The Tour has reached Eastern France after a series of flat stages, and therefore, it is time for some hills again. We're in the region of the Vosges mountains with three small but difficult climbs to master: the Col de la Schlucht (8.9 km at 4.1 percent), the Col du Platzerwasel (8.7 km at 7.6 percent) and the Col du Firstplan (8.4 km at 5.4 percent).
These look harmless on paper, but could reveal themselves as treacherous for the general classification contenders - remember when Lance Armstrong got isolated from his teammates back in the 2005 Tour's stage 8? That was on the Col de la Schlucht.
Vaughters' views
This will be a great stage to watch, as it will be unpredictable and dynamic, I just don’t quite know who will win…
-
'All my fractures are healing pretty well' - Alexis Magner signs with EF Education-Oatly after devastating crash in July
31-year-old gets extra motivation to recover from collapsed lung, multiple fractures -
Best cycling shorts 2025: Our favorite shorts in every category, for every budget
The best cycling shorts for summer, winter and adventure riding, tested and reviewed -
Juan Ayuso, Julian Alaphilippe and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot lead Spain and France teams for Rwanda World Championships
Monument and Grand Tour stage winners added to start lists for elite races -
'The UCI sets the rules' - Vuelta a España organiser describe protests as 'unacceptable' but insists they could not expel the Israel-Premier Tech team
UCI condemns Spanish government for "exploitation of sport for political purposes"
