Then the riders head towards Bretagne along lumpy, narrow roads, giving unusually many opportunities to puncheurs who will have their chance to shine on the short steep ramp in Le Havre and the return to the uphill finish on the Mur de Bretagne.

 

It all comes to a very exciting conclusion one day before the first rest day when the riders tackle a 28km team time trial. Its inclusion is no surprise as ASO usually include the collective discipline every second year but it is highly unusual for a TTT to come on the ninth day of racing. At this point, many teams will be depleted and as the course is very hilly with a tough climb at the end, teams will struggle to keep five riders together in the finale of a day that can produce much bigger time gaps than one would initially expect. With such a tough week, it is no surprise that the main contenders refuse to look too far ahead and they prefer to get safely through the first week before they can take stock of the situation and set realistic goals. The only pre-race favourite who is looking forward to the opening week, is probably Vincenzo Nibali who hopes to repeat last year’s successful ride over the cobbles.

 

While the climbers are licking their lips in anticipation, the sprinters have been left disappointed. The first week has traditionally been loaded with bunch sprints but this year there are only three sprint opportunities before the riders get their first rest day. To make things worse, the transitional stages in the second week that have traditionally given some room for the fast finishers, only include one possible sprint stage and it even includes a significant amount of climbing. As the final week takes place entirely in the Alps – except for the final stage – bad luck could see the sprinters contest no bunch sprints between stage 7 and the final stage in Paris. Instead, the unusually diverse route will give lots of opportunities for versatile riders like Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews and John Degenkolb and if Giant-Alpecin had to miss Marcel Kittel in one Tour, this probably isn’t the worst year for it to happen.

 

Below we give an analysis of each of the race's 21 stages to find out where the race can be won or lost, where the pitfalls are hidden and where the sprinters and escapees may have a chance to shine.

 

Stage 1, Saturday July 4: Utrecht – Utrecht, 13.8km ITT

While Jean-Marie Leblanc was still in charge of the Tour de France, the race usually had a lot more time trialling than it has done in recent years, and the event always kicked off with a time trial. When Christian Prudhomme took over the responsibility, he not only reduced the number of TT kilometres, he also deviated from the pattern of hosting a race against the clock on the opening day.

 

In 2008 the race opened with a traditional road stage for the first time in several years, with Alejandro Valverde winning an uphill sprint in Plumelec. In 2011, the time trillists again missed the chance to go for glory on the opening day when another uphill sprint on the Mont des Alouettes saw Philippe Gilbert take the first yellow jersey of the race.

 

Since the bonus seconds were skipped in 2008, the sprinters have had no chance to overcome their early deficits to ride into yellow, and until 2013 the last bunch kick expert to wear the coveted leader's jersey was Tom Boonen in 2006 (if you omit Thor Hushovd's stint in yellow in 2011 which was not due to his ability as a sprinter). In 2013, Prudhomme not only kicked off the race with a road stage. As it was completely flat, he gave the sprinters what at the time seemed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take yellow on the opening day of the race. Marcel Kittel made the most of it when he won a very confusing opening sprint that saw riders like Mark Cavendish, André Greipel and Peter Sagan being held up by crashes. Last year the sprinters again had the first shot at the yellow jersey and in a dramatic uphill sprint in Harrogate it was Kittel who made it two in a row.

 

This year Prudhomme has returned to the traditional formula with an opening time trial and for the first time since 2012 it will be an individual effort that decides the first holder of the yellow jersey. Back then, Fabian Cancellara powered around the course to win the prologue in Rotterdam on a dramatic day when Tony Martin suffered a mechanical at a time when he was in a good position to win the stage. In fact, Cancellara is unbeaten in an opening Tour de France time trial since Thor Hushovd took the win in 2006.

 

For the second year in a row, the race will have a start abroad and that has only happened once before, in 2009 and 2010 when the race started in Monaco and Rotterdam respectively. This year it is the city of Utrecht that will welcome the Tour and it marks the second Dutch Grand Depart in just 6 years.

 

The Dutchmen seem to have a preference for opening time trials and this year they have designed a 13.8km course in the centre of Utrecht. In fact, it is the longest opening time trial since 2009 and it is rare for a first-day TT to be longer than 10km. The course is completely flat, with the riders staying between 3m and 5m above sea level, but it is a pretty technical affair. At least 15 turns and two roundabouts will challenge the riders over the short distance, making it hard to get into a rhythm. They come throughout the entire stage, with the first half being slightly less technical that the second part. The final left-hand turn comes just 370m from the line after the riders have turned right just before the flamme rouge.

 

With an opening time trial being an exception, the time triallists have all made the opening stage one of their biggest goals for the year and specialists like Tony Martin and Tom Dumoulin have specifically prepared for the event. The former is still desperately chasing a first stint in yellow while the latter would love to wear the leader’s jersey in his home country. However, they will be up against Fabian Cancellara who is one of the best time triallists on short, technical courses and Adriano Malori has also made this stage a big goal. For the GC riders, it will be an important day as well as solid gaps can be made over this distance and Chris Froome will be keen to gain as many seconds as possible in what will be the only ITT of the race. The sprinters usually do well in prologues and will be keen to stay within striking distance of the yellow jersey. They will find the technical nature of the course to their liking but the distance is probably a bit too much for them to realistically aim for yellow in stage 2.

 

Utrecht last hosted the finish of a grand tour stage in 2010 when Tyler Farrar beat Matthew Goss and Fabio Sabatini in a bunch sprint on stage 2 while Cadel Evans took over the maglia rosa after prologue winner Bradley Wiggins had missed a split in the finale.

 

 

 

 

Stage 2, Sunday July 5: Utrecht – Zelande, 166km

The first week of the Tour de France has often been dominated by sprinters but this year there won’t be much room for the fast men to shine. In fact, the opening third of the three-week race offers only three chances for the pure sprinters while the final two weeks may not have a single bunch sprint before the race reaches Paris on the final day. Hence, they have to make the most of their few opportunities and they will get the first one on the second day.

 

However, it won’t be easy for them to get the chance to show their fast legs in the Dutch region of Zeeland. The first week is made up of a series of classics that includes the features that characterize the big one-day races: short, steep climbs, cobbles and wind. The first road stage will test the riders’ ability to handle the latter challenge as Zeeland is famously known for its windy conditions.

 

In 2010, the Giro d’Italia had a dramatic stage in this part of the country on a day when echelon split the peloton to pieces and Cadel Evans lost the leader’s jersey. Since then, the Tour de France has visited the region once, also in 2010 when the opening road stage included a long section along the coast. However, the race finished in Bruxelles far from the sea and as it was a relatively calm day, it all came down to a traditional bunch sprint won by Alessandro Petacchi.

 

This year ASO have taken it one step further as the second half of the stage will take place almost entirely along the coast while the finish will be on the dams at Neeltje Jans. At just 166km, it is a relatively short affair that starts in Utrecht and consists of a southwesterly run. The stage is completely flat and will see the riders first travel to Rotterdam where the intermediate sprint is located at the 80.5km mark. They will hit the coastal road after around 115km of racing and then the final 50km will take place along the sea. Often the riders will have water on both sides of the road.

 

The finale is very straightforward. Just before the 5km to go mark, there will be myriad of roundabouts but after the riders have taken two turns in quick succession just before the four kilometres to go mark, the road is completely straight and flat. The riders will pass a bridge to reach the island of Roggenplaat with 3km to go, entering a bridge that brings them back to the Neeltje Jans island when they reach the flamme rouge. The finishing straight is 1380m long and on a 7m wide road.

 

The first road stage of the Tour de France is always extremely nervous and this year it will only be worse. Everybody will be very afraid of missing a split and even if it is not very windy, everybody wants to be near the front, especially in the finale where they will be riding near the coast. Echelons usually occur when riders are unprepared and that won’t be the case in this stage. However, if the wind is very strong, we may see splits and there is no doubt that specialist teams like Etixx-QuickStep and LottoNL-Jumbo will be prepared to grab an opportunity. Crashes are almost guaranteed to happen and if the wind fails to split the peloton, the tumbles may cause favourites to lose time. With the nervousness, the early break may be caught far from the finish and there is no doubt that it will all come down to a sprint. The only question is whether the entire peloton will be present in the end. The sprinters hope to get the chance to wear yellow as bonus second have been reintroduced but they are unlikely to be within striking distance after the opening time trial.

 

As said, Zeeland hosted stages of the 2010 Giro d’Italia and 2010 Tour de France but none of them finished at the Neeltje Jans which will welcome a grand tour stage for the first time ever. Part of this stage featured in the first stage of the World Ports Classic where the riders travelled from Rotterdam to Antwerp. The wind partly split the peloton before Andrea Guardini took a narrow victory in a bunch sprint.

 

 

 

 

Stage 3, Monday July 6: Anvers – Huy, 159.5km

After what is likely to have been a windy and crash-marred drama, the series of classics continues on the third day when the riders will be tested in a mini edition of the Fleche Wallonne. In the past, ASO have often sent the riders into classics terrain in the first week and while the cobbled stages have taken most of the attention, small Ardennes classics have also been on the menu. In 2006, it was the famous Cauberg that ended a mini version of the Amstel Gold Race and this year it is the brutally steep slopes of the Mur de Huy that will send the thoughts back to April and Fleche Wallonne.

 

 The Mur de Huy is one of the most famous climbs in Europe and with its location in Belgium close to the French border, it is somewhat of a surprise that it has never hosted a stage finish in the past. This year it will finally make its debut in the world’s biggest race and with its iconic profile it turns stage 3 into one of the most prestigious of the race. The puncheurs and Ardennes specialists have all red-circled this stage as one of their biggest opportunities to win a stage and many of the GC contenders did this year’s edition of Fleche Wallonne to get a chance to do the finale of this stage at race pace.

 

This year ASO changed the finale of Fleche Wallonne by including the tough Cote de Cherave less than 10km from the finish. This made the race even more selective and made for an aggressive finale. ASO have decided to follow the same formula in stage 3 of the Tour de France as the finale will be completely identical to the one that provided a great show a few months ago. The main difference between the two races is the fact that the Tour stage is much shorter and has much easier first part.

 

At just 159.5km, the stage brings the riders from the major city of Antwerpen to the finish at the top of the Mur de Huy in the city of Huy. Antwerpen is located in a completely flat part of Belgium and so the first half of the stage is an almost completely flat southeasterly run towards the Ardennes. The terrain gradually gets hiller but it is in the city of Andenne at the 105km mark that the real climbing starts,

 

Here the riders will go up the first categorized climb of the race, the category 4 Cote de Bohisseau (2.4km, 5.5%) that is known from Fleche Wallonne. The next part of the stage is undulating and leads to the city of Havelange where the riders will contest the intermediate sprint and turn around to head in a northerly direction to the finish in Huy. The sprint is quite challenging as there’s a tough climb summiting 1.5km from the line and the final 500m are also uphill at a gradient of around 4%.

