The riders begin today at the Tour’s most westerly point in Brest at the start of what is officially classed as a flat stage. But a ‘flat’ stage with three Cat. 4 climbs, plus another Cat. 3 climb thrown in for good measure, means this is not necessarily going to be a sprint finish. This is a stage for the puncheurs, the all-rounders, so it would not be a surprise to see someone like Marianne Vos finish strongly again here today – the 38-year-old rolled back the years on Saturday to win stage one and the yellow jersey.
Here are the GC standings after stage one:
1. Vos
2. Le Court + 4”
3. Ferrand-Prevot +6”
4. Niewiadoma +10”
5. Vollering +13”
6. Puck Pieterse +15”
7. Van der Breggen +15”
8. Jansen +19”
9. Pauliena Rooijakkers +19”
10. Pfeiffer Georgi +19”
There is a circuit of Quimper to finish today, with a slight uphill finish, we’ll have to see if there is a late attack, or if someone goes for it earlier, perhaps on one of the Cat. 4 climbs. Let’s see. It is an intriguing and exciting day in the saddle.
Roll out: 12.10pm BST