The most famous cycling event in the world, the Tour de France, has finally arrived. The 103rd edition of La Grande Boucle takes place from the 2nd to the 24th of July, and promises 3,519km of dramatic racing. Starting with the Grand Départ in Mont-Saint-Michel on the 2nd of July, this is the race that many in the professional peloton – from the GC riders, to the sprinters and climbers – have spent their entire season preparing for. Having won the race on two occasions, Alberto Contador will lead the Tinkoff team, while Peter Sagan, who, having won the Maillot Vert points jersey every year since 2012, will be looking to take stage wins.
As the most famous, historic and brutal stage race in the professional cycling calendar, many riders focus their entire season on preparing for the race. Early season stage races, such as Paris-Nice and the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, will have given the GC riders pointers as to where they need to work on their form, while more recent races, such as the Critérium du Dauphiné, have given them a chance to tweak and fine-tune while lining up next to the riders who will be their main rivals during the twenty-one stages of the race.
“This will be a very important Tour de France for all of us,” explained Alberto ahead of the race. “It will be the Tour in which we would like to show Oleg Tinkov our gratitude for his support all these years. I’m exceptionally motivated for this race and we have been working throughout the year thinking about the Tour de France. Hopefully, everything will play out the way we want.”
With the race profile released last October, teams will have had an opportunity to assess the route and decide which stages suit their riders’ strengths. When it comes to the actual race, however, the best made plans can soon fall by the wayside depending on how the other teams are doing, the way the GC race unfolds, and the countless unforeseen circumstances that can change the race in an instant.
With Tinkoff leading the UCI WorldTour team rankings as well as holding the top two positions, the points on offer at the Tour could see an increase in the lead in this competition.
Joining the team leader, Alberto Contador, and Peter Sagan at the race are two newly crowned national champions in Rafal Majka and Roman Kreuziger. Joined by Robert Kiserlovski, the three have all proved strong helpers for Alberto in the mountains in the past. The roster is bolstered by the new Polish time trial champion, Maciej Bodnar who will have the chance to show off his new skinsuit on two occasions. Matteo Tosatto brings his wealth of experience to the team, and he’s joined by fellow Italian Oscar Gatto who will prove vital for the fast finishes around Peter. The line-up is then completed by Michael Valgren who will start his second Tour de France after his debut in 2015.
This year the Tour takes on some of the most challenging terrain France has to offer, while also challenging riders with some less traditional profiles that will encourage teams to be creative with their strategies. Looming over the race this year is the infamous Mont Ventoux – widely regarded by many riders both past and present to be the most daunting climb of the race – if not the cycling world.
While in recent years the Tour has started in a different country, the opening stage of this year’s race takes place in Normandy – starting in Mont Saint Michel and finishing at Utah Beach. While Le Grand Départ remains in France, the race will leave the country on three occasions during the course of the race – with stages taking place in the Principality of Andorra, Spain and in Switzerland, where many will have had fond and not-so-fond memories of races from earlier in the season.
Having had successful starts to their respective seasons, with stage and GC wins in the Classics, the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, the Tour de Suisse and the Critérium du Dauphiné, Alberto and Peter come to the Tour de France occupying the two top spots of the UCI WorldTour rankings – with Peter having recently leapfrogged Alberto into the top spot after his two stage wins at the Tour de Suisse broke the race’s record for stage wins.
With such a strong GC rider in Alberto, and with Peter’s successes both in the Classics and his numerous stage wins in his season so far, Sport Director, Steven De Jongh, was confident in this two-pronged approach. “We come to the Tour with a very balanced team built around Alberto and Peter as our leaders. With Peter we can go for stage wins on the days that suit him, and then Alberto of course is targeting the GC – that’s our main overall goal.”
The team was built around providing support both for Alberto and Peter, explained Steven. “We have guys that can support both riders. With Bodnar, Gatto, Tosatto and Valgren we have strong rouleurs that will play an important role on the flatter stages, and then Gatto will be a good support rider for Peter in the finals. Tosatto’s experience will also be important in playing the bodyguard role for Alberto in these stages.”
With such a mountainous parcours, providing support for Alberto when the road turns upwards is absolutely essential, continued De Jongh. “Then for the mountains, Majka, Kreuziger and Kiserlovski will be there to support Alberto. The last week in the Alps will be very hard and they will play an important part on these kind of tough stages. I think it will be an exciting Tour, with two not so flat ITTs, and a large number of GC contenders coming into the race.”
“The Tour de France is one of the major highlights of my season, and I believe that compared to last season, where I didn’t manage to win a stage win, this year I’ll reach my goal and win something,” explained the UCI world road race champion, Peter Sagan. “I have no particular selected day that suits me, but I am convinced that this year’s route includes stages that conform to my style of racing.
