Latest news with #crosswinds
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tour de France 2025: stage four from Amiens to Rouen
Update: Date: 2025-07-08T13:53:33.000Z Title: 70km to go: Content: Tour updates from the 173km stage to Rouen Stage by stage guide | Email John your thoughts John Brewin Tue 8 Jul 2025 14.53 BST First published on Tue 8 Jul 2025 11.00 BST 2.53pm BST 14:53 A descent splits the peloton, and soon enough they will take that turn into crosswinds. They are heading north, and with the Education Easypost team hoping Asgreen can land a win but with Ben Healy and Nelson Powless to use, too. 2.41pm BST 14:41 80km to go: 'Hi John. We are sitting baking in the sun waiting for the tour just outside Les Andelys. Atmosphere is gentle and there was no fighting over the crap from the Caravan (they were going so fast I got hit by a lump of Brie and have lovely bruise on my thigh!!) More regular updates please, we've no idea what's going on as all the radios around us are in very fast French. Kate and Steve xx' The truth, Kate and Steve, is that this is, like Monday, without much combat, building up to the big bangs that come around from 49km to go.' The talk is of a crosswind at 64km to go. 2.38pm BST 14:38 85km to go: Roland Marshall gets in touch: 'Hello Mister Brewin, I felt Coquard was very unlucky to get a yellow card for his part in the Philipsen crash, or rather to be the only one to be sanctioned thus. Rex was equally if not more culpable and yet got off scot-free. We haven't heard a peep out of him, whereas (a visibly distressed) Coquard had the good grace to show remorse (after having summersaulted off his bike a little earlier, no less) for what even Alpecin-Deceuninck have accepted as an unlucky accident. Cycling's yellow cards look set to become the equivalent of football's VAR/.' The gap is still at two minutes. 2.29pm BST 14:29 88km to go: Mike Gresley gets in touch: 'Hi John – I see you've already dropped the gag once, but how about some love for the 2005 Supergrass album 'Road to Rouen'. A hugely under-appreciated album from a band that should be recognised as one of the greats. In my humble opinion at least.' Saw them live once, at Lansdowne Road, supporting Oasis in 2000. They got blown away by the wind. Not for me, and Oasis weren't any better. My one time seeing them. Updated at 2.31pm BST 2.27pm BST 14:27 90km to go: Education Easy Post, Asgreen's team, is sat up the front here, the team of Jonathan Vaughters. You used to know them as Garmin. Ben Healy is their hope for today. 2.23pm BST 14:23 100km to go: Into breezy, woody territory they head, the gap dropping below two minutes. It's around 50km to go that the climbing truly begins and after that an intermediate sprint. On the TNT coverage, the excellent Jonathan Harris-Bass is regaling us with tales of Josephine Baker, and Charles the Bald, son of Charlemagne. Carlton Kirby – he of the Kirbygasm – is showing some impressive knowledge of Marvin Gaye's lost weekend in Ostend. Having been myself to Ostend, Marvin must have very down in the dumps. 2.09pm BST 14:09 105 km to go: Simon Thomas gets in touch: 'Hi John, 'Miguel Induráin (Spain) also won three consecutive Tours and is at present the only man to win five Tours in a row (1991-95)'. In one of his first Tours (86 I think), his dad turned up halfway through the stage and told him to abandon as he was needed at home to get the harvest in.' Updated at 2.32pm BST 2.05pm BST 14:05 110km to go: No prix de combativité handed out on Monday. That suggests what we thought, not much happened beyond the crashes. Not much combat here today but we have a long way to go. 1.59pm BST 13:59 115 km to go: The gap remains at two minutes, in full control of the Alpecin team. Remember, though, there's plenty of action in the last 50 – four categorised climbs in the last 50 clicks. 1.44pm BST 13:44 125km to go: The four men and true ahead of the pack: Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and Thomas Gachignard (Team TotalEnergies). 1.34pm BST 13:34 130km to go: A reminder of the GC standings, which could be very different by the end of today. 1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin - Deceuninck 12:55:37 2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - XRG +4 3. