DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY LIÈGE, BELGIUM

DISTANCE 206KM TERRAIN FLAT

The stage begins with a 9km parade through Düsseldorf, before Kilometre Zero on Kaiserstrasse. It then heads west out of the city, with the first King Of the Mountains points up for grabs on the Grafenberg, then the Neander valley, where bones of Neanderthal Man were discovered. The peloton returns to the city with 50km on the clock, before aiming for Belgium, whose love for the Tour is in contrast to Germany’s tentative association. No country, outside France, has hosted the race more times (77), and the finish in Liège sees this Francophone city overtake Brussels in hosting the most number of non-French stages (11). It staged the Grand Départ in 2012 and is a major part of Tour organiser ASO’s race stable, given it hosts the Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic. It’s the first opportunity for sprinters to shine, though the chances of a fast man wearing yellow are next to zero, given the gaps that will open up on stage 1.