Seven Belgians on the attack on 21 July on the Tour de France (DIRECT)

Tour de France

The remaining riders in the peloton today face a stage that scares many. Follow the commented live race

Nine Belgian victories at the end of a stage of the Tour de France on July 21 welcomed the national holiday in Belgium. The 2018 edition will see the 14th stage offer a course conducive to snipers who will find a difficult terrain, favorable, finally, to the escapades towards Mende Saturday. A squad of 152 runners (out of the 176 at the start), with the British Geraint Thomas (Sky) in yellow, started at 13:05.

From Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to the Lozère prefecture, the The 188-kilometer route follows the busy, often hilly roads. Only four climbs are listed in this mid-mountain stage.

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From the intermediate sprint of Bessèges (Km 90), the route climbs into the forests of the Cevennes. The Col de la Croix-de-Berthel pbad (9.1 km at 5.3%) is clbadified in the second category but it is still 59 kilometers from the finish.

The final takes the Côte de la Croix- New, less than two kilometers from the finish, also called climb Laurent Jalabert in tribute to the success of Tarn on July 14, 1995. The climb, very steep (3 km to 10.1%), is extended by 1500 meters on the plateau of Mende-Brenoux aerodrome

Rudy Matthijs (1985), Lucien Van Impe (1983), Eddy Merckx (1974), Fred De Bruyne (1954), Roger Lambrecht (1948), Jean Aerts (1933 ), Félix Sellier (1922), Marcel Buysse (1913) and Louis Heusghem (1912) are the nine Belgian riders, all different, to have imposed a 21 July on the roads of the Great Loop.

The prefecture of Mende (12,600 inhabitants) of the least populated department of France hosts the Tour for the fifth time.

At the previous arrival of the Tour on the site, in 20 15, the French Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet were surprised by the winning return of the British Steven Cummings near the top.

The departure of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux was given at 13:05 (real departure at 13:10 ). The arrival at Mende is scheduled around 17:40 (forecast average 42 km / h).

The profile of the stage