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Visma - Lease a Bike +6 4. Kévin Vauquelin (FRA) Arkéa - B&B Hotels +10 5. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Team Visma - Lease a Bike ' 6. Enric Mas (ESP) Movistar Team ' 7. Joe Blackmore (GBR) Israel - Premier Tech +41 8. Tobias Johannessen (NOR) Uno-X Mobility ' 9. Ben O'Connor (AUS) Team Jayco AlUla ' 10. Emanuel Buchmann (GER) Cofidis +49 1.24pm BST 13:24 140 km to go: David Kemp gets in touch: 'Miguel Indurain (Spain) also won three consecutive Tours and is at present the only man to win five Tours in a row (1991-95).' The article below, from 2001, did say that. Froome is the only rider to three in a row since if we're avoiding a certain American podcaster, who probably still thinks he did seven in a row. But any memories of Big Mig are happy ones. His was a golden era. 1.14pm BST 13:14 145 km to go: Alpecin, the team of Mathieu van der Poel, are leading the peloton through le campagne. The bucket hat appears on trend for those at the roadside. Updated at 2.04pm BST 1.06pm BST 13:06 150 km to go: Seems the chasing pack is happy to keep the breakaway at two minutes, and they will pick them up later. 1.01pm BST 13:01 155km to go: Heartwarming story from Reuters on Monday: Eleven bicycles belonging to Cofidis, stolen overnight before the second stage of the Tour de France, have been recovered, the team's general manager Cedric Vasseur said on Monday following the third stage of the race. 'I had Christian Prudhomme (the Tour's director) on the phone during the stage. He was with the prefect to tell us that the bikes had been found in the afternoon', Vasseur told France TV after the conclusion of the third stage. The team had earlier reported that five of the 11 bikes had been recovered. 'Some of the staff combed the area and managed to get their hands on five bicycles, which had been thrown away by the criminals in undergrowth near the hotel', the team said in a press release. The race is going full gas, almost 50km per hour. We are in Macron country here, in the sense that Manu comes from here. Asgreen catches up with the breakaway and they welcome him into their four-man brotherhood. 12.53pm BST 12:53 160 km to go: Van der Poel takes a comfort break as the peloton deigns to the race leader and sits up. Asgreen is giving everything up the hill as he chases that trio of escapees. Huw Morgan gets in touch: 'Just been to Amiens to watch the depart. Always a strange experience 'watching' cycling live. We drove an hour and 10 minutes for our 10 month old baby to basically gawp at a 150 young men on their bikes. Wout and Pogacar stopped right in front of us so we feel lucky. My wife's sense from watching them all at the start was that Jonas looks good and Pogacar looks good. We expect a Royal rumble in Rouen.' Let's hope Mrs Morgan is right. 12.48pm BST 12:48 165 km to go: They leave Amiens behind, the city of Jules Verne, where Federico Fellini made Clowns, having crossed the Somme. Not that the peloton is thinking of such deep culture as Kasper Asgreen, a Classic winner, sets off to join a breakaway that's already go almost two minutes on the pack. No panic just yet, long way to go. 12.40pm BST 12:40 173 km to go: And we have two breakers in the wind, Lenny Martinez and Jonas Abrahamsen, are those taking it up. The word on the radio is that the wind is high. Will we be seeing echelons already? Thomas Gachingnard goes in chase. None of these are GC contenders so the peloton is relaxed enough. There's plenty of battles waiting up the road. Updated at 12.43pm BST 12.36pm BST 12:36 Nick Wayne on Bryan Coquard, culpable, if unluckily, in the exit of Philipsen: 'Out of interest, what about these yellow cards? Was it considered that he didn't merit one? If it was mentioned, I missed it. Not that he deserved it as it seemed accidental.' Coquard: 'Obviously, it wasn't my intention to cause a crash; I didn't want to take any risks. I was clearly thrown off balance, I almost lost my shoe. Even if it wasn't intentional, I want to apologize to Philipsen and Alpecin-Deceuninck. Even if I'm not a bad guy, it's not pleasant.' Alpecin co-manager Phillip Roodhoft: 'Jasper is the victim of something he's totally not involved in, that's clear. To be honest, the two others who collided, I think it's not about blaming. It's just a stupid crash. Things can happen, and the consequences for us as a team, but mainly for Jasper, are very bad, but what can you say? Bad things happen sometimes.' And yet, Coquard is on a yellow. 