Tour de France 2014 Stage 7 will commence on Friday. Andre Greipel of the Lotto-Belisol team triumphed in Stage 6 but rain had a huge part to play in the last two stages with crashes aplenty.
Incidentally, Stage 7 is one of the longest. The contestants will have to cover a distance of 234.5 kilometres as they ride from Epernay to Nancy. During the course of this stage, the riders will have to travel in a south-easterly direction toward the Vosges, before having to contend with other mountains.
The commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of World War I has figured prominently in the 101st edition of the Tour de France. Verdun, another well-known location of that war, will be another racing point for this year's contestants. After the beginning of the stage the racers will head toward Verdun in a north-eastern direction, reported CyclingQuotes. Thereafter, they embark toward Nancy and will encounter flat territory as an intermediate sprint will commence.
The riders will go toward Nancy from the west in place of a direct route; and as a result they have 4 climbs ahead of them. These 4 climbs will be a test of endurance in an otherwise flat territory. Making it harder for the riders is the fact that two of these climbs will come during the closing stages of the race. The Cote de Maron will appear 17 kilometres from the ending stages, while the Cote de Boufflers will surface just before the last 5.5 kilometres.
After the last climb, numerous turns will be on view as the racers will have to deal with 90 degree corners within the ending 3 kilometres. 900 metres before the finishing line lies the concluding turn, according to the website.
In what is more bad news for the contestants, they may have to deal with inclement weather again, while the wind will may make things further difficult.
It remains to be seen if Greipel will repeat his success here, while Marcel Kittel will be looking to get back to winning ways as well. Yellow jersey holder Vincenzo Nibali and green jersey holder Peter Sagan are said to be among the ones expected to come up trumps here.
Where to Watch Live:
Ten Sports Day 7
7-45 PM To 9-15 PM (IST)
France
Online Links
Ten Sports Day 7 HERE
