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A total of 209 kilometres separate the riders from the final rest day of the Tour, as Stage 16 of the race travels from Moirans-en-Montagne to the Swiss city of Berne.
After a difficult second week, the general classification riders should get a chance to relax somewhat before the rest day, however the punchy sprinters and the breakaway specialists will be looking for glory.
The first 50 kilometres of the stage are flat. However from there on in to the finish, the road either rises or descends, meaning the pure sprinters will struggle.
The final 50 kilometres is where the racing should come alive, with the intermediate sprint point coming with only 41 kilometres left in the stage in the town of Anet. This then flows into the only categorised climb of the day, the category four climb of the Cote de Muhleberg.
The climb is completed with just over 25 kilometres to go, and signals the start of consistent punchy climbs into the final ten kilometres of the stage.
The final ten kilometres are extremely difficult, with tight roads and technical turns, plus a difficult parcours inside the final few kilometres, it will be a high-stress finale for the general classification men, where the inattentive could lose a few seconds if they are not careful.
Inside the final 2.5 kilometres, and the road starts to rise sharply, first with 250 metres at 7 per cent, which should remove any of the pure sprinters still left in the bunch. A short flat section of a 200 metres then leads into the final phase of the climb, which involves riding 600 metres at 6.5 percent until one kilometre to go.
Some parts of these two climbs also features cobbles.
The final kilometre is completely flat, but also a straight run to the line. Team support will be vital so that late attacks can be brought back, and that the sprinters can launch at the optimal moment.
Four men that will be in with a shot of taking the win today include Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews, Bryan Coquard and Greg van Avermaet.
Peter Sagan is in complete control of the Points Jersey competition, and could effectively end Mark Cavendish’s very slender chance of take the jersey in Paris. Having won Stage 2 and inherited the leader’s yellow jersey, while sprinted well in all the pure sprints so far this Tour, he will be the obvious favourite.
Orica BikeExchange rode incredibly well on Stage 10 to take the hilly stage into Revel, and with this stage also suiting the qualities of Michael Matthews, he will be wanting to add another win. I expect the team to give Matthews a good lead-out today.
Young Frenchmen Bryan Coquard was close to a stage win the difficult uphill finish into Limoges on Stage 4. Having finished just outside the podium at Amstel Gold earlier in the season, he will fancy himself on the difficult finish on today’s stage.
Another man who has worn yellow this Tour, Greg Van Avermaet is perfectly suited to the final, which feature a punchy uphill, and a few cobbles. He won on the extremely difficult Stage 5, so expect him to be at the head of the action today.
Other riders to look out for include Jan Bakelants (AG2R La Mondiale), Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto NL-Jumbo), Fabian Cancellera and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), Ramunas Navarduskas (Cannondale-Drapac), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), John Degenkolb (Giant-Alepcin), Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal).
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