The 3 weeks in late-June to mid-July were always some of my favourite weeks of the year because it was Tour de France time!
Growing up I used to be in awe of the guys cycling up those incredible mountains. But it wasn't just the riders who made the event so amazing to watch. It was the scenery, the crowds, the colourful jerseys and even the noise that the car horn makes that I loved so much.
And even to this day, I count down the days until the start of the TdF, and the 2021 edition looks set to be one of the most epic races of recent years.
So, here is my preview of the race with a look at the route and some of the highlight stages for your diary, plus a look at some of the race contenders and things to look out for!
What is the Tour de France?
The Tour de France is a 3 week race around France, which occasionally visits some of the neighbouring countries.
There are usually 21 stages over different terrains, these being designated as flat, hilly or mountain. The stage lengths can vary, the shortest being 129.7km and the longest at 249.1km.
In the 2021 race there are:
8 flat stages
5 hilly stages
6 mountain stages
2 individual time-trial stages
2 rest days
If you're not familiar with what the Tour de France is, check out this video.
5 Things to Look Out for in the 2021 Tour de France
There are so man exciting things to watch in this year's race, but here are my top 5.
the battle for General Classification (GC)
uphill finishes on Stages 1 & 2
the time trial on Stage 5
double ascent of Mont Ventoux on Stage 11
final mountain top finish on Stage 18
Let's take a closer look at these.
The GC Battle
We've got to start with the GC battle, which this year looks set to be Roglic vs Pogacar vs Team Ineos!
There's not much doubt that the two Slovenians, Roglic and Pogacar, are the two strongest riders and the 2 main favourites.
Pogacar has looked really strong in his races this year and recently won the Tour of Slovenia. The one thing in his favour last year was that he came into the race without much expectation of winning and without much pressure. That will be very different this year!
Roglic hasn't raced for a couple of months but has been training at altitude and always performs well. His Jumbo-Visma team is so strong as well with a couple of guys (Sepp Kuss and Steven Kruijswijk) to help him in the mountains, Tony Martin to ride on the flat and Wout Van Aert to do everything!
And finally Team Ineos are coming with 3 previous grand tour winners (Geraint Thomas, Richard Carapaz and Teo Geoghan-Hart) plus super-domestique Richie Porte, who finished 3rd last year and won the Criterium du Dauphine in early-June.
Although on paper they have a super strong team, are there too many cooks to spoil the broth? Who will be the real leader? Which rider will get the most support if they have a puncture?
One advantage that Ineos it does give them is the ability to have multiple attacking options in the mountains. Will Pogacar and Roglic be able to follow every move? Time will tell!
Uphill Finishes for Stages 1 + 2
Usually at the start of the TdF there are number of flat stages which usually finish in a bunch sprint, giving the sprinters a chance to taste the glory of winning a stage.
But this year stages 1 and 2 have an uphill finish.
Nothing as steep as you'd find in the mountains but probably too steep for the pure sprinters to be fighting out for the win.
It's the kind of finish that will suit a "puncheur", that is someone who specializes in rolling terrain with short and steep climbs
Stage 1 finishes in Landerneau with a short 3km climb with an average graident of 5.7%
While stage 2 finishes on the famous Mur-de-Bretagne with a 2km climb with an average gradient of 6.9%
This should be an epic battleground for 4 of the best bike riders in the world who are super strong at these types of finish.
Expect to see Wout Van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Julian Alaphilippe and Peter Sagan fighting it out for the stage win!
Time Trial on Stage 5 - Wednesday 30th June
The time trial is known as the "race of truth" because you're on our own for this one.
There are no teammates to pass you bottles and shield you from the wind - it's just you and the bike vs the road!
Last year, the 2020 TdF was decided in the final time trial on Stage 20 with an unforgettable performance from Tadej Pogacar who overcame Primoz Roglic.
Primoz Roglic lost the 2020 Tour de France on the final stage :(
This year, the time trial on stage 5 should give us a good indication of who is strong and on good form.
Unlike the time trial in stage 20 last year, which finished with a tough climb up to La Planche des Belles Filles, this TT is mostly flat.
This should suit the stronger riders, such as Geraint Thomas, and it will be really interesting to see how he gets on and if he really going to be a contender this year.
Keep an eye out for Richard Carapaz, he's more of a climber than a time trial specialist - how much time will he and some of the other "pure climbers" lose on this stage?
First Mountain Top Finish - Sunday 4th July
The first summit finish of the race is always a good indicator of which of the leading contenders is on good form.
Stage 9 has five climbs crammed into 145km, the final one to the first of the Tour’s three summit finishes, with an incredible 21km climb up to the town of Tignes.
Although we rarely see the top riders attacking and trying to gain time on such stages, we do get an idea of which teams are going well and who might be struggling.
One factor that could encourage the leading riders to attack is that the next day is a rest day - let's hope for some fireworks!
Double Ascent of Mont Ventoux - Wednesday 7th July
Mont Ventoux is one of THE legendary mountains of the race.
The "Giant of Provence" is legnedary for a number of reasons. The top of mountain is without vegetation, giving it a moonscape appearance and very different from the normla mountain passes that you'll see in the race.
In 1967, Tom Simpson from the UK very sadly collapsed and died on Mont Ventoux during Stage 13 on the race. The post-mortem discovered that aphetamines and alcohol in his bloodstream. There is a memorial for him 1km from the top of the mountain.
In the 2021 race, Mont Ventoux will be climbed not once but TWICE! Crazy!
I wonder if we will see a repeat of 2016 when Chris Froome was caught up in a crash and had to run up the hill because his bike was broken!
The Final Mountain Stage - Thursday 15th July
This stage gives the GC contenders their final opportunity to make back some time in the mountains.
It's a stage which has 2 super famous climbs. The Col du Tourmalet has been used 87 times in the Tour de France, making it the most used mountain pass in the race's history. It's a true icon of the race and is known in French as the "l’incontournable", meaning "the unavoidable".
The peloton climbs the Tourmalet in the 2012 Tour de France. Photo: Graham Watson
After conquering the Tourmalet, there is a descent before the final climb up to Luz-Ardiden, which is probably most famous for the incident in the 2002 race when Lance Armstrong crashed after his handlebars got caught in a spectators bag. He not only got up and recovered but went on to win the stage in one of his ultimate shows of power!
Final Thoughts
It should be a cracking race this year with so many different things to look out for.
I'm especially looking forward to the first 2 stages and the battle between Van Aert, Van de Poel and Allaphilppe.
For the overall win, I think the race will again come down to a battle between Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic.
Roglic can win if he avoids his usual one bad day in the final week and limits his losses.
The big question for Pogacar is how he reacts to being the favourite this year and whether he has a strong enough team to support him in the mountains.
Have Team Ineos made the right decision to put their faith in numbers? Can Geraint Thomas really reproduce his form of 2018, or will Richard Carapaz take over as their leader and ride to victory in the same way that Egan Bernal did in 2019?
Will there be a dark horse and outsider who surprises everyone?!
Whatever happens, hope you guys enjoy the race this year!
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