2018 Tour de France: Stage 13 Preview
Bourg d'Oisans - Valence, 169.5km
One year before the celebrations of the centenary of the yellow jersey, the Tour will pass through Grenoble where the mythical distinctive stuff was first presented to Eugène Christophe in 1919.
It's the way for the riders to go from the Oisans valley to the Rhône valley after three hard days in the Alps.
There's no transition day at the Tour without a breakaway but even though it's another relatively short stage (169.5km), sprinters teams shouldn't miss their sixth opportunity to deliver (after stages 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8) their fast men all together.
Valence is a crossroad between Lyon and Marseille, also between the Alps and the Pyrenees, but interestingly, the starting town of the Critérium du Dauphiné this year (with the victory of Michal Kwiatkowski in the prologue) has hosted the Tour de France on two occasions only: in 1996 with a winning breakaway and the friendly triumph of Colombia's Chepe Gonzalez and in 2015 when André Greipel won the third of his four stages, on the opposite direction though, coming from Mende.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Cyclingnews Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Best cycling base layers of 2023: The starting point for on bike comfort
The best cycling base layers are an essential foundation for staying warm and comfortable on the bike -
Two men jailed for Mark Cavendish knifepoint robbery
'No family should ever have to go through what we went through' says Peta Cavendish -
Galibier Barrier base layer review: Winter warmth at an affordable price
A comfortable, warm base layer that punches above its weight -
RGT gets steering as Wahoo launches latest accessory
New Kickr Steer leverages smartphone accelerometers in a simple bar-mounted tilting tray