York - Sheffield 201 km
This is the Yorkshire stage that everyone has been looking forward to with dread-filled excitement. An Ardenne classic on day 2 of the Tour in some fantastic landscapes. It has all the makings of a memorable stage.
Boisterous Blubberhouse of the Day: Jan Bakelants
Simon Gerrans was perhaps the outright favorite for this before the crash that sent Cavendish out of the TdF with a separated shoulder but he sounds too banged up to be a factor sadly. Instead we might see OPQS bounce back with a win from in-form Bakelants. He'll have to overcome the big names Sagan and Valverde to do it but we could well see a surprise here. Bakelants it is.
Official site , Stageinfo , Startlist
- Km 47.0 - Côte de Blubberhouses 1.8 kilometre-long climb at 6.1% - category 4
- Km 85.0 - Côte d'Oxenhope Moor3.1 kilometre-long climb at 6.4% - category 3
- Km 112.5 - VC - Côte de Ripponden1.3 kilometre-long climb at 8.6% - category 3
- Km 119.5 - Côte de Greetland1.6 kilometre-long climb at 6.7% - category 3
- Km 143.5 - Côte de Holme Moss4.7 kilometre-long climb at 7% - category 2
- Km 167.0 - Côte de Midhopestones2.5 kilometre-long climb at 6.1% - category 3
- Km 175.0 - Côte de Bradfield1 kilometre-long climb at 7.4% - category 4
- Km 182.0 - Côte d'Oughtibridge1.5 kilometre-long climb at 9.1% - category 3
- Km 196.0 - VC - Côte de Jenkin Road0.8 kilometre-long climb at 10.8% - category 4