After a good day of rest in Limoges in Central France, the peloton will embark on its long journey towards the Alps, starting with 193 rather flat kilometres to Issoudun.
A perfect day for the sprinters to race back into the limelight. But could a French breakaway on the day of the 'Fête Nationale' spoil their feast? The finish line in Issoudun, home of Olympic track champion Kevin Sireau, will tell.
Vaughters' views
Straight after a momentum-losing rest day, this is going to hurt. As the GC will be sorted quite a bit, some 95 percent of the peloton stand no chance of getting maillot jaune at this point, so breakaways wont be chased as fervently.
That said, everyone knows this, so 95percent of the peloton is trying to form a break, as they know they have a real chance of making it to the line.
This lends itself to a race pattern that takes a good 80km to finally get a break off the front. Attack after attack in the hilly, beef laden countryside of Limoges just hurts.
All this said, my bet is the break will try too hard to get out there in the first place and it comes back together for a sprint, with Mr. Cavendish winning.
-
Payson McElveen unveils film about 'once-in-a-lifetime' ride, finishing 242 miles of New Zealand trails with 25,000 feet of climbing in 24 hours
US rider says 'it was a surreal feeling' when he finished with 25 minutes to spare -
'I honestly feel there are bigger things to come' - Michael Matthews has renewed enthusiasm for cycling and for life after pulmonary embolism scare
Jayco-AlUla leader on his return to training and his love-hate relationship with Milan-San Remo -
'This is the training race … but it doesn't mean that I'm not going to go all out' – Brodie Chapman chases intensity at Tour of Bright ahead of key January goals in Australia
Australian time trial champion adapts to schedule change with additional race -
'Proud of my progression' – Mountain bike world champion Alan Hatherly prepared for sophomore season of WorldTour road racing
South African racer continues to balance road at Jayco-AlUla with MTB in 2026 keeping an eye on race wins and building for the 2028 Olympic Games
