Stage 9 - July 13, 2014: Gérardmer - Mulhouse, 170km
By Cycling News
Stage preview
Stage details
Distance: 170km
Category: Medium mountains
Highest point: 1,336m
After finishing in Gérardmer the day before, the riders get to stay in town for the night and depart from there this morning. We are likely to see the general classification battle begin to take shape here, as they take on six classified climbs, including the first category one climb of the race.
The route leave no time to get in some road miles, as the road heads upwards almost as soon as the riders roll off the start line. The sprinters are in for a tough day and the grupetto will be forming pretty early.
There will already have been some tough days, especially the cobbles on stage five, so gaps will already be appearing in the general classification. With so many climbs on this stage, anyone who makes it into the break is in with a shot of wearing the polka-dot jersey by the end. This stage suits a rider such as Christophe Riblon, who won’t be put off tough parcours.
From the top of the final climb there is a long descent towards Cernay. Good descenders such as Vincenzo Nibali can use this as a chance to put some time into rivals like Chris Froome and Alberto Contador. However, he may find it difficult to keep them at bay over the 20 kilometres of flat roads to the finish in Mulhouse.
Alex Sans Vega says... "Every time the Tour comes to the Vosges, the stages are very interesting. I expect a big group to go and make it to the finish. At this point, the sprinters' teams won't work and we won't see a clear leader. It's going to be exciting, with action from the start."
Local history
Jens Voigt has previous in these parts. In 2005, the Tour de France ran a stage from Gérardmer to Mulhouse that took in a few different climbs on that day. Michael Rasmussen was the winner on the day, after attacking at kilometre four. Voigt finished over three minutes later, but rode himself into yellow. It was also the stage where Jan Ullrich somersaulted his way off the side of the road.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Jakobsen consoles Tour of Turkey crash victim Granigan
American not seriously injured in pile-up reminiscent of Dutch rider's Tour de Pologne incident -
Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition 2021- Preview
Women's WorldTour peloton unites for the Ardennes Classics opener in the Netherlands -
Body image and bicycles: in conversation with Kailey Kornhauser and Marley Blonsky
Two weeks after the launch of 'All Bodies on Bikes' we caught up with the pair to delve deeper into its overriding message -
Bike throw nets Ruth Winder the victory at Brabantse Pijl Dames
US champion grabs her first individual win since 2020 Tour Down Under
Sign up to the Cyclingnews Newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how to do this, and how we hold your data, please see our privacy policy
Thank you for signing up to Cycling News. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.