12.31pm BST 12:31 Jeremy Boyce is in touch: 'As you say, different profile today. With 2 flat stages and a tt to come, but the mountains literally and metaphorically looming, it's maybe a day for the gc teams and contenders to show themselves and put some pressure on their rivals? Will the Vismas have a go, or are they already running scared of UAE/Pogacar ? Or keeping their cards close/powder dry ?' 12.30pm BST 12:30 James Irwin gets in touch: 'Love your football work, both written and on the Football Weekly pod. (Thanks, James, really appreciated). Thought I would say Bonjour from Gournay-en-Bray, about 60km into today's stage of the Tour. On holiday with my family on a campsite about two hours away and we are big cycling fans so decided we had to come along. Plenty of atmosphere in this village for the race. Should be a good ending to the stage today once it reaches Côte Jacques Anquetil. Will enjoy reading your live updates while we sit here for the next few hours. Cheers, James Irwin (with wife Tracey and daughter Charlotte, 13.' Enjoy, team. 12.28pm BST 12:28 Jacques Anquetil, a Rouen native and five-time Tour winner, is remembered with a monument on the Côte Jacques Anquetil climb, which today's route includes. The legend was profiled here in these pages in 2001: Jacques Anquetil (France) 1961, 1962, 1963 Master Jacques came of Norman farming stock, and was a superlative time-trialist whose strength against the clock made him the first man to win five Tours. Famous as a man who liked to live well - champagne, cigars, oysters - he raced up to 230 times a year and made no bones about the fact that in order to do so it was necessary to take drugs. Died of stomach cancer in 1987. Only Chris Froome has won three Tour de France in succession since as we're not counting you know who. Updated at 1.22pm BST 12.24pm BST 12:24 The départ fictif is in session in the city of Amiens, and the road to Rouen begins. Now they know how Joan of Arc felt…the streets are full. The Tour de France has visited Rouen 18 times since 1957, and it's the 14th time for Amiens, though the first since 1977. That year, a finish in Rouen saw Dutchman Fedor den Hertog take the stage, the yellow jersey eventually taken by Bernard Thévenet, a two-time winner with a mixed reputation. Rouen hosted a 2012 stage, won by sprinter supreme Andre Greipel, the GC winner that year was…Bradley Wiggins…yeah, Le Tour is Le Tour. 11.09am BST 11:09 Here's Monday's stage report from Jeremy Whittle. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider had been contesting the intermediate sprint at Isbergues when Coquard moved to the right and touched shoulders with another rider, before swerving across into the Belgian's path, causing him to crash. 'I'm not a bad guy,' a visibly distressed Coquard said at the finish. 'I apologise to Alpecin, even if I didn't mean to do anything. I almost lost my shoe and there was nothing I could do.' 11.00am BST 11:00 Bonjour, tout le monde. Le Tour is Le Tour as we say every year. The casualties pile high, with Jasper Philipsen joining the list yesterday and Remco Evenepoel on the deck, but back up soon as they sped into Dunkirk. These flat stages are often where the pain is sharpest, the speed they rattle along at. Today, still in northern France, will be a bit different, with a Classic-style configuration, with lots of climbs before in the last third, the tough gets going, with repeated nasty climbs. One for the breakaway clubs, and hard work for the team captains, a day of rouleurs and puncheurs. And most probably Tadej Pogacar. Per William Fotheringham's pre-Tour guide. A welter of little hills in the finale including the Rampe Saint-Hilaire, a 750m 'wall' in the city centre, 5km from the finish; there will be huge stress for all the contenders trying to get in place for these. Evocatively, one of the late hills is the Côte de Bonsecours, where Jean Robic staged a final-day heist to win the 1947 Tour, but in the Pogacar era there's not much chance of a repeat.
