Two stages of the Tour de France Femmes are set to play out on Tuesday with the second, stage 3 delivering an individual time trial that starts and finishes in Rotterdam in the afternoon of August 13.
The race against the clock, which follows on from another sprinters stage in the morning, is a short time trial at 6.3km long but it could still open up small gaps between the top 10 in the overall classification. That's particularly the case as the chances to split the field have been limited so far.
There is little doubt who among the field is at the top of their time trial game, with the Olympics having played out so recently. That means all eyes will be on the medallists there, from winner Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) – who is bound to line up with an extra hint of gold – to silver medallist Anna Henderson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and bronze medallist Chloe Dygert (Canyon-SRAM).
However, Brown warned that given the short distance it is also a stage that could lean toward the strengths of the more sprint focussed riders, who will be wanting to take every last chance they can get before the climbing begins to ramp up.
The intense time trial will play out on the streets of Rotterdam, with the only rises being for the two major bridges of Érasme and Guillaume.
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