We really enjoyed the Giro d'Italia video previews of key stages put together by IG Markets Cycling, so it's great news that they are doing them again for the Tour. First up, Team IG-Sigma Sport's Daniel Lloyd undertake a recce of tomorrow's stage, the first climbing stage of this year's Tour.
Stage 7 is one of the most eagerly awaited of this year's race, featuring one of just three summit finishes in the 2012 parcours, with maillot jaune Fabian Cancellara saying yesterday that he had no hope of holding onto the overall lead on what he dubbed the 'Planche of the sore legs.' That's something Dan Lloyd agrees with, and he suggests a couple of likely scenarios for how the stage might develop and who will end the day in yellow.
The stage will provide a testing end to a first week of the race that has perhaps been tougher than expected, including a brutal Stage 3 on Tuesday into Boulogne-sur-Mer. The huge crash on today's stage from Épernay to Metz in which a number of GC contenders thought likley to attack on today's stage has also added to the air on uncertainty. What can be sais is that Saturday's stage is likely to be the first time in this year's Tour in which the GC contenders join battle in earnest.
Never before included in the Tour, the 6km ascent to the finish has an average gradient of 8.5 per cent, and officially hits 13 per cent in places - although as Lloyd points out in the video, his computer recorded a 22 per cent stretch just before the climb levels out towards the end. It should be gripping stuff.
Geraint Thomas says: After the crash on Stage 6, pure climbers like Frank Schleck and Robert Gesink will have to try and get time back on Brad and Cadel on a day like today. Nibali missed the crash, but could also look to get some time, thehy;ve got to make the most of it, haven’t they? There’s just a couple of smaller climbs before that, so it’s all down to the last one. Somebody’s got to take it on, and I’d go for a proper climber today, though maybe not one of the main GC guys, perhaps Rui Costa, he’s in good shape.
To find out more abut this year's race check out our full 2012 Tour de France Preview featuring stage by stage analysis and tips from Team Sky's Geraint Thomas
Help us to fund our site
We’ve noticed you’re using an ad blocker. If you like road.cc, but you don’t like ads, please consider subscribing to the site to support us directly. As a subscriber you can read road.cc ad-free, from as little as £1.99.
If you don’t want to subscribe, please turn your ad blocker off. The revenue from adverts helps to fund our site.
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
Bill H
50 sec ago
@Bungle_52 As a society we have been asking / expecting that enforcement for decades and decades. It has never happened and quite frankly will...
@Bungle_52 As a society we have been asking / expecting that enforcement for decades and decades. It has never happened and quite frankly will...
"There is a tiny bit of lateral play if you wiggle the cradle from the top, but it's not noticeable when riding at all."...
Lots of interesting comments, but surely we should be asking how these systems are allowed onto the road, since they clearly are extremely...
I guess that in moving the joint along the tube (away from the angle) means that they can't disguise the weld by smoothing the bead over the angle....
Shame. I'd been very interested in the rollr as seemed like a great option to just plop your race bike on when you can't keep it permanently set up...
I think I need to take another bath...
I suspect as well part of the problem is their not understanding what a foetus actually is... There seem to be a lot of anti-choicers who think...
It can be very dangerous as some drivers will feel the need to brake check the cyclist and/or tell them what they're doing wrong.
Wonder what their badge number is
I guess you could argue given how we've done so far - and our future plans - this is still realistically impossible for any given likely future. ...