The King Stage! Probably the most important Stage on any Climber's or GC Contender's short professional career so far. In total, we have 4620 meters of elevation gain divided into 3 climbs. But first, let's start on the beginning.
Albertville, historical Alpine village, host the start of this important Stage. Located near so many famous climbs, it's usually filled with enthusiastic bike riders wanting to explore the A...
Read moreThe King Stage! Probably the most important Stage on any Climber's or GC Contender's short professional career so far. In total, we have 4620 meters of elevation gain divided into 3 climbs. But first, let's start on the beginning.
Albertville, historical Alpine village, host the start of this important Stage. Located near so many famous climbs, it's usually filled with enthusiastic bike riders wanting to explore the Alpine roads. During this stage, they will be focusing on getting to know better the future OCM Stars and will follow the race close.
The first 45 kilometres are almost flat and not demanding at all. The breakaway of the day will probably have to wait until that point to be formed since almost everyone will want to be there in order to have any chance to contest the win. It's up to the GC Teams to control who gets to join it and who doesn't.
Our first climb is up to Le Coches. 6 km at 8% makes it the hardest climb in terms of incline, but far from being the longest one. A nice place to test your legs for today.
After a short descent, the riders tackle the second climb, the climb to Arc 1800. The climb stats are scary, 11,7 km at 7,5% and this starts just 5 km from the top of the last climb. Not many riders will be able to stay with the peloton after this climb, but don't worry, the worst is yet to come.
20 km of downhill and flat will allow some team mates to re-join the pack and help push the peloton. Our final destination, the Col de l`Iseran is now right in front of us. Ladies and gentlemen, hold onto your seats. 39,2 km. 1970 meters of elevation gain. This translates into a "modest" 5% incline that lasts some impressive 39,2 km. Where to launch the final attack will be the key. Will the GC contenders still have any teammate left to help them?
The lake L'Isère marks the halfway point of the climb, so we can expect to see teammates working at the front until that point. The last 20 km will be pure chaos! Who will end up on top?