 

From there 31.5km remain and they are very challenging. After an easier first part, the riders hit the category 4 Cote d’Ereffe (2.1km, 5%) that is also known from Fleche Wallonne. Then they descend to the outskirts of Huy where they start the small loop on the western outskirts of the city that sees them go up the category 4 Cote de Cherave (1.3km, 8.1%). It’s a pretty steep climb on a narrow road with cobbles at the bottom. The summit is located just 5.5km from the finish and is followed by a non-technical descent that leads to the flat road along the Meuse river with 4km to go. The riders will follow that road until they go through two roundabouts, with the final of those leading onto the lower slopes of the Mur de Huy (1.3km, 9.6%) which is a category 3 climb. After an easy start, the climb gets brutally steep, with its toughest section of 19% coming just a few hundred metres from the top where some of the greatest puncheurs have taken some of their biggest victories. The finishing straight is just 150m long and 5m wide.

 

This stage is hugely prestigious and riders like Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim Rodriguez and Dan Martin have all made it a big target in the early part of the race. Hence, there is no chance that a breakaway will be allowed to stay away on another day that could very well be a crash-marred affair. There are lots of narrow, hilly roads in the finale and everybody wants to be in a good position for the Cote de Cherave where the first selection of the Tour will be made. With the shorter distance and less difficult course, the peloton will be bigger than it was in Fleche Wallonne and with more at stake, the nervousness will be enormous. The Cote de Cherave is a good launch pad for attacks but it will be a big surprise if it doesn’t come down to an uphill sprint on the steep slopes of the Mur. History shows that significant time differences can be made on this steep ascent, with the 20th rider often losing around 20 seconds to the winner. Furthermore, there will be important bonus seconds to pick up for the puncheurs who will also have their eyes on the yellow jersey. The climb is too steep for the big time triallists but solid climbers like Tony Martin and Tom Dumoulin should be able to limit their losses to possibly defend or take the yellow jersey. For the big GC favourites, it will be all about staying close to the best as the climb is too explosive to suit Froome, Contador, Nibali and Quintana.

 

As said, the Mur de Huy has never hosted a stage finish in the Tour before but it has been the scene of the finale of Fleche Wallonne for more than 20 years. In April, Valverde won the race for the second year in a row, beating Julian Alaphilippe and Michael Albasini in the uphill sprint after having edged out Dan Martin and Michal Kwiatkowski in 2014. In 2013 Daniel Moreno took the biggest win of his career while Joaquim Rodriguez was the fastest in 2012. In 2011 Philippe Gilbert won the race during his dominant run of classics success while Cadel Evans and Davide Rebellin won in 2010 and 2009 respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 4, Tuesday July 7: Seraing – Cambrai, 223.5km

After stages in the wind and the hills, the series of classics continues with one of the most anticipated stages of the race. For the second year in a row, ASO have decided to include some of the famous cobbles from Paris-Roubaix and like last year one of the flattest stages of the race may be the one that creates the biggest time differences between the overall contenders.

 

In the past, the cobbles have only featured on the route in in select editions and last year they were back after a four-year absence as the race was set to commemorate the anniversary of the start of World War I. Last year race director Christian Prudhomme has defended their inclusion, claiming that the most complete rider also needs to handle the rough surface in Northern France. However, he made it clear that a cobbled stage shouldn’t be on the course every year but after last year’s rainy drama that was widely regarded as the best race of the entire season, he has been unable to resist the temptation to include the paves for the second year in a row.

 

Like last year the ride on the cobbles is the stage that has received most pre-race attention and all the main favourites have been in Northern France to do a recon ride. Nairo Quintana has even followed the formula used by his teammate Alejandro Valverde in 2014 by riding Dwars door Vlaanderen and E3 Harelbeke to get a first taste of the pave at race speed. However, none of the contenders have been at the start of Pairs-Roubaix which is regarded as being too dangerous for the grand tour riders.

 

Like last year a lot of GC riders immediately expressed their concern. With so much at stake, the nervousness and battle for position will be fierce and as most of the riders have very little experience in this kind of racing, crashes are bound to happen. Due to this stage, a lot of riders go into the race without making too many long-term plans as they first need to see how they get through the battle on the cobbles.

 

Last year’s stage was a very short one but this year’s ride over the cobbles with be much more like a real Paris-Roubaix as the distance is much closer to the one of a real classic. This year the riders will tackle a 223.5km course that brings the riders from Seraing on the outskirts of the Belgian Ardennes to the French city of Cambrai. However, there will be just 7 paves with a total length of 13.3km compared to the nearly 30 sectors and more than 50km of cobbles in the queen of the classics and in this stage the paves are almost all located near the very end of the stage which is very different from Paris-Roubaix where the final half of the race is littered with the brutal surface. Last year the riders tackled 9 sectors with a total length of 15.4km and the last pave was located just 6.5km from the finish while this year’s cobbles end 23.5km from the finish line.

 

The stage consists of a long southeasterly run in one of the flattest parts of the area. The first part of the stage is almost completely flat and only features the famous citadel in Namur whose cobbled slopes are well-known from the GP Wallonie which is held in September. It is a 2km category 4 climb with an average gradient of 4.8% which will mainly serve as a target for riders targeting an early stint in the mountains jersey. Then it is back into flat terrain for the final part of the stage where the only danger comes from the wind and the dreaded cobbles.

 

The riders will get a first taste of the cobbles on the Pont-a-Celles a Gouy-lez-Pieton pave (1800m) which comes at the 103.5km mark but it will mainly serve as an appetizer. Just before they reach French soil, the riders will contest the intermediate sprint at the 137km mark which is located in the city of Havay, is slightly uphill and comes at the end of a long straight road.

 

Back in France, the race will get serious with 46km to go when the riders hit the second pave and from now on there will be little room for recovery. First up is the Famars sector (1200m) followed by the Verchain-Maugre sector (1600m) just 5.5km later. The Saulzoir sector (1200m) comes with 36km to go and then there is a longer section of tarmac befor the riders get to the Saint-Python (1500m) sector. It is followed by the Queivy (3700m) sector which started with 23.5km to go and is the most difficult of the 7 paves. Finally, the riders will tackle the Carnieres sector (2300) with just 13km to go before they get to the flat asphalt road that leads to the finish.

 

Last year’s finish was spectacular as the stage ended just in front of the Arenberg forest but this year the surroundings will be less famous as the finish line is located in the centre of Cambrai. The riders will follow a long straight road until they take a left-hand turn with 1600m to go. Then there are 90-degree left-hand turns with 600m and 500m to go before the riders get to the finishing straight which is slightly uphill and on a 7m wide road.

 

Compared to last year’s stage, this year’s battle on the cobbles is less difficult. The total length of the paves is shorter, they are located farther from the finish and the sectors are less difficult. However, it will still be a huge battle that will create big time differences between the overall contenders, especially if the conditions are rainy like list year. In fact, the difference may be made more by the fight for position and crashes than by the cobbles themselves as everybody wants to be in a good position at the start of the second sector and it will be a huge sprint to the entrance. Last year the major splits happened even before the riders got to the cobbles and Chris Froome had abandoned the race before they had even done a single pave. Apart from the team time trial, this is probably the stage where team support plays the biggest role and riders have been selected almost solely due to this stage. After his splendid showing in 2014, Vincenzo Nibali hopes to gain time in this stage while Froome, Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana probably have a defensive mindset. At the same time, it is a huge goal for big specialists like Fabian Cancellara, Sep Vanmarcke, Peter Sagan, John Degenkolb, Zdenek Stybar and Alexander Kristoff but most of them also have GC riders to take care of. It will be interesting to see how much freedom Sagan will get or whether he will be asked to stay with Contador who suffered a lot on the cobbles 12 months ago.

 

Last year’s stage on the cobbles was held in rainy conditions and was a huge drama. Chris Froome crashed for the second day in a row and left the race before they had hit the pave. Lots of favourites were set back by crashes while Alberto Contador rode surprisingly poorly in the harsh conditions. Instead, it was the Astana trio of Lieuwe Westra, Vincenzo Nibali and Jakob Fuglsang and the Belkin pair of Sep Vanmarcke and Lars Boom who shone, with Fuglsang, Nibali and Boom even distancing the likes of Sagan and Cancellara after Vanmarcke had punctured out of the lead group. In the end, Boom escaped to take a solo victory on a memorable day in France.

 

Before the 2014 race, the cobbles were last used in 2010 when the exact same finish was used. Back then, however, there were fewer kilometres of pave and the final section was farther from the finish. Nonetheless, the selection was pretty big but it was mostly caused by a big crash that took Frank Schleck out of the race on one of the first sectors. Thor Hushovd won the sprint from a 6-rider group that contained GC contenders Cadel Evans and Andy Schleck while a small group with Jurgen Van Den Broeck and Bradley Wiggins arrived 53 seconds later. Alberto Contador was also in that group but a late mechanical saw him lose another 20 seconds while Lance Armstrong had a lot of bad luck and finished with the first big group. In 2004, the cobbles were also on the course and back then it spelled the end for Iban Mayo’s podium aspirations on a day when Jean-Patrick Nazon won a bunch sprint.

 

Cambrai has not hosted a stage finish for more than a decade.

 

 

 

 

Stage 5, Wednesday July 8: Arras Communauté Urbaine – Amiens Metropole, 189.5km

The first week of the Tour de France is usually a sprint festival but this year the fast finishers don’t have much room to shine. They will get their first chance in stage 2 but if that stage ends in a windy carnage where crashes leave many with empty hands, they will have to wait until stage 5 where a bigger separation has been made, the race should be a bit calmer and the script be far more predictable.

 

In fact, stage 5 has all the characteristics of a classic sprint stage and it should give the GC riders a small chance to relax after several days of constant stress and the pure sprinters a rare chance to shine. The course brings the riders over 189.5km from Arras to Amiens and first consists of a small loop on the southern outskirts of Lens and then a long southerly run to the city of Peronne which comes just after the feed zone. This part of France is mainly flat and even though there are rolling hills along the way, there are no categorized climbs. Before they reach Peronne, the riders will contest the intermediate sprint at the 89.5km mark and it is straightforward flat affair that comes at the end of a long straight road of almost 2km.