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tour de France 2025: stage-by-stage guide to this year's race
The climbs of Mont Cassel and Le Mont Noir won't be enough to split the peloton, so this is almost guaranteed to be a bunch sprint, unless it gets windy. A strong westerly would make this a nightmare with more than 140km of crosswinds, but if it stays calm it's a first big test for Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and the other fast men. For the favourites, a first day of trying to stay upright. A punchy finale: three steep little hills in the final 30km, and a climb to the finish. There will be a selection here, with a strong chance of crashes as the riders battle for position before the climbs. This stage has Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert written on it and even more stress than day one for Tadej Pogacar and company. The chances are at least one favourite ends their race here. A third very accessible day for UK fans, another ascent of Cassel, but the safe money is on a bunch sprint in Dunkirk, famed among cycling fans for the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque stage race which actually lasts six days. The same proviso as day one: a westerly equals crosswinds on the final exposed 35km and splits in the field. These early days will be packed with crashes and tension, but Philipsen and company will be licking their lips. A welter of little hills in the finale including the Rampe Saint-Hilaire, a 750m 'wall' in the city centre, 5km from the finish; there will be huge stress for all the contenders trying to get in place for these. Evocatively, one of the late hills is the Côte de Bonsecours, where Jean Robic staged a final-day heist to win the 1947 Tour, but in the Pogacar era there's not much chance of a repeat. The first decisive day in the battle for the overall, a relatively long time trial on the rolling bocage north-east of Caen, largely on wide main roads that will suit the most powerful riders in the field. The favourites need to at least limit any losses; the winner should be a pure rouleur – the Italian Filippo Ganna, perhaps. If he's on form, Ineos should be targeting this stage and a possible spell in yellow. The Suisse Normande isn't widely known among cyclists now, but back in the day local amateurs spoke in awe of races over this area's leg-breaking climbs. The fun starts in the final 70km, with three third-category climbs, before a final little brute, the Côte de Vaudry, 4km from the finish. French fans will be hoping Julian Alaphilippe can throw back the years as this would have been made for him in his pomp. Day one in Brittany is more straightforward, passing Bernard Hinault's village of Yffiniac – 40 years since the Badger became the last French Tour winner – before two ascents of Mûr de Bretagne to conclude. The finish up the 'Wall' is harder than anything the race has tackled to date, and you'd expect Pogacar to make an early statement of intent, but it will also suit Van der Poel, winner here in 2021. The start tips its hat to the triple winner Louison Bobet, the baker's boy from Saint Méen, then the route heads east; if the prevailing wind – westerly – does its thing, this will be very fast, but the scenario is well trodden: early doomed break featuring lowly French teams cheered on by the local crowd – think Arkéa, Cofidis, Total Energies – and a sprint finish for Philipsen and company after five days' waiting. British fans remember Chateauroux for the first of Mark Cavendish's 35 stage wins in 2008 and his 32nd in 2021. With not a single rated climb en route, this is bound to be a sprint day, and by this point, the pressure will be mounting on the fast men who are yet to win: if Philipsen and Merlier are on form, the finger will be pointing at Biniam Girmay and Dylan Groenewegen. Just the 10 climbs today in the Massif Central; mainly second category but totalling 4,450m of vertical ascent. This is the first major showdown among the favourites, and at least a couple could see their hopes of winning end here. With climbing from the get-go it will be full on from the start; for the win look to a puncheur like Ireland's Ben Healy. It's Bastille Day so the French will bust a gut and leave empty-handed. Rest day, Tuesday July 15 This could go either of three ways: full bunch sprint, reduced bunch sprint, or break. The finale with its series of little hills might burn off a fast man or two, and will certainly make a coordinated chase difficult. This could be the last full bunch sprint of the Tour, so let's plump for Philipsen; if the break goes and the sprinters' teams tire in the finale the wily Dane Magnus Cort is a good bet. First proper mountain stage up the grim ascent above Lourdes where Miguel Indurain destroyed the field in 1994. There's a long preamble to the Col du Soulor, the first first-category pass of the race, so expect a massive break targeting the stage win. If the favourites give the break leeway, the winner will be someone who can climb but won't win overall, so why not the Frenchman Guillaume Martin? Three kilometres of flat, eight straight uphill against the watch, culminating in a final kilometre at 16%. This is a day for the GC men, with absolutely no hiding or bluffing. Whoever wins here will have a very good chance of winning overall in Paris, so it's a day for Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard to show exactly what they've got in the tank. For everyone else, it's damage limitation. A mountain classic: Cols de Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde, plus the pull up to the ski station, where winners include Federico Bahamontes, Greg LeMond, Hinault and Robert Millar. Four big passes make this a decisive day in the mountains prize with a ton of points on offer; the stage winner will probably be a climber who's not figuring overall. Enric Mas of Spain might fit that bill, or the