{"id":165886,"date":"2018-07-09T10:57:03","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T10:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=165886"},"modified":"2018-07-09T10:57:03","modified_gmt":"2018-07-09T10:57:03","slug":"best-stages-of-le-tour-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Stages of Le Tour 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Froome has officially been absolved of any sin, and this means we\u2019re on for a race of Biblical proportions. So, what have Le Tour organisers, the AMO, conjured up for the riders this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stage 9 \u2013 The Hell of The North, Sunday 15th<\/sup> July<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mont Ventoux cast a long shadow over last year’s tour. On the anniversary of Major Tom’s tragic death on its slopes, the mountain was omitted as a mark of respect. Stage 9 will play on many of our minds, there being an all too recent reminder of why the road to Roubaix is best approached with respect.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Alfred Achermann crashes on Paris-Roubaix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cobbled pav\u00e9 makes its first appearance just shy of 50 km. This is brutal, and it is dangerous \u2013 and all before the race is halfway through. Froome will find himself out of his comfort zone again. Nibali, on the other hand, has a solid track record on the pav\u00e9. Expect bruises and grazed skin.<\/p>\n

Stage 10 \u2013 Unusual punishment, Tuesday 17th<\/sup> July<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This stage will look great on TV. The opening kilometres from Annecy will be flat but the mesmerizing beauty of the Alps will give way to some punishing climbs. Not least, the peloton will climb up the east side of the Mont\u00e9e du Plateau des Gli\u00e8res \u2013 featured in Le Tour for the first time.<\/p>\n<\/lite-youtube>\n

Cycling fans, check out Plateau des Gli\u00e8res<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Plateau des Gli\u00e8res averages 11.2% gradient with sadistic 20% sections that will exacerbate even the smallest of niggling injuries. Oh, and if this isn\u2019t painful enough, the last 2 km of the climb is on dust road. The weather forecast has yet to decide if it will be sunny and suffocating, or rainy and treacherous.\u00a0 Either way, tune in.<\/p>\n

Stage 17 \u2013 Coming on in waves, Wednesday 25th<\/sup> July<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Having already traversed the Mont\u00e9e de Peyragudes, and the brutish Col de Val Louron-Azet, the final climb of stage 17 would usually see GC contenders keep each other in check while supported by a few trusty domestiques. But, this stage throws a spanner in the works.<\/p>\n

Race organisers have decided that the riders will start this stage in waves according to their current standing in the GC. Teams will be split. If you’re not in the top group by this stage \u2013 forget it. You’re done. Unless you’ve got a strong lieutenant and at least two other teammates, you’re on level playing ground.<\/p>\n<\/lite-youtube>\n

Mike Cotty, the founder of The Col Collective, gives his views on the Portet<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Also, this is the first time Le Tour visits the insanely steep, oxygen-starved heights of the Col du Portet.\u00a0 Team Sky have demonstrated that excellent race planning can afford Froome the opportunity to shine in great spontaneous moments like his attack on the descent from the Col de Peyresourde in 2016.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no guarantee that any GC contender will have sufficient domestiques to help them \u2013 unless they\u2019re GC contenders themselves. Anything could happen, and this will worry Team Sky. And for good measure, the AMO decided the stage should approach from the same direction Froome was broken by Aru.<\/p>\n

Stage 16 \u2013 Descent into madness, Tuesday 24th<\/sup> July<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Now that you know what\u2019s coming in stage 17, let\u2019s reverse engineer the AMO\u2019s reasoning. Prior to what could be the defining stage of Le Tour 2018, the peloton is introduced to the Pyrenees for the first time this<\/em> tour. If you\u2019re not in touch with the GC lead at this point, forget the yellow jersey.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the last 70 kilometres, after sweeping away from Carcassonne, the riders get a taste of 3 climbs before their tyres hit Bagn\u00e8res-de-Luchon. Then, after 208 km of riding, the last 10 km are pure descent.\u00a0 Expect opportunities to be taken \u2013 as well as desperate risks.<\/p>\n

Which stages do you think will define this year\u2019s race?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Froome has officially been absolved of any sin, and this means we\u2019re on for a race of Biblical proportions. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":165892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[2100,845,2080,433,2064,1430],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-165886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-best-stages","tag-tdf","tag-tdf-2018","tag-tour-de-france","tag-tour-de-france-2018","tag-tour-de-france-2018-route"],"yoast_head":"\nBest Stages of Le Tour 2018 - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chris Froome has officially been absolved of any sin, and this means we\u2019re on for a race of Biblical proportions. So, what have Le Tour organisers, the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best Stages of Le Tour 2018\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chris Froome has officially been absolved of any sin, and this means we\u2019re on for a race of Biblical proportions. So, what have Le Tour organisers, the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-09T10:57:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2018\/07\/profimedia-0377250095-1.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christopher Ashley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/\",\"name\":\"Best Stages of Le Tour 2018 - \u0160koda We Love Cycling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2018\/07\/profimedia-0377250095-1.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-09T10:57:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"description\":\"Chris Froome has officially been absolved of any sin, and this means we\u2019re on for a race of Biblical proportions. So, what have Le Tour organisers, the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2018\/07\/profimedia-0377250095-1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2018\/07\/profimedia-0377250095-1.webp\",\"width\":900,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Best Stages of Le Tour 2018\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/\",\"name\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\",\"description\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling magazine\",\"alternateName\":\"\u0160koda WLC\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/author\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Best Stages of Le Tour 2018 - \u0160koda We Love Cycling","description":"Chris Froome has officially been absolved of any sin, and this means we\u2019re on for a race of Biblical proportions. So, what have Le Tour organisers, the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Best Stages of Le Tour 2018","og_description":"Chris Froome has officially been absolved of any sin, and this means we\u2019re on for a race of Biblical proportions. So, what have Le Tour organisers, the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/","og_site_name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling","article_published_time":"2018-07-09T10:57:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2018\/07\/profimedia-0377250095-1.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Christopher Ashley","Est. reading time":"7"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/","name":"Best Stages of Le Tour 2018 - \u0160koda We Love Cycling","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2018\/07\/profimedia-0377250095-1.webp","datePublished":"2018-07-09T10:57:03+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"description":"Chris Froome has officially been absolved of any sin, and this means we\u2019re on for a race of Biblical proportions. So, what have Le Tour organisers, the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2018\/07\/profimedia-0377250095-1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2018\/07\/profimedia-0377250095-1.webp","width":900,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/07\/09\/best-stages-of-le-tour-2018\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Best Stages of Le Tour 2018"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/","name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling","description":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling magazine","alternateName":"\u0160koda WLC","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/author\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165886"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165893,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165886\/revisions\/165893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165886"},{"taxonomy":"global-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-categories?post=165886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}