 

Having passed Peronne, the riders will head in a westerly direction as they start their journey towards Bretagne where the weekend stages will be held. They will do digress a bit from the straight road to Amiens as they will head north, west and south before they complete their westerly journey. However, it does nothing to change the flat terrain.

 

The finale has a technical sting in its tail. Having followed a long, straight road with three roundabouts, the riders will turn left with 2.3km to go to get onto another long, straight avenue. However, they will take a sharp right-hand turn with just 480m to go to get onto the 7m wide finishing straight, meaning that positioning is hugely important. The road is not completely flat as it will be slightly uphill from 1.5km to 500m to go before the riders turn onto the slightly descending finishing straight.

 

There is no chance that the sprinters will miss this opportunity which is one of only four stages that is tailor-made for the pure bunch kick experts. This means that the stage will be firmly controlled by the big sprint teams and with no KOM points on offer, there is little incentive for anyone to go on the attack. The race may be a bit calmer than it has been in the previous stages but as we are still in the third week, the final hour of the race will be tense with crashes being a huge danger. Furthermore, the wind is always a potential threat in this part of France. In any case, some kind of sprint is likely to decide a stage that is a big target for the fastest finishers.

 

Amiens last hosted a stage finish in 1999 when Mario Cipollini beat Tom Steels and Jaan Kirsipuu in a bunch sprint, with the latter picking up bonus seconds that consolidated his overall lead.

 

 

 

 

Stage 6, Thursday July 9: Abbeville – Le Havre, 191.5km

The Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana are famously known for their many stage finishers on short, steep climbs and those finales have made the two smaller grand tours big targets for the puncheurs. Things have been different at the Tour de France where the geography has made it harder for the organizers to find that kind of finales and so the French race has been more geared towards the pure sprinters.

 

This year ASO have taken an innovative approach to change the usual script. They have designed a first week that can be described as a series of classics and this year the puncheurs will have just as many opportunities as the fast finishers in the first part of the race. Before the riders get to the first rest day, three stages seem destined to end in bunch sprint but another three stages end on short punchy climbs. However, the three finales on the Mur de Huy, in Le Havre and the Mur de Bretagne are all different, with the steep Mur de Huy being more for the punchy climbers and Ardennes specialists, the Cote d’Ingouville in Le Havre being for strong uphill sprinters and the Mur de Bretagne being somewhere in between.

 

The Le Havre stage comes on day 6 and in addition to featuring a nasty finale, it will be a very nervous affair as the second half takes place along the coast where the wind always poses a huge threat. Furthermore, the coastal road in this part of France is deceptively lumpy and is almost always up and down, meaning that it will definitely not be a day for the pure sprinters. The toughness of these roads were last put on show in 2012 when the riders also tackled a few stages in this area, with Peter Sagan, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Mark Cavendish all shining in the hard terrain.

 

The stage brings the riders over 191.5km from Abbeville to Le Havre and consists of a long southwesterly run towards Bretagne. The first part of the stage is mainly flat with just a few rolling hills but the racing gets serious in the city of Dieppe at the 67.5km mark. From here, the rest of the stage will take place on the coastal road with just a very short digression between the feed zone and the intermediate sprint.

 

After Dieppe, the roads are rarely completely flat. Instead, it is littered with short climbs of which three are categorized. The category 3 Cote de Dieppe (1.8km, 4%) and Cote de Pourville-sur-Nere (2km, 4.5%) come in quick succession at the 72km and 77.5km mark. The final categorized climb comes much later at the 162km mark where the riders will go up the category 4 Cote du Tilleul (1.6km, 5.6%) but in between there are at least seven small climbs that are clearly visible on the stage profile. One of them will be the scene of the intermediate sprint at the 145.5km mark where the riders will fight on a 2km straight road that is constantly uphill, with the final kilometre averaging 3.2%.

 

After the top of the Cote du Tilleul, the terrain gets a bit easier for most of the final 29.5km mark as it is mainly flat until the riders go down a small descent with 7km to go. From there the coastal road is mainly flat as the riders enter Le Havre before they leave the sea by taking two sharp turns in quick succession just before the 3km to go mark. 700m later there are another two consecutive bends that leads to the bottom of the Cote d’Ingouville with 1.5km to go. The short 850m climb has a 7% average gradient and includes a right-hand turn with 1200m to go. The climb ends around 500m from the finish and from there it is only slightly uphill with a gradient of around 1%, with a very slight bend coming 400m from the line on the 6.5m wide road.

 

If this is a windy day, it will be carnage on the hilly, narrow roads along the coast. The combination of wind and short climbs will make the racing much harder than the profile will suggest and it will definitely not be an intact peloton that arrives at the bottom of the final climb. As everybody will be attentive, it requires a very strong wind to split the field but the crashes and the toughness of the race could create a rather big selection. Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews and John Degenkolb will have marked this stage out as one of their biggest objectives and so there will be no room for attackers. It won’t be easy to control the stage but the combination of nervousness and ambitious sprinters should make it a day for an uphill sprint. For the GC riders, it will be all about staying safe and possibly grab an opportunity in the windy conditions but Alejandro Valverde may also fancy his chances to pick up a few bonus seconds in the uphill sprint.

 

Le Havre has not hosted a Tour de France stage for more than a decade.

 

 

 

 

Stage 7, Friday July 10: Livarot – Fougères, 190.5km

In the past, most teams that didn’t have a potential overall winner, always had a sprinter in their line-up. The many bunch kicks would make half of the race a dull affair if there was no fast finisher in the team but this year several squads have decided to leave their sprinters at home. That is no surprise as there is very little room for them to shine. The first week only offers three real bunch sprint opportunities and when the riders have arrived in Fougères at the end of stage 7, they may have to wait until the final day in Paris before they can again stretch their legs in a real bunch kick.

 

Stage 7 brings the riders over 190.5km from Livarot to Fougères and almost completes the journey from the eastern part of the country to Bretagne in the western part. Unlike the previous stage which took place almost entirely along the coast, the riders have now travelled inland where the terrain is significantly flatter. The southwesterly trip only includes a single categorized climb in the early part of the stage when the riders go up the category 4 Cote de Canapville (1.9km, 4.7%) at the 12.5km mark. From there, only rolling hills can challenge the riders on a day that offers little elevation gain.

 

The main highlight comes at the 65.5km mark when the riders will contest the intermediate sprint. It couldn’t be more straightforward as it comes at the end of a long, flat road of more than 3km in the city of Argentan.

 

The only slight change in the terrain is that it will get even flatter towards the end, leading to a finale that is suited to the fast guys. The riders will turn left in a roundabout around 4km from the finish and then they will pass straight through another two roundabouts before they turn right in the final such obstacle with 800m to go. Then there is a very light left-hand bend with 600m to go and then the road bends very slightly to the right until it straightens out for the final 90m on the 6m finishing straight. The final part of the stage is mainly slightly downhill but the final 600m are uphill at a gradient of 2-3%.

 

The finishing straight may be a little bit uphill which will favour a certain type of sprinters but it will do nothing to change the fact that this is one of the easiest stages of the race. The wind always poses a threat in this part of the country and if it is a windy day, everyone will have to be on their toes. Otherwise, only crashes can really split the peloton and there is no chance that the sprinters will let this opportunity slip away. After today they will go into survival mode and only the strongest of them will get more chances before they get to the prestigious final day. For the GC riders, it will be all about using as little energy as possible before they enter a dangerous final weekend where time differences will be made.

 

Fougeres is often on the course for the Tour de Bretagne but has not hosted a stage finish of the Tour de France for more than a decade.

 

 

 

 

Stage 8, Saturday July 11: Rennes – Mur de Bretagne, 181.5km

It’s been a tough opening week during which almost every stage has had the potential to create time gaps. The first rest day and the Pyrenees are looming in the horizon and most of the GC riders have made it their first objective to get to the first major climbs unscathed. However, before they can take a well-deserved rest and prepare themselves for the first battle in the mountains, they face two tough stages in Bretagne whose lumpy terrain makes the second weekend of the race a dangerous one. In fact, the final two stages of the first week are some of the most difficult in the feared opening part of the race.

 

Bretagne is known for its cycling-mad spectators, narrow roads, small climbs and windy conditions and so it is only fitting that a week made up of successive classics ends in this part of the country. Among the many climbs in the region, the Mur de Bretagne is probably the most iconic and so it is even more fitting that the famous ascent plays host to the end of stage 8. The climb has been passed several times in the past but it wasn’t until 2011 that ASO decided to have a stage finish at the top of the ascent and this year they have decided to repeat the successful formula, giving the puncheurs a third chance to shine in the first week.

 

The course brings the riders over 181.5km from Rennes to the top of the Mur de Bretagne and consists of a mainly westerly run from the outskirts of the region into the Breton heartland. The first part of the stage is mainly flat but as the riders get closer to the famous cycling terrain in the area, the terrain gets hillier. However, there will only be one categorized climb apart from the final ascent, the category 4 Col du Mont Bel-Air (1.5km, 5.7%) which comes at the 99.5km. In fact, it signals the start of the more difficult part of the stage.

 

Shortly after the climb, the riders will descent to the bottom of a small hill that will be the scene of another tough intermediate sprint. It comes at the top of a 2km ascent that brings the riders up a slightly winding road and has an average gradient of 3.5-4%. From there, the riders will tackle numerous rolling hills on narrow, winding roads until they get to the bottom of the category 3 Mur de Bretagne (2km, 6.9%). The riders will turn left just after the 5km to go mark and then there will be a right hand turn at the bottom of the climb with 2km to go. From there, the road is almost straight with only two very slight bends, the final one leading to the 280m finishing straight on a 6.5m wide road. The climb has a very steep first part, with the first 500m averaging 10.1% and the next 500m% averaging 9.5%. Then it gets significantly easier with 500m of 5.5% and the final 500m are almost flat with a gradient of just 2.4%.

 

When the GC riders have reached the top of the Mur de Bretagne, they will probably breathe a sigh of relief as it marks the end of seven very dangerous road stages. However, they could very well have lost more time in this stage whose finale has the potential to create time differences. First, there is the constant fight for position on the narrow roads in what could be windy conditions and crashes and echelons may have split the field before they get to the bottom of the final climb. It is another finale for puncheurs while the pure climbers will struggle to keep up with the more explosive guys who can make a difference in this kind of finale. However, there is a big difference between this ascent and the Mur du Huy which was steeper and had its most difficult section near the top, meaning that there will probably be time differences between the very best riders. On this climb, the selection will be made on the steep lower slopes where a select front group is likely to emerge. It will always be possible for one or two riders to attack in the final kilometre which is significantly easier and it won’t be easy to keep things together. However, the most likely outcome is a small sprint from a 10-20 rider group and this means that it is a perfect day for the likes of Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews and Alejandro Valverde who have all made this stage a big goal. However, their teams also have an eye on the team time trial and as most of the major squads will be keen to save energy for the race against the clock, it won’t be impossible for an early or late breakaway to make it to the finish in this difficult terrain.

