6 Must-See Stages Of The 2017 Tour De France

The 2017 Tour de France is set to play out a lot differently than those of previous Tours. Chris Froome and Team Sky will have their work cut out for them.


Whit Yost |

The 2017 Tour de France is set to play out a lot differently than those of previous Tours. Chris Froome and Team Sky will have their work cut out for them. – By Whit Yost

Getty Images
Getty Images

With fewer summit finishes, shorter time trials, and several stages that look to be anything but straightforward (on paper at least), the Tour’s organisers appear to be doing everything they can to make it hard for Chris Froome and Team Sky to control the race like they have in the past.

In the end, it will be up to Froome’s competition to take advantage of these opportunities in a race that is designed to be more wide-open—and therefore more exciting—than previous editions. Here are six stages to mark on your calendar:

Stage 5 – Vittel to La Planche des Belles Filles (160km)
Wednesday, July 5th

For the first time since 1992, the Tour visits all five of France’s major mountain ranges, beginning with a trip through the Vosges and a summit finish atop La Planche des Belles Filles. A short but steep climb ending with a 20 percent ramp to the finish, this stage marks only the third time that the Tour has climbed the La Planche des Belles Filles—and both previous visits proved to be quite decisive.

Froome won a stage here for Team Sky in 2012, announcing himself as a future Tour champion while riding in support of Bradley Wiggins (who went on to win that year’s Tour). Then in 2015, Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali took the victory, also on his way to winning the race overall. The stage comes very early this year—only five days into the race—which means all of the contenders should be fresh and ready to try and prevent Froome and his team from seizing control.

The winner will probably take the yellow jersey, but defending it all the way to Paris will be easier said than done.

Supplied
Supplied

Stage 9 – Nantua to Chambery (181km)
Sunday, July 9

After the Vosges, the Tour spends two days in the Jura, a region in eastern France known for its short, steep ascents. Stage 9 covers three of them, highlighted by a climb up the tougher side of the Grand Colombier. On the Colombier, the riders will have pitches of 22 per cent to contend with, plus a fast, technical descent back down to the valley below. Then comes the Mont de Chat, a climb that hasn’t been in the Tour since 1974.

Both longer and steeper than the Colombier, riders likely won’t be happy to see its return. In keeping with the trend of recent Tours, this stage ends with a descent from the summit of the final climb, meaning teams will have a chance to put the yellow jersey and his team under pressure through the Jura’s narrow, winding (and often rainy) roads. And with the Tour’s first Rest Day coming next, riders won’t be afraid to take some risks in order to shuffle the General Classification.

Stage 13 – Saint-Girons to Foix (100km)
Friday, July 14

The 2017 Tour spends only two days in the Pyrenees. The first, Stage 12, is a long stage that ends with a summit finish in Peyragudes. It will be a long, hard day in the saddle that will certainly see the GC contenders continue their battle for the yellow jersey. But Stage 13 has us really excited. At 100km, it’s the shortest road stage since the Tour stopped offering two-a-day stages.

It also contains three categorised climbs, including the steep Mur de Peguere. Although it ends 27km from the summit of the Mur, this stage is short enough that opportunistic riders will go on the attack early, making this a day that should be aggressive from start to finish. It’s also Bastille Day, meaning French riders will be extra motivated to put on a show for their home fans.

RELATED: Can Chris Froome Be Beaten?

Stage 15 – Laissac-Severac L’Eglise to Le Puy-en-Velay (189km)
Sunday, July 16

This stage is a true wild card. The Massif Centrale is a region known for tough climbs and hot weather, so riders will need to be at their best for the undulating journey through the Aubrac Plateau. The road goes up soon after the start in Laissac-Severac L’Eglise, and it never stops climbing or descending until the finish in Le Puy-en-Velay.

The day’s final categorised climb, the Col de Peyra Taillade, comes 40km from the finish. But the heat, the tight, winding roads, and maybe even some wind could offer a perfect opportunity for a breakaway to steal the glory. And if they’re not paying attention, the GC contenders could lose time as well. This stage could be a dud, or it could blow the race apart—and that’s the beauty of it!

Stage 18 – Briancon to Izoard (178km)
Thursday, July 20

After a trip through the Massif Centrale, the Tour hits the Alps for two stages that will give climbers their final chances to gain time before the race’s final weekend. The day after climbing the vicious Col du Galibier (the highest summit of the 2017 Tour), Stage 18 brings with it the third and final mountaintop finish—this time atop the famous Col d’Izoard, a climb making its 34th Tour appearance, but its first as a stage finish.

The Izoard is a beast of a climb that starts gradually but gets steeper and steeper as the riders ride higher into its barren, Alpine landscape. It’s also proven to be a good predictor of Tour success: of the 34 riders to have been first to the top of the Izoard, 11 have gone on to win the Tour de France.

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Stage 20 – Marseille to Marseille (23km ITT)
Saturday, July 17

If the Izoard doesn’t settle things, this stage certainly will. After a 13km individual time trial in Dusseldorf to start the Tour, the race effectively comes to a close with this longer 23km time trial through the streets of Marseille, a city that hosted stages in the first Tour de France, the 50th, and the 100th. In all, Marseille has welcomed the Tour 35 times in its history—but in a Tour filled with firsts, this will be Marseille’s first time hosting a time trial.

The 23km course will start and finish inside Marseille’s legendary velodrome, taking the riders through the streets of this famous city on the Mediterranean coast. For Chris Froome, a fantastic time trialist, this stage offers a perfect opportunity to put the finishing touches on another Tour victory. For the rest, they better hope they’ve given themselves a nice cushion if they are to have any chance of stopping the Briton from taking his fourth Tour de France.

The Izoard will also host the finish to this year’s La Course event for women; the first time in the event’s brief history that it won’t take place on the Champs-Élysées.

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