Pau Laruns
153km Sunday, 6 September Start 11:35 Finish 15:27
Like the previous day, the mountain tests are packed into the second half of this stage, which concludes with a downhill run towards the finish.
■ Terrain
Starting in Pau, the race heads south-west, bumping through the hills of the Jurançon winelands to reach Oloron-sainte-marie, then continuing on the same trajectory to Lanne-en-barétous. Turning southwards, the road rises a little, making for the Col de la Hourcère, a climb that’s new to the Tour.
It begins just beyond Barlanès and is abrupt from the off. Averaging close to nine per cent for 11km, it kicks up steeply through woodland, its second kilometre more than 10 per cent, its third more than 11. The gradient eases as the road climbs past Issarbe ski station, reaches a plateau, then drops to the Col de Suscousse to meet the route up to the Col de Soudet. The middle part of this four-kilometre stretch is fierce.
The descent from the Soudet leads to Arette and onto the picturesque Col d’ichère. The climb towards the Col de Marie Blanque starts soon after. It kicks up savagely in its second half, the last 4km running at more than 10 per cent. The descent is tamer, leading into the Ossau valley and a gently ascending final halfdozen kilometres to the finish in Laruns.
■ Gameplan
Although the breakaway specialists will fancy their chances of going the distance,
the specialist climbers among the GC contenders will relish the steepness of the main climbs. These could well bring them into contention for victory, especially with a rest day to follow and two much easier stages beyond that, offering them plenty of opportunity to recover from a full-on effort.
There’s likely to be a frenzied battle to get into the break before the foot of the Hourcère. While this big climb is too far out for a concerted attack, the GC favourites are sure to test each other out, unless the yellow jersey and his team are strong and confident enough to defend the race leadership by setting a rapid tempo.
The second half of the Marie Blanque offers more rewarding terrain for attacks, because the finish is not too far beyond. It’s steep, but consistently so, which should suit rouleurs-grimpeurs such as Tom Dumoulin, who prefer to maintain a steady rhythm. There are ramps steep enough, though, to encourage more explosive climbers, the likes of Julian Alaphilippe, Thibaut Pinot and Nairo Quintana, to try to scurry away.
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Players
The first half of the race concludes with a stage that favours riders prepared to take risks to shake up the GC hierarchy. Julian Alaphilippe’s name stands out, but it will be interesting to see how the Arkéa-samsic team approach this with Nairo Quintana and Warren Barguil. The Colombian looks more of a threat on summit finishes, but Barguil has shown that he’s prepared to ride aggressively. Mikel Landa could gain by rejecting the wait-and-see philosophy that is likely to suit the stronger teams.
The race has passed over the Marie Blanque on 13 occasions.