Spectacular, yes, but delicate too. the beginning of Tour de France within Basque Country promises intense emotions. The typical of the start of any great cycling race, to which three factors are added: the fact that we are referring to the mother of all races, with three stages, especially two, fireworks, rat traps, continuous up and down, and with the addition of making the debut of the ‘Grande Boucle’ in one of cycling’s homelands home to one of the world’s best pastimes like the Basque Country.
The Balearic Islands have already warned about the crumb at the start of the Tour enric mas in the presentation of groups that took place in Guggenheim Museum and he has already highlighted UAE Team Emirates sporting director Joxean Fernández ‘Matxin‘ in MD: “The first stages are nervous and there are days to avoid falling, days to let the nerves pass. The fact of passing through the middle of many towns will be an accumulated risk, for this reason we believe that there are two stages that always come first”. Undoubtedly, going to the front of a large starting pack of 176 riders is the best guarantee of avoiding any incident in the race, a maximum that the best will try who is favorite to avoid facing the Tour’s final podium in Paris on July 23. In memory, two strong preliminary falls, made by Miguel Ángel López in the 2020 Giro d’Italia and Alejandro Valverde in the 2017 Tour de France.
The streets will be filled with people, especially in the last triptych of the first day –Morgan (3.9km at 4.1%), Nursery (4.2 km at 7.3%) and Pike (2 km at 10%)– and in the last double climb of the second stage, at Gurutze (2.6 km at 4.7%) and Jaizkibel (8.1km at 5.3%). Two first attacks on moderate mountains, with five ports on the first day, and 3,300 meters of unevenness, and four on the second. They’re not big climbs, but they’re tough and explosive. There is more than enough terrain for breakaways and ambushes to occur as soon as you start, with initial heights that can break the race on either of the two days and with final heights that are a few meters from the finish lines that are certain which will cause movement.
In the bet, win the first and second day and wear yellow. A cake too sweet to contain. Runners like Mathieu Van der Poel, Julian Alaphilippe or Pello Bilbao can be protagonists, on the first day where the risk of rain is 20% and the second rises to 70%.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
