On any Tour de France route, there a number of stages that are clear-cut crucial days in the battle for the yellow jersey – summit finishes, for example, or individual time trials. However, the Tour de France, no matter how much of a pattern it has fallen into in recent years under Team Sky's control, always has the potential for surprise, and the race can be shaped at almost any point on any of the 21 stages.
The saying goes that there are points in the Tour where the race might be won, but could well be lost, and this year's route features much terrain that lives up to that old adage.
Away from the high-altitude climbs of the Pyrenees and Alps, we have rugged 'medium mountain' stages in France's lesser-known ranges, the Vosges and the Massif Central. Then there's the wind, which can single-handedly turn the flattest of stages into the most dramatic of spectacles. There are a couple of stages in the south in the second week that look particularly susceptible to echelons if the wind is blowing from the right direction at the right strength.
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So while the yellow jersey hopefuls will have to be at their best on the high-mountain summit finishes, they'll have to be on high alert – and well supported – at almost every juncture of the race.
We've picked out five stages that don't necessarily appear to be pivotal GC days on paper, but which have the potential to see this year's Tour de France burst into life.
Stage 3 - July 8: Binche to Épernay, 215km
Every year, Tour boss Christian Prudhomme and the race director Thierry Gouvenou include a stage or two in northern or western France running across open country where the wind could be a significant factor. Generally, the weather is so benign in these regions in July that the potential sting is nullified, but once in a while the wind does have an impact. If it is blowing in the opening days of the race, this stage, which already has an intriguing finale, could be very complicated indeed.
Stage 5 - July 10: St Dié des Vosges to Colmar, 175.5km
Stage 8 - July 13: Mâcon to St Étienne, 200km
Stage 11 - July 17: Albi to Toulouse, 167km
Stage 16 - July 23: Nîmes to Nîmes, 200km
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-de-france-2019-the-ambush-stages
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