 

When Mur de Bretagne hosted a stage finish in 2011, several GC riders lost time as only 10 riders made it to the top in the group that sprinted for the win. It came down to a photo finish between Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador and after the latter had believed he had won the stage, it was the Australian who stepped onto the podium in a signal of what was to come later that year. However, the big surprise was delivered by Thor Hushovd who defied all expectations by defending his yellow jersey, arriving with the best on a day when riders like Andy Schleck, Levi Leipheimer, Roman Kreuziger, Bauke Mollema, Pierre Rolland, Ryder Hesjedal, Chris Horner, Ivan Basso, Robert Gesink and Bradley Wiggins all lost time.

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 9, Sunday July 12: Vannes – Plumelec 28km TTT

Since Christian Prudhomme took over the reins in ASO, the amount of time trialling at the Tour de France has generally been reduced. However, the 2015 edition marks a new low for the time triallists who will have only 13.8km of individual time trialling on the opening day. Instead, the biggest test against the clock will be the difficult 28km team time trial that brings a very tough, nervous and exciting first week to an end.

 

In the 90s and early 2000s, the team time trial was a fixture on the Tour de France course. However, the mammoth distances of more than 60km often created enormous time differences that took several GC riders out of contention before they had even done a single climb. ASO introduced a complicated set of rules to minimize the time gaps before they abandoned the discipline completely for the 2006 edition.

 

In 2009, it was back on the course albeit in a much shorter version in the past and now it seems to be a rule that the discipline features in the race every second year. The riders last tackled a collective ride against the clock in 2013 and so it was no major surprise that the organizers have found room for a team time trial in the 2015 edition of the race.

 

However, this year’s TTT is highly unusual for a number of reasons. First of all, it is held on a very hilly course that is highly unusual for team time trials and makes it completely different from the 2013 TTT that was the fastest ever in a grand tour but the biggest issue is the fact that it comes very late in the race. In the past, team time trials have usually been one of the first five stages but this year it comes on day 9. To make things even worse, the first part of the race will be highly nervous and is almost guaranteed to be marred by crashes, meaning that many teams may have lost several riders at this point. This will be a significant disadvantage in a test where the difficult course will make it very hard to have 5 riders arriving at the finish together.

 

The course is 28km long and brings the riders from Vannes to the cycling-mad city of Plumelec in the Breton heartland. It is made up a long northerly run along lumpy roads with very few flat sections. The first 10km are the flattest and only include one small climb but the opening part is pretty technical with several turns as the riders leave the city of Vannes.

 

The first time check will be taken at the 10km mark when the riders start a long gradual climb of around 4km with a gradient of 2-3%. Then there’s a short flat section and a descent before the riders get to the second time check at the 20.5km mark. It comes after a slightly rising section and signals the start of a 1km climb with an average gradient of 4.2%. The next part is a long gradual descent that leads to the nasty sting in the tail. The stage ends at the top of the Cote de Cadoudal (1.7km, 6.2%) in the city of Plumelec, a rather regular climb with a constant gradient of 6-7% before it flattens out for the final 200m. There are a few winding turns inside the final 3km, with the final right-hand turn leading onto the 220m finishing straight on a 5.5m wide road.

 

In general, time gaps in short team time trials are pretty small but it will probably be vastly different in this stage. The distance may not be overly long but the fact that it comes on day 9 means that lots of riders will be fatigued and several riders will have abandoned. Furthermore, the terrain is very difficult and this course is definitely not one for the biggest specialists. Instead, it will be a day for the versatile riders who can both time trial and climb and at this point of the race, it will be very difficult for the riders to keep 5 riders together at the finish, especially on the final climb. The teams that will do best will be the ones that have some big engines who can do a massive amount of work in the first part before leaving it to five strong climbers to complete the stage at a rapid speed. The Dauphiné had a dress rehearsal for this stage with a team time trial in similarly hilly terrain and over a slightly shorter distance. That stage was won by BMC and created surprisingly big time gaps, with Sky losing 35 seconds to the winners. With a longer distance, harder terrain and more fatigue, there is every reason to suggest that the gaps will be even bigger in this stage, making it one of the most important days of the entire race.

 

The latest team time trial was held in Nice in 2013 when Orica-GreenEDGE beat Omega Pharma-Quick Step by less than a second on a flat course that made it the fastest TTT in the grand tour history. In 2011, Garmin-Cervelo won a much hiller team time trial on the second day while Astana crushed the opposition when the TTT was reintroduced in 2009 on a hilly, technical course around Montpellier.

 

Plumelec last hosted a Tour de France stage in 2008 when Alejandro Valverde won the uphill sprint on the opening day of the race. It is famously known for the GP de Plumelec-Morbihan which is a fixture on the Coupe de France calendar and is held on the final Saturday of the Giro d’Italia. It finishes at the top of the Cote de Cadoudal, making it a race for puncheurs. This year’s race was won by Alexis Vuillermoz while Julien Simon has won it twice and Samuel Dumoulin once in recent years.

 

 

 

 

 

Rest day, Monday July 13: Pau

 

Stage 10, Tuesday July 14: Tarbes – La Pierre Saint-Martin, 167km

The Tour de France is traditionally decided in the Alps and the Pyrenees but this year unusually big time gaps are likely to have been created by the time the riders get to the first major climb of the race. First of all, the first summit finish comes a few days later than it has been the case in the last few years as the riders will have to wait until they have had their first rest day before they get into the mountains. Secondly, the first week is much harder and more stressful than the traditional sprint festival that has traditionally dominated the first part of the world’s biggest race.

 

The Alps and the Pyrenees take turns at being the host of the decisive stages in the race and after last year’s final battles were held in the mountain range on the French-Spanish border, the Alps will be the scene of the final part of this year’s race. Hence, the Pyrenees will be visited first. In recent years, the first mountain range have not had too hard stages as the organizers want to keep the race exciting for as long as possible but this year the Pyrenean stage definitely won’t be a walk in the park. With three consecutive summit finishes of which two are pretty hard, the climbers can make their mark already at this point of the race.

 

The first mountain stage of the race brings the riders over just 167km from Tarbes to a brand new summit finish on the climb of La Pierre Saint-Martin. It is a typical Pyrenean stage that is made up of two very different parts. Most of the day takes place on the plains north of the Pyrenees and only includes a few smaller climbs but it all comes to a very dramatic end with a big summit finish on the first category HC climb of the race.

 

The stage consists of a long westerly run on the northeastern outskirts of the Pyrenees where the riders travel along mainly flat roads. They will go up the category 4 climbs Cote de Bougarber (1.4km, 6.2%) and Cote de Viellesegure (1.7km, 5.9%) after 66km and 90km of racing respectively but otherwise there are no big challenges. In the second half of the stage, they will gradually turn towards the south and the major mountains where they will contest the intermediate sprint at the 124km mark before they get into the harder terrain. It’s a pretty straightforward sprint on a straight road that is slightly uphill.

 

The riders will turn east to tackle the category 4 Cote de Montory (1.8km, 6.3%) with 33km to go and it serves as warm-up of what is to come. Again travelling in a southerly direction, the riders will head along flat roads to the bottom of the La Pierre Saint-Martin climb that is located close to the French-Spanish border. With a length of 15.3km and an average gradient of 7.4%, it is a pretty hard summit finish compared to what is usually found in the Tour. However, the toughest part comes on the lower slopes as the gradient doesn’t drop below 7.7% in the first 10km, with five of those averaging more than 9%. Then it gets significantly easier as the next four kilometres average between 3.5% and 6% before it again gets steeper with an average of 7.1% in the final kilometre leading to the easier final 300m. There are two turns inside the final few hundred metres, with the final one leading onto the 80m finishing straight on a 5m wide road.

 

The first mountain stage of a grand tour is always a very special one. This is the first big test for the GC riders who can no longer hide their climbing form and they are all very curious to find out who the internal hierarchy is. This year the first summit finish is a very tough one which has the potential to do some damage, especially as it comes one day after a rest day. However, the first mountain stage is often raced a bit conservatively and this climb requires the action to start from far out due to the easier finale. This means that we may see a small group sprint for the win. On the other hand, many riders are likely to already have lost a fair bit of time and this may prompt them to take a few more risks. In any case, it should be a day for the GC riders who usually want to decide the first mountain stage and with an easy start to the stage, it will be relatively easy to control.

 

La Pierre Saint-Martin has never hosted a Tour de France stage before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 11, Wednesday July 15: Pau – Cauturets-Vallée de Saint-Savin, 188km

There will be little room for recovery for the GC contenders in the second week as the first big mountain stage is followed by another tough test in the Pyrenees. While the first fight took place on a brand new mountain, stage 11 will see the riders tackle some of the most famous climbs of the Tour de France history. With several tough climbs and a longer distance, it is a harder stage than the previous one but with a much easier finale, it is probably not be a day for the GC riders to make a major difference.

 

The course brings the riders over 188km from Pau which always features on the Tour de France course, to a summit finish in Cauterets. Like the previous stage, it can be split into two parts, with the first half taking place on the plains north of the mountains and the second half taking place in the Pyrenean heartland.

 

First the riders will travel in a southeasterly and easterly direction along mainly flat roads that only includes a few smaller climbs. The category 3 Cote de Loucrup (2km, 7%) comes at the 48.5km mark and is followed by the intermediate sprint just 8km later. It is slightly uphill on a long straight road, with the final kilometre averaging 1.9%. The rolling terrain continues with the category 4 Cote de Bagneres-de-Bigorre (1.4km, 6.1%) and the category 3 Cote de Mauvezin (2.7km, 6%) at the 61.5km, and 74.5km marks respectively.

 

After 85.5km of racing, the riders reach the feed zone in La-Barthe-de-Neste and this signals the start of the hostilities. The riders will now heard in a southerly direction straight into the Pyrenees and after 20km of flat roads they get to the bottom of the famous category 1 climb Col d’Aspin (12km, 6.5%). It has a relatively easy start and then gets steeper near the top where the gradient mostly stays between 7.5% and 9.5% over a 4km distance. The descent leads straight to the bottom of the most famous climb in the Pyrenees, the category HC Col du Tourmalet (17.1km, 7.3%) which is back on the course after a one-year absence. Like the Aspin, it has an easy start but then it turns into a regular monster with a constant gradient of 8-10% for more than 10km.

