Visé – Tournai
Distance: 207.5km
Highest point: 190m
Category: Flat
Gloves off for the sprinters
Already more than halfway towards Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 Tour stage victories, Mark Cavendish will have this stage very much in his sights. However, the list of challengers to the Briton’s sprint crown continues to grow. Also likely to feature are Tyler Farrar, André Greipel, Peter Sagan and new German star Marcel Kittel. The presence of Cavendish’s erstwhile lead-out men, Matt Goss and Mark Renshaw, also adds another intriguing edge. Cavendish has been a slow starter at recent Tours but should get plenty of motivation from his desire to keep his rivals in check.
André Greipel: "This is the first real opportunity for the sprinters. The finishing straight (on Boulevard Bara) is straight and wide which should make it easier to organise the lead-out trains and it will be interesting to see which teams have clicked."
-
Sam Welsford win's men's Cadel's Criterium, sprinting to victory from the break
Close battle with Jensen Plowright while Matteo Sobrero snares third -
Martina Fidanza wins women's Cadel's Criterium, holds off pursuit of SD Worx duo
Marta Lach second and Barbara Guarischi third in 40km replacement race for cancelled Surf Coast Classic -
Tour de Bloom says 'no thank you' to UCI designation for elite women but expands to six days, Canadian cyclo-cross team named for Worlds, and more - North American Roundup
Marlies Mejías uses crowdfunding in quest for third Olympic Games berth; sprinter Jim Brown and all-rounder Noah Granigan added to L39ION of Los Angeles roster -
António Morgado earns birthday victory in Trofeo Calviá
19-year-old Spaniard Héctor Alvarez second, Uno-X Mobility's Adne Holter third
