who will be the first runner in yellow in Clermont? The 1st stage in questions

Second edition for twice as much spectacle? After a successful first last year, the Women’s Tour de France returns on Sunday July 23. If Annemiek van Vleuten acts as the favorite for the final victory, the fight for the first bouquet should hold a lot of suspense.

What is the profile?

Stage with a rather simple profile on paper, but the end is potentially tricky. After a relatively flat course, the road rises in the Durtol coast (1.7 km at 7.2%), the summit of which is located 9.3 km from the finish. A short, but difficult effort which could allow a small group to extricate themselves from the peloton, if the breakaways have been taken before.

A potentially explosive final, before which there will also be an intermediate sprint in Saint-Hippolyte. Around Clermont, the peloton will cross Joze, Saint-Priest-Bramefant, Effiat, Châtel-Guyon and finally Saint-Hippolyte.

Who are the favourites?

With a difficulty placed less than 10 km from the finish line, the sprinters could be handicapped to take the correct wheels before the final packing. Still, Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx) seems to have the necessary legs to remain a credible option in the last meters. You will also have to watch the legend Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo-Visma), still dominating, and better able to pass the bumps.

In the French clan, Juliette Labous (Team DSM-Firmenich) and Avoided Muzic (FDJ-Suez) are not the fastest in the sprint. They have every interest in launching an attack in the last bump to finish in a small committee.

What are the schedules ?

12:00 p.m.: start of the broadcast on France 2 and france.tv
12:15 p.m.: fictitious departure from Clermont-Ferrand
12:30 p.m.: real departure (changeover to France 3 at 12:55 p.m. then to France 2 at 2:15 p.m.)
3:19 p.m.: scheduled arrival (at an average of 44 km/h) in Clermont-Ferrand