 

The Tourmalet is by far the hardest challenge in this stage and summits with 41km to go. They are mainly downhill and include a gradually descending valley road before the riders get to the bottom of the final difficulty, the category 3 Cote de Cauterets (6.4km, 5%) which summits 3.3km from the finish. It has a steep bottom section and a 10% section near the top but otherwise it is not a tough climb. After the top, there’s a short flat section before the riders climb for another kilometre at an average of 7-8%. The final 2km are mainly flat, with just a short 200m rise just after the flamme rouge. There are several hairpin bends between the 4km and 3km to go marks but from there the road is only slightly winding, with the final small bend leading onto the 400m finishing straight on a 5.5m wide road.

 

With two of the toughest climbs on the menu, this is a very hard mountain stage. However, the finale is relatively easy and the Cote de Cauterets is not hard enough to make any gaps between the best climbers in this race. This means that it is a stage that is almost destined to be won from a strong breakaway as there is no obvious favourite for this kind of stage and the GC riders will prefer to save energy for the next stage. However, the Tourmalet is so hard that it can create a big selection and it would be no surprise to see a strong team ride tempo on the front. On a bad day, one can potentially lose minutes on that climb and so it is a stage where you can’t win the Tour but you can definitely lose it. Furthermore, wet conditions could make the descent from the Tourmalet difficult and it might be the first chance for a rider like Vincenzo Nibali to test the descending skills of his rivals.

 

Cauterets has not hosted a Tour de France stage finish for more than a decade but it has often been on the course for the Route du Sud. In 2011, Anthony Charteau took a solo win here while Noan Lelarge won a time trial three years earlier. In 2003, the Vuelta a Espana had a summit finish on the Cambasque climb in Cauterets and it was Michael Rasmussen who distanced Felix Cardenas by 55 seconds to take his first stage win in a grand tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 12, Thursday July 16: Lannemezan – Plateau de Beille, 195km

As it is often the case, the organizers have saved the hardest stage to the end of the Pyrenean adventure. While stages 10 and 11 both had the major climbing located at the end of courses, stage 12 is the only really big mountain stage in this part of the country as it has big climbs all day and ends with a tough summit finish on one of the most feared climbs in the Pyrenees. Furthermore, the distance of 195km makes it the longest mountain stage of the race and if it hadn’t come at this relatively early point of the race, it would probably have deserved the status of being the queen stage of the race.

 

The stage starts in Lannemezan on the outskirts of the Pyrenees and brings the riders over 195km to a summit finish at the top of the Plateau de Beille climb. Throughout the entire stage, the riders will be travelling in a southeasterly direction as they head straight into the Pyrenean heartland. Like in the previous stages, it takes a little while for them to get to the first mountain but in this stage they only have to do 47km of flat racing before the climbing starts. Along the way they will contest the intermediate sprint already at the 20km mark. It is a mainly flat sprint on a long straight road with just a very small climb summiting 1.5km from the line.

 

The hostilities start when the riders hit the category 2 Col de Portet-d’Aspet (4.3km, 9.7%) which is infamously known as the scene of Fabio Casartelli’s fatal crash in 1995. This year the riders will tackle it from the opposite direction, meaning that they will pass the Stele Fabio Casartelli on the way up. After the descent, there’s a short valley section before the riders get to the category 1 Col de la Core (14.1km, 5.7%) whose summit is located 102km from the finish. After a relatively easy start, it is a very regular ascent with a constant gradient of 6-7%.

 

After the descent, there’s 25km section in the valley before the riders get to the category 1 Port de Lers (12.9km, 6%) which is a bit more irregular with 3 easy kilometres at the bottom and then four tough kilometres averaging 7-9%. The final part is again easier with just two hard kilometres, including the final one that averages 7.9%.

 

Again the descent is followed by a pretty long valley section of 23.5km that leads to the bottom of the famous category HC Plateau de Beille (15.8km, 7.9%) which is one of the hardest climbs of the entire race. The first 5km average almost 9% and from there the gradient stays between 7.2% and 9.5% on a climb that leaves little room for recovery. The final 1.8km are easier as the average gradient is 6.3% before the riders get to the final 800m of 2.5%. The road is winding in the finale, with the final bend coming just 60m from the line on a 6m wide road.

 

There is no doubt that this stage is probably the hardest of the entire race and as it comes at the end of a tough triptych in the Pyrenees, massive time gaps can be made. The stage both includes the hardest summit finish of the race and more big climbs than any other stage and that makes it a day for the pure climbers and stage race specialists who recover well at this late point of a grand tour. With an early intermediate sprint, we may see some of the sprint teams try to control the race in the early part before a very strong break is likely to get clear. It won’t be easy to control this tough stage and so it could very well be won by an escapee. On the other hand, Plateau de Beille is one of the legendary climbs in the Tour and the big names all want to win here. As there are long valley sections in between all climbs, the favourites will probably save it all for the final climb but there is little doubt that some of the strongest teams will try to make it hard before we get to the final climb.

 

Plateau de Beille is famously known as the climb of the Tour champions as the winner of the ascent has mostly gone on to stand on the top step of the podium in Paris. Marco Pantani was the fastest in 1998 while Lance Armstrong took the win in 2002. Two years later the American was again the strongest while it was a young Alberto Contador who won a thrilling battle against Michael Rasmussen in 2007. Those riders all won the Tour that same year but the streak was broken when the climb last featured in 2011 when Jelle Vanendert made a surprise attack on its slopes to take the biggest win of his career. A decade ago, it often featured in the Route du Sud where Levi Leipheimer, Francesco Casagrande and Lance Armstrong won stages in 2002, 2001 and 1999 respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 13, Friday July 17: Muret – Rodez, 198.5km

The Pyrenees are now behind us and that usually gives the sprinters a few chances to shine in the transitional stages that bring the riders to the Alps. That won’t be the case in 2015 though as only one of the four stages between the two major mountain ranges could potentially end in a bunch sprint and even after a significant amount of climbing. Instead, the stages will offer plenty of room for attackers and puncheurs and two of the stages may even create differences between the GC riders.

 

While the Giro and the Vuelta have many finishes on short, steep climbs for punchy riders, the Tour organizers have often preferred traditional sprint finishes. That’s not the case in 2015 as the riders have included no less than four of these very characteristic finales. In the first week, the riders tackled the Mur de Huy, the Cote d’Ingouville and the Mur de Bretagne and in stage 13, it’s the short Cote Saint-Pierre in Rodez that will give the puncheurs a chance to shine.

 

At 198.5km, stage 13 is one of the longest of the entire race and it brings the riders from Muret on the outskirts of the Pyrenees to Rodez which has often been visited by the Tour peloton. As a true transitional stage, it brings the riders in a rather constant northeasterly direction before they turn slightly more to the north in the finale. It may be split into two parts as the first part takes place in the plains close to the Pyrenees while the second part brings the riders into the hilly terrain in Massif Central.

 

The first 100km offer very few challenges as the riders travel along flat roads with no categorized climbs. The highlight will be the intermediate sprint at the 92.5km mark. It is very slightly uphill and comes at the end of a long straight road in the city of Laboutarie.

 

After the feed zone, the flat terrain continues for a little while before the nature of the stage starts to change. A long gradual uphill section and a steep descent signals the start of the harder terrain and the climbing gets serious when the riders hit the category 3 Cote de Saint-Cirgue (3.8km, 5.8%) which summits at the 131km mark. From there, the roads are always up or down, with the category 4 climbs Cote de la Pomparie (2.8km, 5%) and Cote de la Selve (3.9km, 3.7%) coming at the 156.5km and 167km marks respectively.

 

Then an easier section leads to a small uncategorized climb that summits just 10.5km from the finish and may send several riders out the back door at the end of what could be a fast stage. From there the riders descend until they enter Rodez just 2.5km from the finish. Having turned left in a roundabout, they follow the flat, winding road along the Aveyron river until they get to the first of two consecutive hairpin bends with 570m to go. It signals the start of the uncategorized Cote Saint-Pierre (570m, 9.6%) where the finish line is located. After the final hairpin bend, the road bends slightly to the right, leading onto the 50m finishing straight on a 5.5m wide road.

 

The intermediate stages are often either dominated by sprinters or escapees but this one is definitely not one for the fast finishers. Even though the final climb is short, it is way too steep for all but Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews and John Degenkolb. However, it may be an objective for those three riders and while Tinkoff-Saxo is likely to save energy for the GC battle, Orica-GreenEDGE might control this stage firmly. With such a steep finale, the finish may actually be better suited to punchy GC riders like Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez and they will be keen to grab an opportunity to win a stage. However, it won’t be easy to control a stage that has a wide range of favourites and so there is a big chance that a breakaway could take the spoils.

 

Rodez last hosted a stage in 2010 when Alexandre Vinokourov made an impressive solo attack on a late climb, holding off the peloton by 13 seconds before Mark Cavendish beat Alessandro Petacchi in a reduced bunch sprint. Three years ago Paris-Nice visited the city and here the riders tackled a steep category 3 climb just 2km from the finish. It was a finale for puncheurs, with Gianni Meersman beating Grega Bole and Lieuwe Westra in a reduced bunch sprint.

 

 

 

 

Stage 14, Saturday July 18: Rodez – Mende, 178.5km

Most of the major climbs in France are located in either the Pyrenees or the Alps. That makes it hard for the organizers to make the transitional stages in the second week very varying but they always have the opportunity to venture into the Massif Central. The terrain in this part of France is deceptively hard and even though there are no mountains in the area, the many short, steep climbs and lack of flat roads make it perfect for bike racing.

 

In fact, one of the most famous climbs in France is located in this region. The Montee Laurent Jalabert in Mende may not have a long history in the race but it has grown to fame during the last 20 years where it has been the scene of some memorable battles. With its location at the midpoint between the Pyrenees and the Alps, it is the perfect opportunity for the GC riders to have a small battle before they return to the high mountains and even though this is not a day for huge time gaps, differences can be made on this day.

 

The stage brings the riders over 178.5km from the previous stage’s finish in Rodez to the finish in Mende. It can be split into three parts, with the first and third parts being hilly and the middle section being flat. From the start, the riders travel in a sourtheasterly direction in the lumpy terrain around Rodez and the first 44km are generally slightly uphill, with just a very small amount of descending along the way. One of the small ascents counts towards the mountains classification as the riders will go up the category 4 Cote de Ponts-de-Salars (1.3km, 5.8%) at the 20km mark.

