This Sunday, the Grande Boucle is already tackling very serious matters with a mountainous stage with a total of 4,000 m in altitude on the heights of Nice. 186 km are on the program in the perilous hinterland of Nice.
Le Turini, first justice of the peace
The Tour has barely started and climbers can already have a blast. Contrary to long-established habits, the first week of the 2020 edition is not just for sprinters. They will even suffer. Starting this Sunday with two climbs classified in the first category: the Col de la Colmiane (1,500 m above sea level) and above all the very difficult Col de Turini which rises to 1,607 m, as complicated to climb as it is tricky to descend. Here is the first justice of the peace of the Tour 2020.
There will already be losers
Three weeks before the (hoped for) arrival in Paris, we obviously won't know the winner of the Tour this Sunday evening. But we risk knowing on the other hand the first losers: “Yes, some risk losing the Tour this Sunday, thinks Richard Virenque, consultant for Europe 1. I am 200% sure. It's a step that can make a first difference, especially if it's raining. It has been a long time since the water fell in the South and you can believe me that the first rains are wreaking havoc. They make the roadway like an ice rink. "
A profile for Alaphilippe
He's not shy about it. Julian Alaphilippe put a cross on this stage as soon as the route was announced last October. His profile as an adventurer fits perfectly: “If I have good feelings, everything is going in the right direction and I feel good, Sunday is a good opportunity to go for the victory and the jersey. But it will be like that for a lot of runners. The task will be difficult. In any case, I will try, for sure. So Alaphilippe with the yellow jersey from the second stage? There couldn't be much better for the Tour to get started.