"There won't be anyone attacking until the gravel" - Dan Martin on expectations for first mountain clash

Daniel Martin is an experienced voice in the peloton, and has talked about what his expectations are for the first mountain stage of this year's Tour de France, which will once again see the riders go up the Planche des Belles Filles.

"There won't be anyone attacking until the gravel. It's a sitting duck situation until that final, steep section. It's so early in the race to attack," he told CyclingWeekly. "Generally, with the teams there, the tempo will be super-high, but quite controlled. It's a case of holding on. The Tour de France is not won now - Tadej might think differently - but it's a race of attrition and there are so many mountain stages. This one is to attack on in the last kilometre only.

With a mostly flat profile, the race will - as was the case in 2012, 2017 and 2019 - have it's first mountain clash in the mountains. The final ascent will this time around go up the "Super" Planche, an added gravel sector which will include a vicious ramp of 23% just after the line. Chances are that the two steep ramps towards the final kilometer will make it more complicated for anyone to commit to an attack. Mostly though, it will be a psychological battle Martin thinks.  

"As soon as you hit the gravel, it's every man for himself... The first thing with the first mountain stage is that you find out who is good, who your competitors are. People will figure out where they are themselves, whereas before they won't have known if they had the legs to attack or not," he explained. "You're also questioning yourself as there's a lot of trepidation going into the first mountain stage. You felt good at home, you went well in training, but two weeks of no climbing, and not knowing how good the other guys are...you have no idea what they're like. This is why no-one will be attacking, as they have to find their own feet."

As for the outcome of the stage, the Irishman has a good idea of how it will pan-out: "I'm pretty sure we'll see a breakaway of 15-20 guys up front going for the stage. We won't see the GC teams [up front] because no-one knows if they have got the legs to win it, and I don't see a team burning too many matches and chasing down a breakaway as no-one in the break will be close enough on GC," he said.