After Friday’s 231km slog from Fougères to Chartres, the peloton gets a little bit of a break on Saturday with another flat stage, 181km from Dreux to Amiens Métropole.
Dreux is hosting its first ever Grande Depart while Amiens has a long and storied history in the race – first hosting a finish in 1932, then being tapped for 7 finishes during the sixties and seventies. The last time the race visited the town was 2015.
Letour.fr is predicting winds at the close of the stage, and a couple of left turns in the final 3 km could prove decisive as well.
It’s safe to say that Dylan Groenewegen was not listed amongst the sprint favorites for Friday’s stage, but Fernando Gaviria was right there at the finish along with Peter Sagan, Arnaud Demare and even Mark Cavendish. Cavendish looked stronger on Friday and could have possibly made the podium with some better timing from his sprint train, so he is not to be counted out.
All. That. Said…. It is Bastille Day and the stage finishes up in the hometown of French president Emmanuel Macron, so Demare may hose an extra dose of national pride to boost himself across the line. The stage is also running through Demare’s proverbial “backyard”.
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