After today's shenanigans on the cobbles (which I had to miss), the Tour heads into the Ardennes for another interesting-looking finale.
The longest stage of this year’s race sees the Tour return to Longwy, where Peter Sagan won an uphill sprint in 2017 a day before being thrown out of the race. The route is much tougher this time though, with a little wall right before the HTF, so expect a veritable Ardennes finale.
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Route description
Six of the first nine stages are partially or completely outside of France and this one is no exception, as the Tour heads to Binche for the second time in four years. Briefly the seat of the governess of the Netherlands in the mid-16th century, today it is known for its carnival, its well-preserved fortifications, and in cycling as the home of Binche-Chimay-Binche, the race dedicated to the late Frank Vandenbroucke, who won it in 1996.
The first quarter of the stage heads through Wallonia towards the French border. This section passes by the Lacs de l’Eau d’Heure, a group of reservoirs that hosted a series of Belgium Tour stages and NCs in the 2010s. Just after this, we reach the first (uncategorised) climb of the day out of Cerfontaine.
Before entering France, there are two more such hills to tackle.
Upon crossing the border, the riders will quickly reach the first GPM of the day, Côte des Mazures. Six stages in and this is the first climb above a cat. 4, you have to go back as far as 2007 for a Tour that took equally long to reach its first climb that ‘hard’…
From here, the road rises and falls across a plateau, before descending into the departmental capital of Charleville-Mézières, after which the roads become flatter for a while as we follow the Meuse. This section takes us through Sedan, dominated by its vast fortress (among Europe’s largest), and to the intermediate sprint in Carignan.
By this time the route has started to turn away from the Meuse to stay close to the Belgian border, and the terrain slowly becomes more rugged again as we pass the citadel of Montmédy. The final 20 kilometres feature four hills, starting with the Côte de Montigny-sur-Chiers and the harder, but uncategorised Côte de Lexy.
These are the climbs to thin out the bunch, but Côte de Pulventeux, just 5.3k from the line, should see attacks.
The briefest of flats and a descent down two hairpins brings us to the bottom of the final climb, Côte des Religieuses. The first 2.2k of the profile below, it’s exactly the same as the 2017 finish.
Final kilometres
Located on the borders with Belgium and Luxembourg, Longwy was originally a small town that was built into a sizeable citadel by Vauban. It became the centre of the French steel industry in the 19th century, however after the plants shut down in the 1970s the town experienced a significant economic downturn and today it is mainly a commuter town for Luxembourg.
The Pont d’Arches connects the two halves of Charleville-Mézières.
The longest stage of this year’s race sees the Tour return to Longwy, where Peter Sagan won an uphill sprint in 2017 a day before being thrown out of the race. The route is much tougher this time though, with a little wall right before the HTF, so expect a veritable Ardennes finale.
Profile
Map
Route description
Six of the first nine stages are partially or completely outside of France and this one is no exception, as the Tour heads to Binche for the second time in four years. Briefly the seat of the governess of the Netherlands in the mid-16th century, today it is known for its carnival, its well-preserved fortifications, and in cycling as the home of Binche-Chimay-Binche, the race dedicated to the late Frank Vandenbroucke, who won it in 1996.
The first quarter of the stage heads through Wallonia towards the French border. This section passes by the Lacs de l’Eau d’Heure, a group of reservoirs that hosted a series of Belgium Tour stages and NCs in the 2010s. Just after this, we reach the first (uncategorised) climb of the day out of Cerfontaine.
Before entering France, there are two more such hills to tackle.
Upon crossing the border, the riders will quickly reach the first GPM of the day, Côte des Mazures. Six stages in and this is the first climb above a cat. 4, you have to go back as far as 2007 for a Tour that took equally long to reach its first climb that ‘hard’…
From here, the road rises and falls across a plateau, before descending into the departmental capital of Charleville-Mézières, after which the roads become flatter for a while as we follow the Meuse. This section takes us through Sedan, dominated by its vast fortress (among Europe’s largest), and to the intermediate sprint in Carignan.
By this time the route has started to turn away from the Meuse to stay close to the Belgian border, and the terrain slowly becomes more rugged again as we pass the citadel of Montmédy. The final 20 kilometres feature four hills, starting with the Côte de Montigny-sur-Chiers and the harder, but uncategorised Côte de Lexy.
These are the climbs to thin out the bunch, but Côte de Pulventeux, just 5.3k from the line, should see attacks.
The briefest of flats and a descent down two hairpins brings us to the bottom of the final climb, Côte des Religieuses. The first 2.2k of the profile below, it’s exactly the same as the 2017 finish.
Final kilometres
Located on the borders with Belgium and Luxembourg, Longwy was originally a small town that was built into a sizeable citadel by Vauban. It became the centre of the French steel industry in the 19th century, however after the plants shut down in the 1970s the town experienced a significant economic downturn and today it is mainly a commuter town for Luxembourg.
The Pont d’Arches connects the two halves of Charleville-Mézières.
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