“Of course the green jersey is for me a big challenge. The cold and hard stages in Switzerland took a lot out of me, and the national championships was also not easy. So after the first days of the Tour I will know how I am really feeling. Our whole team has high ambitions and I am convinced that Alberto will prove successful. When I can, I’ll be there to help him. Let’s see what each new day will bring and we will appropriately adjust our tactics.”
The race this year forgoes its usual prologue, starting with a stage that is likely to end in a sprint. With a mountain stage so soon after the start however, it is unlikely that a sprint team will be able to hold the Maillot Jaune past this point – and nor would they want to, with the race becoming progressively harder from here, and the yellow jersey more difficult to defend.
While a great deal of planning had gone on ahead of the race, in the end it would all come down to how the race progresses – and many factors would influence this. Ahead of the race, De Jongh knew just how hard the race could be, having ridden it multiple times himself. “It’s hard to pick out what stages will be key because as we know any mountain stage at the Tour is hard! The time trial after the Mont Ventoux stage will be interesting, and then the mountains in the third week after a hard race will be tough.”
Having won the green points jersey four years in a row, many would be paying close attention to Peter’s performance in the points race, however De Jongh saw the points race as a very different one from the GC. “The green jersey is different to racing for yellow – I think its something that comes to you rather than you chasing it. If Peter rides like last year then we know he will pick up points along the way and he will be hard to beat.”
Race Route
Stage 1: Mont-Saint-Michel – Utah Beach Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, 188km
Starting the race with a 188km road stage means the racing starts from the very first day. The par ours is fast and fairly flat, meaning the sprinters will rise to the challenge today. Who will be wearing the yellow jersey in the aftermath of the bunch sprint however? A great opportunity for the fast men to assess who their key rivals are for the green points jersey.
Stage 2: Saint Lô – Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, 183km
While the race remains in the north of France, we see our first categorised climbs and an uphill finish as well on the second day. The first three fourth category climbs on this 183km stage are too close to the start to really make a difference, however the seaside route is likely to be windy, and the third category finish, the Côte de la Glacerie, may give a brave, punchy breakaway rider the chance to take glory, and the yellow jersey, close to the start of the race.
Stage 3: Granville – Angers, 223.5km
Day three appears to be another day for the sprinters. The 223.5km route from Granville to Angers features a gently rolling parcours to begin with, before a flat run to the finish. An intermediate sprint a little more than 50km from the finish might just give a late breakaway a chance to go for the stage win, but it’s unlikely the bunch will allow that.
Stage 4: Saumur – Limoges, 237.5km
With stage 4 comes the Tour de France’s longest stage. 237.5km separate the start and finish, as well as a fourth category climb. The finish again suits the sprinters, but with that kind of distance in their legs, what kind of condition will they be to contest the stage win?
Stage 5: Limoges – Le Lioran, 216km
Gradually making its way south, the fifth stage sees more hilly terrain for riders to take on – finally giving the GC riders a chance to come out of the shadows. With five categorised climbs before the finish in Le Lioran, we should see the climbers have a little fun on this stage, but the downhill finish leaves the outcome uncertain and unpredictable.
Stage 6: Arpajon-sur-Cère – Montauban, 190.5km
There may be undulating terrain and three categorised climbs on stage 6, but with a flat final 30km on this 190.5km stage, this should give the sprint trains time to reel in any breakaways and go for the stage win – they’re running out of chances now.
Stage 7: L’Isle-Jourdain – Lac de Payolle, 162.5km
On stage 7 comes the first category Col d’Aspin – the first of the race. The famous climb comes just 7km from the end of the stage, and with that 7km being all downhill, a thrilling finale should take place. Expect attacks aplenty on the last climb of the day before attempts to make those attacks stick on the fast descent to the finish line.
Stage 8: Pau – Bagnères-de-Luchon, 184km
The Col du Tourmalet – the classic climb of the Pyrenees – is a sign the race is getting serious on stage 8. The Hors Catégorie climb is perhaps too far out to make a huge impact on the outcome, but the 19km climb with average gradients of 7.4% will make contesting the rest of the stage that much harder, while the most difficult slopes are towards the top, the entire climb is excruciatingly painful, with slopes rarely dropping below 7%. The shorter but steeper Col du Peyresourde is likely to be where the action will take place, with a downhill section just before the finish line.
Stage 9: Vielha Val d’Aran (Spain) – Andorre Arcalis (Andorra), 184.5km
The days may be shorter in the mountains, but the climbs are definitely getting longer. With just stage 9 left before the race’s first rest day, riders may dig that little bit deeper as the race dips in and out of Spain and Andorra during the day. The 184.5km stage starts climbing from the moment the flag drops, and there’s barely a moment the profile flattens out for the rest of the day. The Hors Catégorie climb into Andorre Arcalis coming so soon after the first category Col de Beixalis is bound to see sparks fly.
REST DAY
Stage 10: Escaldes Engordany (Andorra) – Revel, 197km
After a rest day to regroup and recover, the tenth stage of the Tour will be straight back into the hard racing, with an unusual profile as the race crosses back into France. The day starts with the first category Port d’Envalira before descending for almost 90km. A slight third category hump a little before the finish has the potential to shake things up.
