"The final climb is harder than Pyrénées" - Neilson Powless expects hard day on Puy de Dome

Current leader of climbing classification, Neilson Powless, expects tough battle during tomorrow's stage which finishes on famous Puy de Dome. The 26-year old American confirmed at the website of Tour de France that this might be the hardest climbs the riders will encounter till then.

"It was harder than yesterday, but expected it. I tried to save energy as much as possible, as I want to target the days that matter the most for the KOM jersey – like tomorrow! The final climb is harder than any other we have gone up in this Tour."

Powless is currently in tight eight-point lead ahead of Austrian Felix Gall who has two points margin to Tobias Halland Johannessen. The EF Education-EasyPost rider however has to fear GC riders as well, as Tadej Pogacar (currently at 19 points) could leapfrog Powless had he won the HC category on top of Puy de Dome.