who will be the first rider in yellow in Clermont? The first step in questions

Second edition for twice the show? After last year’s first success, the women’s Tour de France returns on Sunday 23 July. If Annemiek van Vleuten is the favorite to win the final, the fight for the first bouquet should be very suspenseful.

What is the profile?

Internship with a rather simple profile on paper, but the ending is potentially insidious. After a relatively flat course, the road climbs into the Durtol coast (1.7km at 7.2%), the summit of which is 9.3km from the finish. A short, but difficult effort that could allow a small group to extricate themselves from the pack, if escapes were made first.

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

Who are the favourites?

With a difficulty placed less than 10km from the finish, sprinters may be forced to get the correct wheels before final packing. Again, Lorraine Wiebes (Team SD Worx) seems to have the legs to remain a credible option in the last few meters. You will also have to look at the legend Marianne VosTeam Jumbo-Visma), still dominant, and better able to ride the potholes.

In the French clan, Juliette Labous (DSM-Firmenich team) e Avoided music (FDJ-Suez) are not the fastest in the sprint. They have every interest in launching an attack in the last bump to end up in a small committee.

What are the hours?

12:00: start of the broadcast on France 2 e france.tv
12.15pm: fictitious departure from Clermont-Ferrand
12.30pm: actual departure (change to France 3 at 12.55pm then to France 2 at 2.15pm)
3.19pm: Expected arrival (at an average of 44km/h) in Clermont-Ferrand