Tour de France 2017: Stage 7 preview
Troyes - Nuits-Saint-Georges, 213.5km
More France Profonde, more flat territory, but we're far enough south and away from the mountains that the Tour de France has entered wine country. The peloton leaves the Champagne town of Troyes and heads down to the Burgundian terroir of Nuits-St-Georges, whose rolling fields and alluvium soils are perfect for growing pinot noir.
There's nothing too challenging on the route. From Troyes, the countryside slopes almost invisibly upwards from 108m altitude at the start, to the Plateau de Langres in the Côte-d'Or département 120km away for a high point of 519m. It undulates a bit mid-stage, and the final 50km are flat.
Though the sprinters would probably beg to differ, the 2017 Tour is relatively kind to them in comparison with a few recent editions. It's not just that there are eight or nine possible sprint finishes, which is about half of the road stages, but also that there are opportunities every few days. Yes, the Tour went up the Planche des Belles Filles as early as stage 5, but it was followed by the Troyes stage and this.
Two days in the Jura will put the sprinters out the back, but following the first rest day, there are two more flat stages. The only real slog is across the southern Massif Central – not much chance of bunch kicks in Rodez or Le Puy, but the last 100km of the Romans-sur-Isère stage are downhill. The longest stretch without a sprint stage is four days, from Pau to Le Puy. By comparison, in 2015, between stage seven in Fougères and stage 21 in Paris, every single stage was designated medium or high mountain, plus a TTT. André Greipel managed to tame the Valence stage halfway through that run, but it was a bad year for sprinters.
To subscribe to Procycling click here.
Route profile
Route map
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
TrainingPeaks Virtual confirmed as new platform for Echelon Racing League and USA Cycling esports National Championships
Calendar for Esports evolving as Zwift moving away from its own series and academy this fall -
Zoe Bäckstedt vs the rest? – Riders to watch in the World Championships women's U23 time trial
First-ever edition of separate U23 time trial for women has a field stacked full of talent -
'I don't feel done' - Ellen Noble returns to elite cyclocross competition to prove she is still 'tough, capable, powerful'
Two-time US U23 cyclocross national champion overcomes years of illness and injuries for first full 'cross schedule since 2019 -
Vaccinations, malaria pills, boiled water – Belgian team doctor outlines health precautions in place for Road World Championships in Rwanda
'We started preparing for this World Championships a year ago' says Kris Van der Mieren