Austrian Felix Gall. In the past, the organisers would have left this as a flattish transition stage with a bunch sprint at the end. In the made-for-TV 21st-century Tour, this gets a detour into Le Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Languedoc with a couple of meaty climbs midway through to liven things up. It's a day for the breakaway artists, who will know that their opportunities are running out: why not the demon descender Matej Mohoric? Rest day, Monday July 21 Moonscape, Tom Simpson, Giant of Provence, wheel out those evergreen lines for the nastiest climb of the Tour so far. The stage is pretty flat as far as Bédoin at the foot of the Bald Mountain, but then it's uphill for 22 baking or windswept kilometres. A potentially decisive day for the overall contenders. Pogacar and Vingegaard will make the race here, and UAE v Visma could be a battle worthy of the backdrop. Potentially a bunch sprint, the last of the Tour, but teams with a sprinter who can climb – think Intermarché with Girmay for example – will try and burn off the slightly heavier brethren such as Merlier on the drag to the Col de Pertuis after 66km, particularly if the green jersey is in play; here's a chance to gain valuable points. It will all hang on wind direction, morale and the peloton's dwindling reserves of strength. The first of two monstrous Alpine stages, including three super-category passes: the Glandon, Madeleine and the 27km haul up the Col de la Loze to the finish. The script in recent Tours has been for the overall contenders to fight so hard in the biggest mountain stages that the breaks get scooped up before the finish. No reason to expect today to be the exception, so Pogacar or Vingegaard are safe bets for the win. Short and brutal, but with only two super-category climbs and they aren't quite as horrific as the day before's. The race could well have been decided the day before, in which case the favourites will give a break a lot of headroom, and watch each other to the finish to consolidate what they have. That makes this the final chance for climbers such as Australian Ben O'Connor and Ireland's Ed Dunbar. The puncheurs and breakaway specialists will have been waiting for five days with this one on their minds. The battle for the early break will be intense and the fight for the stage could be epic. As well as our old friends Cort and Healy, this will appeal to about half the peloton, wily one-day specialists such as the Dane Mattias Skjelmose. Paradoxically, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Tour finish on the Champs, it's all change: three laps of the Champs circuit, then three times up the Butte Montmartre. If the overall standings are tight this could be a cliffhanger. It's 46 years since a Tour winner won a road-race stage into Paris but don't rule out Pogacar for a final flourish; if not the Slovene, a Classics specialist such as Van der Poel.
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tour de France 2025: stage-by-stage guide to this year's race
The climbs of Mont Cassel and Le Mont Noir won't be enough to split the peloton, so this is almost guaranteed to be a bunch sprint, unless it gets windy. A strong westerly would make this a nightmare with more than 140km of crosswinds, but if it stays calm it's a first big test for Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and the other fast men. For the favourites, a first day of trying to stay upright. A punchy finale: three steep little hills in the final 30km, and a climb to the finish. There will be a selection here, with a strong chance of crashes as the riders battle for position before the climbs. This stage has Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert written on it and even more stress than day one for Tadej Pogacar and company. The chances are at least one favourite ends their race here. A third very accessible day for UK fans, another ascent of Cassel, but the safe money is on a bunch sprint in Dunkirk, famed among cycling fans for the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque stage race which actually lasts six days. The same proviso as day one: a westerly equals crosswinds on the final exposed 35km and splits in the field. These early days will be packed with crashes and tension, but Philipsen and company will be licking their lips. A welter of little hills in the finale including the Rampe Saint-Hilaire, a 750m 'wall' in the city centre, 5km from the finish; there will be huge stress for all the contenders trying to get in place for these. Evocatively, one of the late hills is the Côte de Bonsecours, where Jean Robic staged a final-day heist to win the 1947 Tour, but in the Pogacar era there's not much chance of a repeat. The first decisive day in the battle for the overall, a relatively long time trial on the rolling bocage north-east of Caen, largely on wide main roads that will suit the most powerful riders in the field. The favourites need to at least limit any losses; the winner should be a pure rouleur – the Italian Filippo Ganna, perhaps. If he's on form, Ineos should be targeting this stage and a possible spell in yellow. The Suisse Normande isn't widely known among cyclists now, but back in the day local amateurs spoke in awe of races over this area's leg-breaking climbs. The fun starts in the final 70km, with three third-category climbs, before a final little brute, the Côte de Vaudry, 4km from the finish. French fans will be hoping Julian Alaphilippe can throw back the years as this would have been made for him in his pomp. Day one in Brittany is more straightforward, passing Bernard Hinault's village of Yffiniac – 40 years since the Badger became the last French Tour winner – before two ascents of Mûr de Bretagne to conclude. The finish up the 'Wall' is harder than anything the race has tackled to date, and you'd expect Pogacar to make an early statement of intent, but it will also suit