The riders in the Tour de France are enjoying a rest day on Tuesday after ten days of racing. They will want to start the second week rested, in which the high mountains finally await. An overview of the stages until the second rest day on Monday.
Wednesday: opportunities for Van der Poel
The team’s masseurs will have worked overtime on the rest day, because the start of the second Tour week promises to be explosive. On paper, the ride to and from Toulouse doesn’t seem too difficult, but with two vicious hills in the final, the peloton’s spring chickens smell their chance. Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar seem to be contenders. Can Van der Poel strike for the second time in this Tour?
Thursday: first arrival in the Pyrenees
It has taken a while, but the riders are finally heading to the high mountains. The Tour organization has immediately selected one of the toughest climbs in the Pyrenees: the Hautacam. Rivals Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard have kept each other pretty much in check on the hills so far. Can Vingegaard make up his one-minute deficit on Pogacar here?
Friday: short and vicious climbing time trial
If the tough mountain stage to the Hautacam has not caused differences in the general classification, this climbing time trial will. The race against the clock is not particularly long, but it can turn the standings upside down. The riders face an 8-kilometer climb to Peyragudes, with sections of 16 percent. A piece of cake for Pogacar, who put his rival Vingegaard at a significant disadvantage in the flat time trial in Caen.
Saturday: second toughest Tour stage
It seems unlikely that the Tour organization is familiar with the ketchup theory of former top striker Ruud van Nistelrooij, but the stage schedule of this Tour is reminiscent of it. In this Tour de France, it takes a long time to wait for tough mountain stages, but they follow each other in rapid succession once they are there.
After the stage to the Hautacam and the climbing time trial, a new tour through the Pyrenees follows this day. With 4,950 meters of altitude gain and the climb of the legendary Col du Tourmalet, it is the second toughest stage in this Tour.
Sunday: stage for the attackers
After the climbing violence in the Pyrenees, the riders seem to be able to rest a bit in the last stage before the second rest day. That will not apply to the stage hunters. For them, this transition stage to Carcassonne in the southeast of France is an excellent opportunity for daily success. The climb of the Pas du Sant 50 kilometers from the finish will be the decider in this stage.
