No telling what's coming today. The race runs south and east, from the Dore Valley to the Loire, before taking off on a tour of the low mountains around St. Etienne. The city has long been a second home to foreign cyclists, particularly Russians, and the monument to Andrei Kivilev is on the route to remind the peloton of this fact and of Kivilev's tragic death. Anyway, I get the sense that the 50km detour around St. Etienne over three cat-3 peaks is a famous training route for a long list of ex- and current pros. Anyway, the climbs aren't likely to make for huge gaps, but the possibility of a sprint is low. After Tuesday's action a breakaway is a distinct possibility. Enjoy!
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