Stage 11: Carcassonne – Montpelier, 162.5km
The climbs of the previous day’s will be starting to take their toll by now, so the relatively flat profile of stage 11 will be a welcome sight. When a stage finishes in Montpelier, it traditionally ends in a sprint, so after a few days out of contention this will be a day the fast men step up to the plate again before the horrors of the day to come…
Stage 12: Montpellier – Mont Ventoux, 184km
It’s Bastille Day, and today the Tour de France will finish on Mont Ventoux. There’s almost no doubt that this stage will see some French riders in the breakaway, and maybe even trying for the stage win. Approaching this – one of the toughest of climbs – riders will rightly feel every kilometre of this 15.7km, 8.8% climb in every muscle and every bone of their bodies. Climbing from the Bédoin side, riders will face slopes of up to 10% on this Hors Catégorie climb, and by the time they reach the finish, most will have no memory of the 170km that came before – while others will have every reason not to want to start the next day – and there are still nine stages to come.
Stage 13: Bourg-Saint-Andéol – La Caverne du Pont d’Arc, 37.5km (ITT)
With Mont Ventoux fresh in their memories, a time trial might seem like a rest after such a fearsome day before, but stage 13’s individual time trial is long enough at 37.5km for time gaps to form, and tough enough, with a climb, a descent and another climb shortly before the finish, for it to be hard for everyone.
Stage 14: Montélimar – Villars-les-Dombes Parc des Oiseaux, 208.5km
Another undulating parcours for stage 14. After yesterday’s time trial, the 208.5km route will feel much longer, but the sprinters have been given another chance here to contest the stage win. All they have to do is get over three categorised climbs and face a potential headwind towards the finish to get it.
Stage 15: Bourg-en-Bresse – Culoz, 159km
Starting in Bourg-en-Bresse, riders could be forgiven for thinking stage 15 was taking place on a saw – the jagged profile stretching on for 160km. There’s no let-up on today’s stage, with six categorised climbs crossed over the course of the day – one of these being the Hors Catégorie Grand Colombier. A final first category climb 14km from the finish could see some attacks and more time taken in the GC race. The favourites will be making a big effort as the race comes into its final week.
Stage 16: Moirans-en-Montagne – Berne (Switzerland), 209km
Heading for Switzerland, where many riders will have memories of the recent Tour de Suisse, stage 16 sees another undulating parcours. While a relatively calm stage before the race moves into the Alps, a slight uphill kick in the final kilometre may yet stop the sprinters from claiming another stage win. With a rest day tomorrow, it might just be worth that extra push.
REST DAY
Stage 17: Berne – Finhaut-Emosson (Switzerland), 184.5km
A whole day in Switzerland awaits, but in spite of the chocolate box scenery, it’s not going to be an easy one. This 184.5km route takes in two third category climbs before its lead in to the step up finish – where the first category Col de la Forclaz is swiftly followed by the Hors Catégorie ascent to Finhaut-Emosson for the finish. The attacks will come thick and fast here and we may see a shake-up in the GC standings with them.
Stage 18: Sallanches – Megève, 17km (ITT)
Seventeen kilometres and one for the climbers. The uphill time trial to Megève is going to be a spectacle, with steep slopes and inconsistent terrain making it hard to find a rhythm. After winning the first stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné in similar fashion, Alberto Contador might be excited to test his legs here. While Alberto’s prologue win was early in the race however, this is after 17 days of hard riding – but stage 18 will definitely be one to watch with the finish looming close.
Stage 19: Albertville – Saint-Gervais-Mont Blanc, 146km
The end is in sight – and it most certainly will be from the Hors Catégorie Montée de Bisanne at the 96.5km point of stage 19. The summit, at 1,723m, comes after 12.4km of climbing at 8%, and the latter half of the climb being steeper than the first part, the pain is really going to set in. From here though, there are still almost 50km still to ride, and this includes the uphill finish to Le Bettex – a 9.8km first category climb at 8%.
Stage 20: Megève – Morzine-Avoriaz, 146.5km
On stage 20, we will find out who is going to ride into Paris as the winner of the 103rd Tour de France – if we don’t know already. It’s a shorter stage, at 146.5km, but if the time gaps in the GC race are small enough, it’s going to be full gas from start to finish. The final chance to attack comes on the Hors Catégorie Col de Joux Plane, rising 1,691m before a 12km descent to the ski town of Morzine. Could the Tour be won on a downhill stretch?
Stage 21: Chantilly – Paris Champs-Élysées, 113km
With the GC race out of the way, the 21st and final day of the Tour de France is the day for celebrating – at least for the first 50km. The grande finale of the race comes with the circuit of the Champs-Élysées – and with it the most prestigious sprint finish of the most prestigious Grand Tour.