Van der Poel, winner here in 2021. The start tips its hat to the triple winner Louison Bobet, the baker's boy from Saint Méen, then the route heads east; if the prevailing wind – westerly – does its thing, this will be very fast, but the scenario is well trodden: early doomed break featuring lowly French teams cheered on by the local crowd – think Arkéa, Cofidis, Total Energies – and a sprint finish for Philipsen and company after five days' waiting. British fans remember Chateauroux for the first of Mark Cavendish's 36 stage wins in 2008 and his 32nd in 2021. With not a single rated climb en route, this is bound to be a sprint day, and by this point, the pressure will be mounting on the fast men who are yet to win: if Philipsen and Merlier are on form, the finger will be pointing at Biniam Girmay and Dylan Groenewegen. Just the 10 climbs today in the Massif Central; mainly second category but totalling 4,450m of vertical ascent. This is the first major showdown among the favourites, and at least a couple could see their hopes of winning end here. With climbing from the get-go it will be full on from the start; for the win look to a puncheur like Ireland's Ben Healy. It's Bastille Day so the French will bust a gut and leave empty-handed. Rest day, Tuesday July 15 This could go either of three ways: full bunch sprint, reduced bunch sprint, or break. The finale with its series of little hills might burn off a fast man or two, and will certainly make a coordinated chase difficult. This could be the last full bunch sprint of the Tour, so let's plump for Philipsen; if the break goes and the sprinters' teams tire in the finale the wily Dane Magnus Cort is a good bet. First proper mountain stage up the grim ascent above Lourdes where Miguel Indurain destroyed the field in 1994. There's a long preamble to the Col du Soulor, the first first-category pass of the race, so expect a massive break targeting the stage win. If the favourites give the break leeway, the winner will be someone who can climb but won't win overall, so why not the Frenchman Guillaume Martin or his teammate David Gaudu? Three kilometres of flat, eight straight uphill against the watch, culminating in a final kilometre at 16%. This is a day for the GC men, with absolutely no hiding or bluffing. Whoever wins here will have a very good chance of winning overall in Paris, so it's a day for Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard to show exactly what they've got in the tank. For everyone else, it's damage limitation. A mountain classic: Cols de Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde, plus the pull up to the ski station, where winners include Federico Bahamontes, Greg LeMond, Hinault and Robert Millar. Four big passes make this a decisive day in the mountains prize with a ton of points on offer; the stage winner will probably be a climber who's not figuring overall. Enric Mas of Spain might fit that bill, or the Austrian Felix Gall. In the past, the organisers would have left this as a flattish transition stage with a bunch sprint at the end. In the made-for-TV 21st-century Tour, this gets a detour into Le Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Languedoc with a couple of meaty climbs midway through to liven things up. It's a day for the breakaway artists, who will know that their opportunities are running out: why not the demon descender Matej Mohoric or the Welsh wizard Stevie Williams? Rest day, Monday July 21 Moonscape, Tom Simpson, Giant of Provence, wheel out those evergreen lines for the nastiest climb of the Tour so far. The stage is pretty flat as far as Bédoin at the foot of the Bald Mountain, but then it's uphill for 22 baking or windswept kilometres. A potentially decisive day for the overall contenders. Pogacar and Vingegaard will make the race here, and UAE v Visma could be a battle worthy of the backdrop. Potentially a bunch sprint, the last of the Tour, but teams with a sprinter who can climb – think Intermarché with Girmay for example – will try and burn off the slightly heavier brethren such as Merlier on the drag to the Col de Pertuis after 66km, particularly if the green jersey is in play; here's a chance to gain valuable points. It will all hang on wind direction, morale and the peloton's dwindling reserves of strength. The first of two monstrous Alpine stages, including three super-category passes: the Glandon, Madeleine and the 27km haul up the Col de la Loze to the finish. The script in recent Tours has been for the overall contenders to fight so hard in the biggest mountain stages that the breaks get scooped up before the finish. No reason to expect today to be the exception, so Pogacar or Vingegaard are safe bets for the win. Short and brutal, but with only two super-category climbs and they aren't quite as horrific as the day before's. The race could well have been decided the day before, in which case the favourites will give a break a lot of headroom, and watch each other to the finish to consolidate what they have. That makes this the final chance for climbers such as Australian Ben O'Connor and Ireland's Ed Dunbar. The puncheurs and breakaway specialists will have been waiting for five days with this one on their minds. The battle for the early break will be intense and the fight for the stage could be epic. As well as our old friends Cort and Healy, this will appeal to about half the peloton, wily one-day specialists such as Alberto Bettiol of Italy or the Dane Mattias Skjelmose. Paradoxically, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Tour finish on the Champs, it's all change: three laps of the Champs circuit, then three times up the Butte Montmartre. If the overall standings are tight this could be a cliffhanger. It's 46 years since a Tour winner won a road-race stage into Paris but don't rule out Pogacar for a final flourish; if not the Slovene, a Classics specialist such as Van der Poel.
