125k from Annecy to
Annecy-Semnoz
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| Stage 20 around Annecy |
The final showdown for the contenders
in the General Classification has arrived. Stage 20 is the last mountain stage
of the Tour De France. It is the last opportunity for the climbers to impose
their will on the road, and the last opportunity for any reshuffling on the
overall leaderboard.
The final stage into Paris
on Sunday will be a flat one for the sprinters, and unless something awful
happens, a stress-free celebration of a dominant Tour win for Team Sky’s Chris
Froome. Before that, they have the six categorized climbs of stage 20.
A few smaller climbs in the
first 50k will offer opportunities for breakaways and mountain jersey points
for the contenders in the polka dot jersey competition. The stage is very
short, at 125 kilometers, so it will probably be very fast, and very
aggressive. A lot of teams will be hoping for results in Annecy.
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| Stage 20 profile |
The Annecy-Semnoz
mountaintop finish is a newcomer to the Tour. It is an HC rated climb measuring
10.7k and averaging 8.5%. The GC contenders will most likely have resigned
themselves to Froome winning, but the fight for the next few places is still
hot.
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| Profile of the final climb on stage 20 |
The battle for the mountains
jersey should also be hotly contested Saturday, with five riders within eleven
points of each other at the top of the standings in that competition. Two
mountain points are available over two category-4 climbs on the final stage
Sunday, so if the king of the mountains is too close to call by the end of
stage 20, It is possible it could not be decided until Sunday.
Pick your favorite climber.
Stage 20 could see another break succeed, or it could come down to the GC
favorites. I would expect Joaquim Rodriguez
is still very hungry for a stage win, so if it comes down to the favorites, he
is my pick. He has been getting stronger, and is perfectly tailored for the
steep finish. He is also very keen to finish on the podium in Paris, and may
throw caution to the wind to get there. Purito is currently fifth overall, but
just :47 behind second place Alberto Contador.
The weather forecast for
Annecy on Sunday:
Clear with a chance of a
thunderstorms and rain in the afternoon. High of 82F. Winds less than 5 mph.
Chance of rain 30%.
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