The Tour crosses the border and returns to France in this 192.9 kilometer long stage where the Port of Mougins, classified in the first category, proves to be the biggest difficulty of the day.
Departure from UCI headquarters
If the town of Aigle, in the heart of the canton of Vaud, was chosen, it is because it houses the headquarters of the international federation (UCI). A stone’s throw away, there is also the world cycling center which includes a velodrome, a BMX circuit and an athletics track. This makes it a very high-level training and training center.
The eye of Thierry Gouvenou
“It’s the first mountain stage with difficult and long passes. Obviously, it’s not the toughest of its kind. This will be a good start so as not to trap anyone. On this kind of day, I imagine more of a breakaway going to the end rather than a huge fight between the leaders. The hardest moment should be the pas de Morgins located about ten kilometers from the finish. But it’s still not unreachable. In my opinion, the favorites will not use this day to discover themselves. Rather, it will be an opportunity for those who have lost time before to catch up and get back in the standings. In my opinion, this should therefore not have a huge influence on the general classification. »
47 years ago, Van Impe
This is only the second time that the Tour de France has come to Châtel. The first time was in 1975. Belgian Lucien Van Impe won the time trial from Morzine. That year, Van Impe finished third in Paris. The following year, he won the Tour. He is the last Belgian winner of the Tour.
The favourite. Pinot day?
Complicated to lose oneself in conjectures in a stage where an exit voucher could finally be offered to a breakaway of fifteen or twenty riders. In this kind of dream scenario, if Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) manages to take the right car, he could then pull out of the game. It will be necessary, however, that the Franc-Comtois has recovered from his stage on Saturday where he had, in particular, to dismount after having taken full face a… musette of the Trek team. Previously, he had fallen in the climb of the Col de Pétra Félix.