 

After 44km of racing, the riders reach the summit of the Col de Vernhette but there won’t be any KOM points on offer. From here, the riders tackle a long descent to the Tarn river which they reach at the 58.5km mark. They now turn towards the northeast as they follow the river for most of the final part of the stage, meaning that the next 78.5km are flat. Along the way they will contest the intermediate sprint at the 78.5km mark on a slightly rising, winding road.

 

The difficult finale starts in the city of Saint-Énime at the 137km mark where the riders hit the bottom of the category 2 Cote de Sauveterre (9km, 6%). After a short flat section, they descend to some lumpy terrain before they go up the category 4 Cote de Chabrits (1.9km, 5.9%) whose summit is located just 9km from the finish.

 

There will be no room for recovery in the final part of the stage as the descent leads straight to the bottom of the category 2 Cote de la Croix Neuve/Montee Laurent Jalabert (3km, 10.1%) 4.5km from the finish. The first kilometre is the easiest at 8.3% while the final two kilometres are very steep at 10.5% and 10.9% respectively. There are a series of hairpin bends on the lower slopes while the second half is on a straight road. The summit is located 1.5km from the finish at the Aerodrome and the final part is first very slightly downhill and then very slightly uphill. There are a few sweeping bends in the finale before the riders take a sharp left-hand turn that leads onto the 480m finishing straight on a 7.5m wide road.

 

Many of the GC riders want to keep their teams fresh for the big battles in the Alps in the final week and with a tough start, this could be a very good day for a breakaway. On the other hand, Joaquim Rodriguez is a former winner of this stage and he would love to make it two in a row in a stage that suits him down to the ground. With a flat middle section, it may be possible to bring the early break back but the most likely outcome is a two different races: one for the stage win and one for the GC. This means that it will probably be a very fast start with lots of attacks and if one or more teams decide to control the race, it will be fast throughout the entire stage. In any case, the GC riders will have a big battle in the finale where the will be a huge battle for position for the final two climbs where it is important to be near the front. The final climb is more suited to punchy riders like Joaquim Rodriguez and Alejandro Valverde than to pure climbers but Alberto Contador has still managed to win in this finale in the past. A small group is likely to arrive together at the finish and may be sprinting for the win if the break hasn’t stayed clear. It may also be possible for a smart rider to exploit the tactical battle by escaping in the final flat section. Some GC contenders may concede a bit of time but the gaps will be relatively small.

 

The Montee Laurent Jalabert was last used in 2010 when Joaquim Rodriguez and Alberto Contador distanced the rest before the former won the two-rider sprint. In 20005, Marcos Serrano emerged as the strongest from a breakaway before Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso and Cadel Evans distanced the rest of the key GC contenders by 37 seconds, with Floyd Landis losing another 12 seconds. Most famously, it was used in 1995 when Laurent Jalabert completed a great solo ride by winning a stage on the climb. It has also been used in Paris-Nice thrice, with Contador taking solo wins in both 2007 and 2010. In 2012, Lieuwe Westra made a late attack to take the biggest win of his career, holding off Alejandro Valverde, Bradley Wiggins, Levi Leipheimer and Simon Spilak by 6 seconds.

 

 

 

 

Stage 15, Sunday July 19: Mende – Valence, 183km

It has been a long wait for the sprinters who haven’t had a chance to sprint for the win since stage 7 which is likely to just be a distant memory at this late point in the race. Usually, there is at least one sprint stage in between the Pyrenees and the Alps and this year it won’t be any different. However, this year’s easiest stage of the second week is by no means a flat affair and it will require a solid pair of climbing legs to still be contention when the riders reach Valence in the heart of the Rhone corridor.

 

The stage brings the riders over 183 from the previous stage’s finish in Mende to Valence and can be split into two parts. The first half takes place in the hilly Massif Central and even though there are only three small categorized climbs, there are very little flat roads. In fact the first 18.5km are all uphill, with the category 3 Cote de Badaroux (4.6km, 5.1%) coming at the 9.5km mark from where the road continues to rise for another 9km. Then the roads are generally slightly descending until the riders get to the two category 4 climbs Col du Bez (2.6km, 4.4%) and Col de la Croix de Bauzon (1.3km, 6.2%) which come in quick succession with around 110km to go.

 

The westerly journey continues with a long descent that brings the riders down to the flatlands in the Rhone Valley. In fact, the roads are slightly descending until they reach the feed zone at the 111.5km mark. Before they get there, they will contest the intermediate sprint after 108km of racing and it is a pretty tough affair. The final kilometre is uphill with a gradient of around 4% and there’s a sharp turn around 500m from the line.

 

After the feed zone, the riders will turn to the northeast to head towards Valence but before they get to the Rhone Valley, they have to overcome a significant obstacle. The category 2 Col de l’Escrinet (7.9km, 5.8%) is a tough climb whose summit comes just 56.5km from the finish. However, the final part of the stage is very easy as it is made up of a descent and completely flat roads along the Rhone river leading to the finish in Valence. Here they face a series of roundabouts before they turn left with 3km to go. From there they follow a long straight road leading to a right-hand turn in a roundabout just 280m from the finish which is on a 7m wide road. There’s a small climb with around 4km to go but the final part is completely flat.

 

There won’t be any more sprint opportunities before Paris and even though there is some significant climbing along the way, the sprint teams simply have to make a gamble, hoping that their fast men will survive the challenges. However, it won’t be easy to control the tough start and if a very strong break gets clear, they won’t be easy to bring back. Teams like Orica-GreenEDGE and Giant-Alpecin will probably go full gas on the Col de l’Escrinet in an attempt to distance the likes of Cavendish and Greipel and if one of them loses contact, we should have an exciting pursuit in the final part. If a break is also still in contention, this will be far from the usual sprint stage even if it all comes down to a bunch sprint in the end.

 

Valence has not hosted a stage finish for more than a decade but it hosted the finale of the flat Criterium du Dauphiné time trial in 2009 when then world champion Bert Grabsch turned his massive gear to beat an in-form Cadel Evans by just 7 seconds.

 

 

 

 

Stage 16, Monday July 20: Bourg de Péage – Gap, 201km

The GC riders are likely to have turned their attention to the Alps where the race will be decided but before they get to the final big battles in the mountains, they have to overcome a potentially dangerous Tour de France classic. When the Alps come in the final part of the race, the riders usually reach the city of Gap at the end of the final week and spend the final rest day in the city on the outskirts of the major mountains. In recent years, they have even used the exact same finale, with the Col de Manse and its famous descent having been the scene of some dramatic racing in recent years. This year the organizers have repeated the successful formula and stage 16 will again conclude with the lumpy circuit in the hilly terrain around Gap.

 

At 201km, it is one of just two stages with a distance of more than 200km and it brings the riders from Bourg de Péage in the flat Rhone Valley to the hilly terrain around Gap. The riders will first travel along flat roads in a southerly direction before they turn to the southeast. From here, the road is gradually uphill for most of the final part of the stage and as it is always the case in the Gap stages, the day is mainly made up of one steady rise. After 86.5km, there will be a small break in the monotony when the riders contest the intermediate sprint which is on a slightly rising, long, straight road in the city of Die.

 

With 80km to go, the climbing gets significantly harder when the riders tackle the category 2 Col de Cabre (9.1km, 4.6%) before they descend back to another slightly ascending road. It leads all the way to a short descent to Gap which they will reach after 177km of racing. However, they won’t head straight to the finish and instead they will tackle the well-known circuit on the northern outskirts of the city. It includes no flat roads as the descent leads straight to the bottom of the category 2 Col de Manse (8.9km, 5.6%) whose summit is located just 12km from the finish. While the climb itself isn’t very hard, the descent may be a place to make a difference as it is a tricky affair. Its steep and technical part ends with 3km to go and from there the road is only slightly downhill. It is long and straight with just 2 roundabouts, with the final of those leading onto the 1300m finishing straight on a 7m wide road.

 

The Col de Manse is well-known by most of the riders and history shows what kind of racing we can expect on this circuit. The finale is not hard enough for the GC riders to go for the win and so it is a stage that is destined to be won by a breakaway. This means that it is a huge objective for lots of riders and the break will probably take a long time to form. In 2011, the riders had covered more than half of the stage before the right group finally went clear. While the escapees are likely to decide the stage, the GC riders are likely to attack each other on the climb and recent editions show that some of the GC contenders usually lose contact on the slopes. Furthermore, Vincenzo Nibali and Alberto Contador may be keen to use the descent to go on the attack like Contador did in 2013. Again it is not a day to create big differences but some of the GC contenders are likely to lose a bit of ground.

 

This finale was last used in 2013 when Rui Costa took his second Tour de France stage victory by dropping his breakaway companions on the Col de Manse before descending to a solo victory. Further back, the GC riders attacked each other and riders like Laurens Ten Dam, Jakob Fuglsang, Dan Martin and Jean-Christophe Peraud who were all in GC contention, lost a minute to the main favourites. Alberto Contador desperately attacked Chris Froome on the descent and ended up bringing both of the main favourites down. In the end, they managed to rejoin their key rivals. In 2011, Thor Hushovd continued an excellent Tour by beating Edvald Boasson Hagen and teammate Ryder Hesjedal in a 3-rider sprint. Further back, Alberto Contador showed signs of resurgence by attacking on the climb, distancing the Schleck brothers and joining forces with Cadel Evans and Samuel Sanchez to increase the advantage on the descent in the rainy conditions. Afterwards, Frank Schleck complained about the inclusion of such a difficult descent in the finale of a stage. In 2010, Sergio Paulinho won a stage from a breakaway but back then it was a different finale. Pierrick Fedrigo took the win in 2006 to confirm the fact that Gap stages are usually for breakaways. However, the most famous stage was held in 2003 when Alexandre Vinokourov rode away in the finale to take his first Tour de France stage victory while an in-form Joseba Beloki spectacularly crashed out of the race on the descent of the Col de Manse, forcing Lance Armstrong to go off-road to avoid hitting the deck. Gap last hosted a major bike race in 2014 when Yory Trofimov won a stage of the Dauphiné in the city while Denis Menchov won a Paris-Nice stage here in 2004.

