"We've used this stage before, and it's the first guaranteed day for the GC riders to hit the front," Matt White, head sports director at Mitchelton-Scott, explains. "We've had that approach, the final climb and then the descent a number of times, and it's incredibly important in terms of the overall battle. The Corkscrew climb is longer and harder than Willunga Hill, and you can have a situation in which one rider goes clear, takes five seconds at the top of the climb and is able to survive until the finish if they know the descent well enough or are willing to take risks.
"You could also see a larger group of around 10 contesting a reduced sprint, but the pure sprinters won't survive the climb. It might even be too hard for Peter Sagan. By the finish we'll see who is really in contention to win the overall. If you lose time on this stage, then your race is over because Corkscrew has the potential to be more selective than Willunga."
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'A bonus to win' – Tadej Pogačar fends off Visma attacks to extend race lead in the heat of Critérium du Dauphiné stage 7
'For me, it's a good motivation for the Tour' says race leader after notching third stage victory of the race -
Dwars door het Hageland: Paul Magnier triumphs from four-man group
Frenchman claims fifth win of season ahead of Rasmus Tiller and Tibor Del Grosso -
'I think I did quite a good job' – Jonas Vingegaard upbeat at Critérium du Dauphiné despite another loss to Tadej Pogačar
'Hopefully I can be even better in the Tour than I am now' says Dane after taking second behind Slovenian on stage 7 -
'I'm definitely more fit now than I was this morning' says Faulkner after 87km solo break at the Tour de Suisse Women
Olympic & US champion continues build-up towards Tour de France Femmes after December concussion
