Cherbourg: a hardman in yellow (1/6)

THE BATTLEFIELD

The sprinter who wins the previous stage in Utah Beach will face a daunting challenge to defend the yellow jersey he will be wearing at the start in Saint-Lô. Although no-one will be worried about the autobus or the time limit yet, this is already a tricky, selective course. The deceivingly flat terrain will keep the peloton constantly alert, while the wind could wreak havoc in the final 100 km, spent mainly on a coastal road —anything but a pleasant ride along the sea. Just a few drops of rain could set the scene for a clash of the hardmen in July, washing away a favourite or two! The last climb, where the road points towards the sky twice in the final three kilometres, features a stretch with a 14% gradient just before the line. The odds are heavily stacked in favour of really explosive riders.

EYES ON THE PRIZE

A final burst of speed after a nervous extenuating stage where the wind comes out to play… Right up Peter Sagan's alley! It is the perfect place for the Slovak to end a drought which stretches all the way back to the Albi stage in 2013… with the yellow jersey as a bonus. However, the world champion would do well to keep an eye on other riders in Cherbourg. Michael Matthews has put his 2015 woes behind him and proved his worth as a strong all-rounder in races such as Paris–Nice. The Australian could get his own back for the Richmond World Championship (2nd) and show he is best placed to break Sagan's iron grip on the green jersey. A step below them, John Degenkolb is one of those sprinters who are not afraid of a nice, steep climb at the end of a stage. Punchers such as Joaquim Rodríguez, Alejandro Valverde, Julian Alaphilippe and Simon Gerrans will also be in their element.

It will be a disaster for any rider to reveal chinks in his armour by getting dropped and losing ground to his rivals on the second day of racing. Christian Prudhomme's desire to see "the favourites clashing against one another from the very beginning of the Tour" could be satisfied in Cherbourg as it was in Sheffield in 2014 and in Huy last year. Alberto Contador knows how to light the fireworks and has what it takes to blow up a small group at the end of the stage, just like rookie Fabio Aru, who will be blowing the candles for his 26th birthday, and Nairo Quintana, still on the hunt for his first yellow jersey.

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

Although the finale of this year's stage has its own special flavour, the Tour paid quite a few visits to Cherbourg in the 1920s, when the organisers tried to follow the contours of the country. Some of these stages went down in history, like in 1923, when rookie Ottavio Bottechia launched an instinctive solo attack two kilometres from the finish of stage 2 to steal the win from under the favourites' nose. The cheeky rider went on to become the first Italian winner of the Tour and again won the race in 1925. In 1924, the stage from Cherbourg to Brest was marred by controversy shortly after the start: brothers Henri and Francis Pélissier, as well as Maurice Ville, withdrew 76 km into the stage, furious at the organisers who supposedly forbade them from putting on several jerseys as protection against the cold. When journalist and writer Albert Londres joined them at the Café de la gare in Coutances, they vented their anger sprinkled with a few drops of chicanery. The resulting piece, published in Le Petit Parisien under the headline Les forçats de la route ("The Convicts of the Road"), became famous.