Stage 17 of the 2016 Tour de France marks the start of a final difficult week of the race, with the riders facing the task of getting over the Alps before they finish off on Sunday in Paris.
The first Test of four for the general classification men in the Alps will be a difficult uphill time trial.
The 184.5 kilometres between the Swiss capital of Berne, to the mountain top finish on top of the Finhaut-Emosson climb will not be an easy test after the rest day.
The first or so kilometres of the stage are fairly reasonable, with a false flat preparing the riders for the first climb of the day, the category three climb of the Cote de Saanenmoser. At 6.6 kilometres at 4.4 per cent, it should be a solid start to the stage, with the climbing ramping up to ten per cent in some sections.
25 kilometres separate the top of the first climb, to the start of the second categorised climb of the day, the third category climb of the Col des Mosses. The climb is similar in length to the first one of the day, at 6.4 kilometres with an average gradient of 3.2 per cent.
It is then an uncomplicated descent down into the valley where the riders may be able to spot the final two major mountain passes on the days stage which lie ahead of them. Before they start climbing again, there is the small matter of dealing with the intermediate sprint in the town of Martigny, which is completed with less than 35 kilometres on the stage.
Through the intermediate sprint point and the riders will immediately start to climb, with the first category climb of the Col de la Forclaz awaiting them. At 13 kilometres at 7.6 per cent, with ramps of above 15 per cent, it could well be the launching pad that Nairo Quintana and co are looking for to break Team Sky.
However, having watched and waited for somebody to attack all Tour long, don’t hold your breath.
At the top of the climb, the riders will have 18 kilometres to go, eight of which are downhill to the bottom of the final climb. The descent is not too difficult, however riders may use it as an opportunity to test their opponents.
The hors category climb of the Finhaut-Emosson will round out the stage and be an extremely difficult test for all the riders still in the race. At 10.4 kilometres at 8.5 per cent, the climb is not at all easy. What makes it more difficult though is the fact that first four kilometres of the climb are fairly simple, at only 6.5 per cent. However, the final six kilometres average at around ten per cent, with the final kilometre featuring gradients of above 17 per cent.
Going into the next day time trial, the general classification men would have rathered a much more steady gradient going heading up to the finish. We could see fireworks from the group of the leading contenders for overall glory.
Once again, Rafal Majka will be off the front to secure the King of the Mountains jersey, and take a stage win, which he missed out on in the sprint of Stage 15, after being beat by Colombian Jarlinson Pantano. Thomas De Gendt is the nearest rival to Majka for the King of the Mountains competition, but in my opinion, does not really stand a chance of winning it.
So will it be a stage for the break, or for the general classification to take the stage win?
One thing is for sure though, the general classification men will need a miracle to break the backs of the Sky train.
Riders to watch out for today include Chris Froome (Team Sky), Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Rafal Majka and Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff), Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Jarlinson Pantano (IAM Cycling), Pierre Roland (Cannondale-Drapac), Richie Porte and Tejay van Garderen (BMC), Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data), Warren Barguill (Giant-Alpecin), Sebastien Reichenbach (FDJ), Emmanuel Buchmann (Bora-Argon), Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha), Rui Costa (Lampre), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Daniel Martin (Etixx-Quickstep), Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) and Adam Yates (Orica BikeExchange).
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