Today is the shortest road stage of the Tour at 129.7km however it will potentially be one of the most decisive. The first half of the route is flat with the second half littered with four categorised climbs.
The racing will be ferocious, there is no doubt.
Will Tadej Pogacar finally unhinge Jonas Vingeg-glue as he has become affectionately known?
The evidence to date certainly suggest that he will not but with nothing to lose we will likely see Tadej risking it all to gain some time in the GC.
The climbs today generally do not have the parcours associated with massive splits within the GC, it is not until the final kilometre of the day on the Peyragudes which averages 13% that we would expect some to start “pedalling squares”.
We want to see some proper GC fights today but it will likely take a lot of team work from both Ineos and UAE to make that happen. Jumbo deserve their position in the race and will be ready for almost anything.
As for the break, it will most likely be allowed to get away if Jumbo take the front of the peloton, they will remove the bonus seconds and they will keep Jonas fresher for the attacks later in the day. A hard race from the get-go will suit Ineos and UAE more and we might see them pushing the pace early on although they will need to keep some bullets in the chamber for the second half of the day.
We would hope to see the two crowd favourites of Thibaut Pinot and Chris Froome make the break and battle it out for the stage. Simon Geschke will certainly join them to sweep up the points in the Polka Dot Jersey as the competition will be decided over the next two days.
Our Top Picks:
Chris Froome
Thibaut Pinot
Tadej Pogacar
Outside Picks:
Jonas Vingegaard
Leonard Kamna
Louis Leon Sanchez
Our Top Pick:
Sir Chris Froome 🤞
