Nibali faces first real Tour de France test on La Planche des Belles Filles

Thursday’s first Tour de France mountaintop finish at the Vosges ski resort of La Planche des Belles Filles will reveal the true ambitions and true form of all the overall contenders and their rivals, both within their own teams and across the peloton. We could see the Team Ineos leadership conundrum resolved, understand if Nairo Quintana, Romain Bardet and Rigoberto Urán have the form to win the Tour de France and better understand who has been hiding and who has been suffering since the Grand Départ in Brussels.

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Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.