2021 Tour de France Preview: What are the 21 different stages and what challenges to expect in them
The 2021 Tour de France is here upon us and will start on 26 June with its Grand Depart from Brest, Brittany and will continue until 18 July, finishing at Champs-Elysees in Paris. The 2020 edition was postponed to August of last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the Grand Tour has returned to its usual slot, albeit a few weeks earlier than usual to ensure that it ends before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which was also postponed to this year due to the pandemic.
The 108th edition of the Tour de France was supposed to kick off from Copenhagen but has now been shifted to Brittany because of the 2020 Euro being held in the Danish capital.
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Brittany is home to the last French winner of the Tour de France, Bernard Hinault, who won the race five times. The 2021 Tour de France consists of eight flat stages, five hilly stages, six mountain stages and two individual time trials. Three of the six mountain stages will finish at altitude and just like previous year, the second ITT will be held on the penultimate day of the race.
2021 TOUR DE FRANCE 21 STAGES: STAGE-BY-STAGE PREVIEW
Stage 1: June 26 - Brest – Landerneau - 187 km – Hills
Starting the 2021 Tour de France on a hilly stage will be interesting as it will allow us to see which riders capitalize and which ones will decide to maintain their pace and composure for the next 20 stages. All four of the stages in Brittany have many curves and turns. Even though most of the race’s difficulty level is four and third-category, it will be an uphill finish for the riders – 3.1 kilometers at 5.6 percent, gradient of 14 percent.
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Stage 2: June 27 - Perros-Guirec – Mûr-de-Bretagne - 182 km – Hills
Similar to stage 1, Stage 2 will also have four difficulty level fours and two difficulty level threes and finish with a climb. The stage finishes at Mûr-de-Bretagne and riders will have to climb, then descent and climb again. There are bonus points in this stage which could see an opportunity to take the lead in general classification.
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Stage 3: June 28 - Lorient – Pontivy - 182 km – Flat
After two Hill stages, the riders will get their chance to sprint at the end of Stage 3 with a 1,400-meter straight-line finish. Expect more sprints at this stage.
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Stage 4: June 29 - Redon – Fougères -152 km – Flat
With the last stage in Brittany, there will be no climbs at this stage. The highlight of this stage will be for the riders to avoid a crash. Fougères is hosting a stage after six years. Everyone will remember Tony Martin’s crash from 2015. The final three kilometers is when all eyes will be glued to the stage.
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Stage 5: June 30 - Changé – Laval - 27 km - Individual Time Trials
This will be where Geraint Thomas of Team INEOS Grenadiers will want to capitalize on the race. The last time the Tour de France witnessed the longest ITT inside the first week was 2008. Coincidentally, the Grand Depart that year was from Brest. It's not a technical stage but there are a few corners and U-turns that the riders have to be mindful about.
Stage 6: July 1 - Tours – Châteauroux - 144 km – Flat
Another stage for sprinters where there is not much difficulty apart from one Category four climb. This is one of Mark Cavendish’s favorite routes.
Stage 7: July 2 - Vierzon – Le Creusot - 248 km – Hills
In over two decades, this has been the longest stage with almost 249 kilometers needing to be covered. It involves 3,000 meters of climbing and will see the race move from the eastern part of the country to the west.
Stage 8: July 3 - Oyonnax – Le Grand Bornand - 151 km – Mountains
This will be the first mountain stage of the race and riders will be sore from the previous stage. There are five category climbs with one Category Three climb followed by one Category Four climb. After which there are three back-to-back Category One climbs and the altitude increases with every climb. Bonus points are available here. The final three kilometers are flat.
Stage 9: July 4 - Cluses – Tignes - 145 kms – Mountains
Everyone will remember how Stage 9 was derailed two years ago due to snow and landslides. Egan Bernal took away the yellow jersey at the end of this stage. This stage will witness two Category Two climbs and two Category One climbs. This will also feature the 202121 Tour de France’s first Hors catégorie (HC) climb with a mountain-top finish.
