📷 Du @morbihan_fr à la Haute Tarentaise Vanoise... Que va nous réserver la 59ème édition ?
Profile. From the 20th to the 27th of August takes place the Tour de l'Avenir. More commonly known as the under-23 Tour de France, the race will see 9 stages throughout France where the best U23 riders of all specialties will come together to reveal many of the stars of the future.
The 9 stages will provide a wide spectrum of opportunities for riders. The race includes a team time-trial, three hilly days including the first stage which will award the first yellow jersey, three high-mountain stages and a mountain time-trial - which will be part of a day with two stages included in the closing weekend.
Stage 1: Carnac - La Gacily, 143 kilometers
The opening day of the race will be 143 kilometers long and have quite an open finale. A sprint is possible, but the puncheurs and classics specialists will also have a shot as the finishing circuit into La Gacily is very punchy. In the three final laps the riders find a climb of 500 meters at 6% which ends with only 3.5 kilometers to go. A small plateau and descent antecede the final flat kilometer where the first yellow jersey will be given.
Stage 2: Nozay - Chinon, 195.1 kilometers
The longest day of the race, stage 2 is an unusually long day when it comes to under-23 racing - albeit some of the riders present race as Elites throughout the entire year. From Nozay to Chinon the riders take on 195 kilometers, however to their luck they are mostly flat, and should end in a bunch sprint.
Stage 3 (TTT): Vatan - Issoudun, 26.5 kilometers
The third day of racing is one where the collective strength of the national teams will be put to the test. This will be a team time-trial and the first key day for the overall classification. The 26.5 kilometers to be tackled can certainly originate a bit of an order going into the mountains.
Stage 4: Aiguarande - Evaux-les-Bains, 152.5 kilometers
Stage 4 will be a day dedicated to the puncheurs. The GC contenders have to be on their A-game, however the finale is very explosive and won't be hard enough for big gaps. Into Evaux-les-Bains, the riders take on two laps of a circuit with two hilltops, the final coinciding with the finish line with approximately 3.5 kilometers at 5%.
Stage 5: La Tour-de-Salvagny - Lac d'Aiguebelette, 138.6 kilometers
The fifth day of racing in France will be another tricky one. A very open finale, the end of the stage into Lac d'Aiguebelette will not be without two climbs before, which are 4.7Km at 5.6% and 2.1Km at 6.6% in quick succession, summiting 13.5 and 4.5 kilometers before the downhill finish into town.
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Stage 6: Méribel - Col de la Loze, 65.4 kilometers
The race enters the Alps on the sixth day of racing and every rider will take a beating. It is just about the roughest introduction one could expect. A short day on the bike with only 65 kilometers, but 23 of those (over a third) will be the final climb alone, it is the Col de la Loze. A recent yet already mythical Tour the France climb, it summits at 2300 meters of altitude, averages 7.3% but features an incredibly hard final third with gradients going over 20% on several occasions.
Stage 7a (ITT): Montricher-Albanne - Les Karellis, 11.1 kilometers
The first stage of a day that will feature two. Both are very hard and very important for the overall classification. Stage 7a will be a mountain time-trial up Les Karellis. 11.1 kilometers at 8%, a true test for the pure climbers and a great day for measuring the climbing ability of the under-23 field, riders who will soon take over the World Tour.
Stage 7b: Montricher-Albanne - Col du Mont Cenis, 69.7 kilometers
Stage 7b in the meantime, the second one of the day, is 69 kilometers long and finishes 1500 meters above it's starting altitude. Many of those are in slight rises through the valley before the Col du Mont Cenis, however the riders will then go up it. 9.7 kilometers at 7% end close to the finish, before a small plateau which leaves the riders on the finish line of a tough day out.
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Stage 8: Termignon - Ste-Foy-Tarentaise, 100.3 kilometers
The final day of racing finally will take place from Termignon to Ste-Foy-Tarentaise. Whoever wins the overall classification must be a tremendously talented stage-racer as the final day is not one bit easier than the previous ones. The riders tackle the Col de l'Iseran early in the day which summits at over 2700 meters in altitude, a 12.9 kilometer climb at 7.3% - if you ignore the already climbing approach to it. After a very long descent the riders tackle two smaller climbs, the final of which however hard enough to still make differences, the summit finish has 4.8 kilometers at 8.4%.
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