 

 

 

 

Rest day, Tuesday July 21: Gap

 

Stage 17, Wednesday July 22: Digne-les-Bains – Pra Loup, 161km

The Alps and Pyrenees take turns to decide the race and after the latter mountain range crowned Vincenzo Nibali in 2015, the former will have the final word in 2015. Hopefully, the riders will enjoy their final rest day as there will be no room for recovery in the final five stages of which four are held in the Alpine heartland. Three of them include summit finishes and even though two of those are not very hard, the Alps will make a huge difference in the 2015 Tour de France.

 

The first of the summit finishes comes right after the rest day and it always makes the riders a bit uncertain as it is difficult to know how the legs will react after a day of recovery. This year they will get back into action with a historic stage that sees the race return to the Pra Loup to the mark the 40th anniversary of the fall of Eddy Merckx as the Tour de France king. In 1975, Bernhard Thevenet took the yellow jersey by distancing the cannibal in a finale that included the combination of the Col d’Allos and the final ascent of Pra Loup and the exact same combination will feature at the end of stage 17.

 

The stage brings the riders over 161km from Digne-les-Bains on the outskirts of the Alps to a summit finish on the category 2 climb of Pra Loup. In the first part, the riders will head along mainly flat roads in a southeasterly direction before they get to the first climb, the category 3 Col des Leques (6km, 5.3%) which summits at the 40km mark. From there, the riders will travel in a northerly direction for the rest of the stage as they head into the Alps and hillier terrain.

 

The first part of this section is made up of two relatively easy climbs and subsequent descents. First the riders will tackle the category 3 Col de Toutes Aures (6.1km, 3.1%) and then they face the Col de la Colle-Saint-Michel (11km, 5.2%). The summit of the latter is located 65km from the finish and is followed by a short descent and a gradually rising road. Here they will contest the intermediate sprint at the 111km mark which is slightly uphill and technical uncomplicated. This part leads to the bottom of the main challenge, the category 1 Col d’Allos (14km, 5.5%). The first half is pretty easy but the final six kilometres are harder, averaging 6-8.5%.

 

The summit is located 22km from the finish and is the highest point of the entire race at 2250m above sea level, meaning that the altitude will play a role. The final part is first made up of a very long and very technical descent that leads straight to the bottom of the category 2 Pra Loup climb. It’s a relatively short 6.2km ascent with an average gradient of 6.5%. After an easy first kilometre, it’s very regular with a gradient of around 6% before it gets steeper in the finale with 8.5% for the final kilometre. There’s a long sweeping 180-degree turn in the finale before the riders reach the 80m finishing straight on a 5.5m wide road.

 

The Pra Loup and Col d’Allos may not have been used for a major bike race for several years but most of the riders in the peloton got the chance to get acquainted with the challenges in the Criterium du Dauphiné where ASO put on the exact same stage. That was a major drawcard for the race and was a key reason for many rider to do the French race instead of heading to Switzerland for the Tour de Suisse. On that day, Romain Bardet accelerated over the top of the Col d’Allos and used extremely difficult descent to build an advantage of more than a minute. That was too much for his rivals who failed to bring him back and so he took the biggest win of his career. Further back, Team Sky set a brutal pace to whittle down the peloton before Chris Froome launched his expected attack on the final climb. The Brit seemed to be riding away with second place but a very strong Tejay van Garderen gauged his effort perfectly to bring the Sky leader back and even distance him by a few seconds. Apart from that, it has only been used again in the 1980 Tour de France when Jos De Schoenmacker won the stage.

 

This is the first big battle between the GC riders in the mountains and will be a hugely important day. The climbing hierarchy is likely to have changed since they left the Pyrenees and this stage will reveal who’s on form for the final part of the race and who is on a downward trend. However, the final climb is not very hard and the differences are likely to be pretty small as it was the case in the Dauphiné stage. The biggest challenge will probably be the descent from the Col d’Allos and many will have been inspired by Bardet’s courageous ride in the Dauphiné. If it is a rainy day, splits are guaranteed to happen and it may create bigger gaps than the final climb. Hence, it would be no surprise to see Sky do some damage on the Col d’Allos to make the peloton smaller and more controllable before they hit the descent. With the finale not being very hard and several tough stages on the horizon, there is a big chance that a strong breakaway will take the win.

 

 

 

 

Stage 18, Thursday July 23: Gap – Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, 186.5km

There will be no chance to rest for the GC riders as another tough mountain stage awaits the riders just one day after the opening battle in the Alps. However, despite being the longest of the four Alpine stages and including one of the most famous climbs in the area, stage 18 is probably the least selective of the four courses. Most of the climbs are relatively short and the hardest climb is not very steep. As there will be no summit finish, most of the GC riders will have their eyes on the final two stages in the Alps where more damage can be done.

 

The stage brings the riders over 186.5km from Gap to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in the heart of the Alps. It consists of a long northerly run on the outskirts of the mountains where there are lots of smaller climbs before they turn to the northeast to head into the real Alps in the second half. Right from the beginning, they go up the category 2 Col Bayard (6.3km, 7%) which will make for a very tough start to the stage. Then the terrain gets significantly flatter as it is generally descending for a while, with only the category 3 Rampe du Motty (2.3km, 8.3%) breaking the legs along the way.

 

The descending ends after 60km of racing and from there it is generally uphill for 30km. The climbing is highly irregular and so has been divided into three smaller climbs, the category 3 Cote de la Mure (2.7km, 7.5%), the category 3 Col de Malissol (2km, 8.7%) and the category 2 Col de la Morte (3.1km, 8.4%) which are all relatively steep.

 

The summit of the latter ascent comes at the 85km mark and leads to a descent and a gradual riding road in the valley. Here the riders will contest the intermediate sprint at the 107.5km mark. It is a tough one as there’s a tough 1.5km climb starting just 3km from the line and after the top, the road is still uphill all the way to the line, albeit with no major technical challenges.

 

The slightly rising roads continue for a while until the riders get to the bottom of the main challenge, the category HC Col du Glandon (21.7km, 5.1%). The average gradient is deceptive as there is a short descent after 7km of climbing and another descent 5km from the summit. The rest of the climb is highly irregular with several steep kilometres averaging 9-10% in the lower sections before it gets easier near the top. However, the climb gets steeper at the end, with the final kilometre averaging 8.7%.

 

The summit is located 39.5km from the finish and leads to a long descent and a short section of slightly ascending valley roads. Then it is time for the hugely spectacular Lacets de Montvernier (3.4km, 8.2%) which has no less than 18 hairpin bends over the short distance of 3.4km. It is very regular with a constant gradient of 8-9%. The riders had the chance to check it out in the Dauphiné where it featured in the final stage but back then it was located much earlier in the stage. Now the summit comes just 10km from the finish and after a short climb, they are mainly downhill. The descent has a few hairpin bends and ends with 4km to go. From there the road is very slightly uphill and includes a technical finale. There are several turns in the penultimate kilometre and then the riders turn right in a roundabout just after the flamme rouge. From there, the roads bends constantly to the left until the riders get to the 75m finishing straight on a 5.5m wide road.

 

The Col de Glandon is a very hard climb but it comes way too early to be the scene of a big battle between the GC favourites. As the stage has no summit finish and a relatively short final climb, there is little incentive for the main teams to try to keep it together and the stage is destined to be won by a breakaway. With the first 7km being uphill, many riders will do a warm-up to be ready for what will probably be a big fight to join the right break which will probably be very strong. The GC riders are likely to test each other on Lacets de Montvernier and the subsequent descent and both are so difficult that differences can be made. With the short length, time gaps are likely to be small but there is a big chance that some of the overall contenders will lose a bit of ground.

 

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne has often been visited by the Tour de France but the finale with Lacets de Montvernier is a novelty. It last hosted a stage finish in 2010 when Sandy Casar won the sprint from a breakaway that had been joined by Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador who had significantly distanced their rivals on the Col de la Madeleine. It has often hosted stages of the Dauphiné too, most recently in 2011 when Lars Boom won the prologue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 19, Friday July 24: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne – La Toussuire-Les Sybelles, 138km

In 2011, the Tour de France introduced a novelty when they designed a very short stage between Mondane Valfrejus and Alpe d’Hue. It created an exciting race as the favourites were not afraid of the distance and so attacked each other right from the start. Since then, the idea of short, intensive mountain stages have been very popular and all the grand tours have repeatedly made use of the concept.

 

This year ASO have designed to short, very tough rides in the Alps to decide the winner of the world’s biggest race and in fact it was initially the plan to end the battles with an exact copy of that famous 2011 stage. Even though the penultimate stage has gained most of the attention, it will be dangerous to underestimate stage 19 which is probably just as hard as the stage that finishes at the top of the famous Alpe.

 

At just 138km, it is a very short affair and it should provide some aggressive racing right from the start. At least the  organizers have provided the riders with the terrain to go on the attack as the first 15.4km go up the category 1 Col du Chaussy (15.4km, 6.3%). It is a pretty regular climb with rather constant gradients of 6-8%, only disrupted by a small descent after 3km of climbing.

 

After the top, the riders go down a technical descent that leads back to the L’Arc river which passes through the starting city of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. They will now continue their northerly journey by following the flat road along the river until they get to the intermediate sprint at the 42km mark. The road is descending before it flattens out for the final kilometre and the sprint comes at the end of a long, straight road.

 

One kilometre after the sprint, the riders will cross the river before turning around to head back along the flat roads on the other side until they get to the city of Saint-Etienne-de-Cuines at the 58.5km. That city spells the end of the flat riding as the final part of the stage is either up or down.

 

First the riders leave the river to go up the might category HC climb of Col de la Croix de Fer (22.4km, 6.9%). It is known as one of the hardest climbs in the Alps. After a very regular start with a constant gradient of 7% for 8km, the riders get to an easy section of 3km before they get to the hardest part where the gradient hovers around 9-10% for 8km. The final three kilometres are slightly easier.

 

The summit comes 55km from the finish and is followed by a descent that has technical upper section. Before they get back to the valley, they will go up the category 2 Col du Mollard (5.7km, 6.8%) whose summit is located just 35km from the finish. They will now take on the final part of the descent which is significantly more difficult before they get back to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne after 119km of racing.

 

Instead of going back to the start, the riders will end the stage by tackling the category 1 climb to the ski resort of La Toussuire (18km, 6.1%). The first three kilometres are the hardest and then the gradient stays around 6-% for most of the time, with a short flat section at the midpoint giving a chance to recover. The final three kilometres are easier as they average 4-5%. There’s a hairpin bend just after the flamme rouge and then the riders turn right to get onto the 170m finishing straight on a 5.5m wide road.