July 5 - REST DAY
Stage 10: July 6 - Albertville – Valence - 186 kms – Flat
After the first rest day of the race, the riders will have to ride the flat stage in the Alps, navigating valleys. Albertville hosted the Winter Olympics in 1992. This stage will be for the pacers.
Stage 11: July 7 - Sorgues – Malaucène - 199 kms – Mountain
Stage 11 of the 2021 Tour de France is one of the most exciting stages of the event. This stage features a double ascent of Mont Ventoux – first one is from Sault and the second is from Bedoin. The first time Ventoux was introduced to the Grand Tour was in 1951 and since then it has featured 16 times. This stage has seen it all in previous editions: the tragic demise of Tom Simpson in 1967, Marco Pantani’s stage win there over Lance Armstrong in 2000 and Chris Froome sprinting the Géant de Provence without his bike after crashing in 2016.
Stage 12: July 8 - Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux – Nîmes - 161 kms – Flat
With a difficulty Category Three marked on it, this stage will favor the sprinters but they will have to watch out for the wind.
Stage 13: July 9 - Nîmes – Carcassonne - 220 kms – Flat
Before the 2021 Tour de France race heads towards the Pyrenees, the sprinters will get another chance to build on a good finish.
Stage 14: July 10 - Carcassonne – Quillan - 184 kms – Hills
The 2021 Tour de France race enters the Pyrenees and before it heads towards more difficult stages, the riders have to navigate two Category Three and three Category Two stretches. Col de Saint-Louis, which is the last climb, is the final Category Two stretching 4.7 kilometers. There are bonus points available in this stage.
Stage 15: July 11 - Céret – Andorra la Vella - 192 kms – Mountains
The race meanders through the Pyrenees and enters the Andorras now in the 2021 Tour de France. This is probably the toughest stage with three Category Ones and one Category Two.
JULY 12 - REST DAY
Stage 16: July 13 - Pas de Case – Saint-Gaudins - 169 kms – Hills
The final week of the 2021 Tour de France is here and riders kick it off at the Andorras. There are four climbs - one Category Four climb, two Category Two climbs and one Category One climb.
Stage 17: July 14 - Muret – Col du Portet - 178 kms – Mountains
The Stage 17 of the 2021 Tour de France starts near Europe’s aerospace capital, Toulouse. It is Bastille Day. The first 100 kilometers of the race will be flat and then it will see riders climb Col du Peyresourde, Col de Val Louron-Azet and Col du Portet.
Stage 18: July 15 - Pau – Luz-Ardiden - 130 kms – Mountains
This will be the final mountain stage of the 2021 Tour de France. Climbers wanting to be in the Top 10 of the race, will seek to gain advantage in this stage. There are two HC climbs in this stage. Riders have to climb the Col du Tourmalet and have a descent to Luz-Saint-Sauveur before climbing the Luz Ardiden.
Stage 19: July 16 - Mourenx – Libourne - 203 kms – Flat
The 2021 Tour de France will reach its final parts here. It will be time for the sprinters to grab their opportunities again. Although it is a pretty uncomplicated stage, cross-winds may cause a problem. This stage will also see how the teams come together to support their leaders.
Stage 20: July 17 - Libourne – Saint-Émilion - 31 kms - Individual Time Trials
This was the stage which saw Tadej Pogacar steal the yellow jersey from Primoz Roglic. Everyone will remember the 2020 Tour de France ITT and hope there wont be any repeats or surprises this year.
It's a very technical route and this stage has a lot of twists and turns and can cause an injury or two. The rider, who will survive the previous 19 stages and kept himself physically present, will ultimately have the advantage here.
Stage 21: July 18 - Chatou – Paris - 112 kms – Flat
Champagne and spectators, cameras and camaraderie - Stage 21 is all about a photo finish at the 2021 Tour de France. After covering more than 3,000kilometersr, the riders have to fight out on the cobblestones of Paris to come ahead and grab the yellow jersey and be crowned the 2021 Tour de France champion.