PREVIEW | Mercan'Tour Classic 2024 - Lenny Martínez and David Gaudu big favourites as Chris Froome tests Tour de France legs

The Mercan'Tour Classic is scheduled for May 29th this year. Despite being a recent addition to the peloton, it has quickly gained popularity as one of the few climber-focused one-day races of the year. Positioned just before the Criterium du Dauphine, it serves as valuable preparation. Let's delve into its profile.

The 167-kilometer long race takes place in the Alpes Maritimes and is a race that has a long sequence of climbs. The start, in Puget-Théniers, is actually flat but soon the riders begin to climb. The first ascent is long and takes the riders from 300 to 1600 meters of altitude. The categorized part of it is 20 kilometers long at over 4% but there is more climbing.

Then the Col de la Colmiane which is 15.9 kilometers long at 5.4%, it ends with 50 kilometers to go. After a descent the riders go into the main climb of the day: the Col de la Couillole; 15.8 kilometers at 7.3%. It's not the hardest of the day but it finishes rather close to the finale in Valberg and will be a decisive moment in the race. If the winning attacks did not happen there, they still can in the final 6-kilometer climb which averages around 4%.

Prediction Mercan'Tour Classic 2024:

*** Lenny Martínez, David Gaudu
** Guillaume Martin, Iván Sosa, George Bennett
* Clément Champoussin, Cristán Rodríguez, Clément Berthet, Davide Formolo, Harold Tejada, Matthew Riccitello, Harm Vanhoucke, Jordan Jegat, Pierre Latour

Pick: Lenny Martínez