 

It is time to find out who will win the Tour de France and the GC riders will go all out in a huge battle in the final two stages that can both do a lot of damage. With this stage having a very hard start and a short distance, it is a perfect opportunity for some of the main contenders who have lost a bit of ground, to risk everything going on the attack right from the start. The main favourites will have their eyes on the final stage and may want to keep something in reserve for that stage which has a harder finishing climb and so there is a good chance for some of the top 10 contenders to gain a bit of time by making it into a successful breakaway. The Croix de Fer is very hard but comes too far from the finish to be used for an attack for the favourites. They will probably save it all for the final climb which is not very hard. However, history shows that it can make some differences towards the end of a grand tour, especially if the riders are brave enough to attack in the hardest parts on the lower slopes. With no flat valley roads after the final technical descent, it may also be a good opportunity for the good descenders to put their rivals under pressure and gain time before they get to the final ascent.

 

La Toussuire made its debut as a stage finish in the 2006 Tour de France where Michael Rasmussen completed a solo ride to win the stage while Oscar Pereiro defended his overall lead and Floyd Landis famously cracked, losing almost 10 minutes to his main rivals. In 2012 Pierre Rolland took his second Tour de France stage win by holding off Thibaut Pinot, Chris Froome, Jurgen Van den Broeck, Vincenzo Nibali and Bradley Wiggins in a stage that is mostly known for the fact that Froome attacked in the finale, briefly dropping Wiggins. It has been used three times in the Criterium du Dauphiné, with Iban Mayo, Chris Anker Sørensen and Joaquim Rodriguez winning in 2006, 2008 and 2011 respectively. It last hosted a major bike race in 2014 when Louis Vervaeke confirmed his huge potential by winning the final stage of the Tour de l’Avenir at the ski resort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 20, Saturday July 25: Modane Valfrejus – Alpe d’Huez, 110.5km

In the past, the time triallists have always had the upper hand in the Tour de France. With the major climbs all being located far from the traditional finish in Paris, it was widely regarded as being impossible to have a big mountain stage on the penultimate day. To save the excitement for the final days, the organizers often had a time trial in either the final or the penultimate stage.

 

In 2009, a novelty was introduced when ASO made the brave decision of having a mountaintop finish on Mont Ventoux just one day before the end of the race, creating a logistical chaos by moving the entire Tour machine from one part of the country to the other in less than 24 hours. In 2010, 2011 and 2012 they went back to their traditional script before they again embraced the new idea in 2013 with a mountain stage finishing on the climb of Annecy/Semnoz on the penultimate day. Last year the time triallists again had the advantage of having a TT as the decisive stage but in a race dominated by climbing, it is only fitting that the 2015 edition of the race will be decided on the climbs.

 

Like in 2013, it will be a short and intensive stage in the Alps that will crown the winner of the race, with the organizers again embracing the concept of short mountain stages. They first came up with this idea in 2011 when they designed a 110.5km stage from Modane Valfrejus to the top of the famous Alpe d’Huez and it turned out to be one of the best stages of recent editions. The stage had a brutal start as the riders went straight up the Col du Telegraphe and the Col du Galibier before they descended to the bottom of the final climb and Alberto Contador accepted the invitation from the organizers by attacking already on the lower slopes of the Telegraphe, setting the scene for a huge GC battle that nearly cost Cadel Evans the overall victory.

 

Four years after that great stage, ASO had planned to use the exact same course for the penultimate stage but unfortunately they have been forced to change the route. A landslide has made it impossible to go up the Galibier and so the course had to be modified less than two weeks before the start of the race. The start and finish have not been changed and the overall distance is exactly the same, just 110.5km. However, the Telegraphe-Galibier duo has been replaced by the Col de la Croix de Fer which will be climbed for the second day in a row, albeit from another side.

 

Like in the original route, the riders will first follow gradually descending roads as they travel in a westerly direction to the city of St-Jean-de-Maurienne that hosted the finish of stage 18 and the start of stage 19. From here they will go up the category HC Col de la Croix de Fer (29km, 5.2%) but following a different route than the one they descended from in stage 19, skipping the Col du Mollard. The average gradient is deceptive as the climb can be split into two much harder parts. The first 12km mostly average 9-10% but there’s a small descent at the midpoint to give a small respite. The next 11km are almost flat before the riders get to the final 6km that have a rather constant gradient of 7-8%.

 

After the top, the riders will tackle the long descent to the city of Allemont which is not too technical. From here they will travel along flat roads for 10km before they get to the city of Bourg d’Oisans where they will rejoin the original route and contest the intermediate sprint. Here they will do a left-hand turn to hit the most famous climb in the recent Tour de France history, the category HC Alpe d’Huez (13.8km, 8.1%). The well-known 21 hairpin bends will be loaded with spectators who cheer on the riders as they tackle the final big climb of the race. The first two kilometres are hard at an average gradient of around 10% before it drops to 8-9% for the next 5km. An easier kilometre leads to a section with a gradient of 11.5% and another kilometre averaging 9%. The final 3km are the easiest as they average around 5%. The final switchback comes just before the flamme rouge and then the riders follow a mostly straight road that includes a roundabout until they turn left in another roundabout with 220m to go onto the 6m wide finishing straight.

 

With the race set to be decided in this stage, there is no reason for the GC riders to hold anything back and they will all use their final bit of energy in an attempt to improve their position. In such a short stage, it is again possible to take big risks by going on the attack already on the Croix de Fer and in fact the new course may be slightly more suited to such long-distance moves as the top of the Croix de Fer is closer to the bottom of the final climb that the summit of Galibier. Furthermore, the new climb includes steeper sections right from the start, meaning that more damage can be done. However, the most likely scenario is that the biggest teams will control the race firmly and even though we will definitely see lots of attacks on the Croix de Fer, this is probably the most prestigious stage of the entire race, meaning that it is likely to be decided by the big favourites who will go head to head one final time on cycling’s most iconic climb.

 

In recent years, Alpe d’Huez has mostly featured on the course every second year, with just a few exceptions from the general rule. In 2013, the riders did the climb twice in the same stage and it was Christophe Riblon who took a surprise win from a breakaway. In 2011, Pierre Rolland took a breakthrough win in the white jersey on that dramatic day when Contador attacked right from the start. That year the climb was back after a two-year absence as the organizers wanted to honour the Pyrenees in the 2010 edition and so decided to postpone the usual passage of the climb for another year. In 2008, Carlos Sastre laid the foundations for his overall victory by attacking from the bottom of the climb and riding away with the stage win while his teammate Frank Schleck won from a breakaway in 2006. In 2004, Lance Armstrong won a memorable mountain time trial while Iban Mayo came out on top in 2003 as the climb featured on the course two years in a row. Armstrong also took the win in 2001 while it was Giuseppe Guerini who came back from a late collision with a spectator to take an impressive win in 1999. The climb also hosted the finish of a Dauphiné stage in 2010 when Alberto Contador won a two-rider sprint against overall victor Janez Brajkovic and it also featured on the course of a stage in the 2013 edition of the Alpine race, albeit not at the end of stage.

 

 

 

 

Stage 21, Sunday July 26: Serves-Grand Paris Seine Ouest – Paris-Champs Élysées, 109.5km

This year’s course may include a few novelties but there is nothing new on the final day of the race. Two years ago it was rumoured that ASO were planning to end the race on the top of Alpe d’Huez but those ideas were never turned into reality. As usual, the race comes to an end with a largely ceremonial stage to Paris where the sprinters will get the chance to battle it out in the most prestigious stage for a fast finisher on the Champs-Élysées.

 

Overnight the riders have travelled from the Alps to the southwestern suburbs of Paris for the final day of racing that follows a very traditional format. The stage usually starts a bit south of the capital and then makes a small loop in the area – often with one or two small categorized climbs to finalize the battle for the KOM jersey – before the riders head towards the city centre. Here they do a number of laps of the famous circuit on the Champs-Élysées, very often ending with a big bunch sprint.

 

This year’s stage starts in Serves-Grand Paris Seine Ouest just southwest of Paris and as usual the distance is rather short, even shorter than usual. At just 109.5km, the route makes a small loop in a westerly direction before turning around and head east towards the city centre. After 10.5km of racing, they will reach the top of the final categorized climb of the race, the category 4 Cote de l’Observatoire (2.2km, 4.1%) Otherwise the terrain is almost completely flat as the riders pass through the suburbs to get to the centre of Paris.

 

In this year’s unusually short stage, the riders will reach the finishing city circuit after just 39.5km of racing and 1.5km further up the road, they cross the line for the first time. The stage ends with 10 laps of the 6.85km circuit that brings them up and down the famous avenue, a few more than usual. One of the novelties for the 2013 edition that was introduced to mark the 100th edition, was the fact that the riders went all the way around the Arc de Triomphe instead of doing a 180-degree turn in front of it. This adjustment to the circuit was maintained in 2014 and will again be in place in 2015 but the stage won’t finish late in the evening as it did two years ago. It will still finish later than usual though as the arrival is scheduled around 19.15 local time, just like last year.

 

The Champs-Elysées is cobbled and not flat as it ramps slightly upwards when one goes through the finish. The intermediate sprint will be contested at the highest point of the avenue on the third lap when 54km still remain. The final sprint is well-known by all the riders and pretty technical as there are two 90-degree turns just before the flamme rouge. Inside the final kilometre, two sweeping turns lead onto the short 400m finishing straight that is slightly uphill on a 9m wide road.

 

The stage will of course pan out as it usually does, with the first part raced at a leisurely pace while the riders take the time to congratulate each other, take a sip from a champagne glass and pose for the photographers. Racing gets serious when they approach the finishing circuit, with the team of the race leader set to gradually pick up the pace before the first passage of the finish line. From then, it will be full-on racing which will in all likelihood come down to a bunch sprint that may even determine the winner of the points classification. With a shorter ceremonial part and more laps on the circuit, we should get a bit more racing than usual but the scenario is likely to be the same. A small group will get clear on the circuit but in this kind of short stage they won’t get much of an advantage. The sprint teams will keep things firmly under control but as the final stage of the Giro showed, surprises are possible even in the final stage of a grand tour.

 

Last year Marcel Kittel took his second consecutive win on the famous avenue when he narrowly held off Alexander Kristoff in a close sprint. One year earlier he had broken Mark Cavendish’s winning streak in a fantastic battle against the Brit and André Greipel. Before then, Cavendish had won the stage four years in a row from 2009 to 2012. Before the Brit started to dominate the stage, Gert Steegmans, Daniele Bennati and Thor Hushovd won bunch sprints while the sprinters were last foiled in 2005 when Alexandre Vinokourov took a hugely surprising victory with a late attack.