Riders republic yellow icons1/2/2023 ![]() Will it rain?Ī calmer day but still with a lively finish and the longest stage of the race at 220km. So on top of the usual “should the Tour use the pavé?” articles on the day, expect “did they have to pick such tough sectors?” variants. ![]() Now the Tour’s borrowed the pavé many times but this year it’s got stones galore and way harder sectors than usual Tour “lite” visits. Lille to Arenberg and a mini Paris-Roubaix in reverse, right down to using some of the spring classic’s cobbled sectors backwards. It crosses the Great Belt bridge, a terrifying 18km concrete tightrope above the sea where a sea breeze could shred the peloton.Ī trip south to Sønderborg and a likely sprint stage.Īfter a day’s travel to France, more coastal action with a race between the ferry ports of Dunkerque to Calais, only via the cliffs and capes before the finish, this is a tricky stage especially if the wind blows because the final parts are very exposed. It’s got a maritime feel along the coast almost all the time. #Riders republic yellow icons trialSo far, so Vuelta… but trend of shrinking time trials is halted here, there’s 53km in total, and at 40km the penultimate stage is the longest solo TT in the Tour since 2013.Īn opening time trial around Copenhagen and a mix of corners and big roads, it’s a circuit around many of the capital’s inner city tourist attractions and institutions.įlat for the sprinters even if there are three climbs to get the mountains competition started. Steep climbs proliferate, even the long climbs like the Granon and Alpe d’Huez are as steep as you’ll get in the French Alps and the Pyrenees skip the long Tourmalet for some sharper climbs. There’s only one stage more than 200km and the majority of mountain stages are shorter than 150km so while Stage 12 to Alpe d’Huez is a big day, it’s not long one. The mountains competition is simplified, gone are the “double HC” climbs were a GC contender could collect the jersey by accident, it should help the raiders more. The points competition could be spiced up thanks to finishes like Longwy and Lausanne which offer some a chance to score when the heavyset sprinters cannot. There are six likely sprint finishes across the three weeks but once out of Denmark none are back-to-back. The Alps and the Pyrenees feature heavily this year with the Col du Granon making a long-awaited return and Alpe d’Huez is famously difficult. After a flight to France there’s a lot going on with the clifftop course to Calais, the pavé, the Superplanche in the Vosges, then the Jura, followed by the first Alpine stage… the first week is an obstacle course rather than the warm-up of old and just reaching the rest day in Morzine untroubled will be a relief for many. Denmark brings novelty in the location but is arguably the most traditional part of the course with an opening TT chased by two sprint stages although beware if the wind blows, especially for the Great Belt bridge. This is another Tour that goes east, cutting out the boring bits of France and is all the better for this. You’ll also find reference material on the race rules like time bonuses, the points scale for the green and polka-dot jersey, time cuts and more in case you need to look them up in the coming weeks, just remember /tour …or bookmark it. There’s a profile of every stage with a quick summary of the day’s course. ![]()
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