8 KEY STAGES

Stage 3 START FINISH Stage 9, Sunday 15 July Cholet to Cholet, S SPRINT KING OF THE Arras to Roubaix, 2018 Tour MOUNTAINS 35.5km TIME TRIAL 156.5km The last time a team time-trial appeared at the Tour de Quite possibly the most entertaining stage of the whole race was 2015, when BMC beat Sky by one second. At the — and all wrapped up in time for the World Cup final at 5pm. Dauphiné last month, Sky beat BMC by 35 seconds. Times are The 15 cobbled sectors are borrowed from the Paris-Roubaix de France taken on the fourth rider, but the first man across the line in one-day race. Expect at least one GC rider to drop out of the winning team could go into yellow — a jersey team contention altogether. Froome crashed out on a similar stage leaders may not want to defend from this early in the race. in 2014, when so impressively finished third, setting up his overall victory. STAGE BY STAGE Saint-André-de- Côte de la la-Marche Séguinière Stage 1, Today 97m 106m Wasnes-au-Bac S Noirmoutier-en-l’Île to 35m Fontenay-le-Comte (201km) Stage 2, Tomorrow 0km 35.5km 0km 156.5km Mouilleron-Saint-Germain to La Roche-sur-Yon (182.5km) Stage 3, Mon July 9 Cholet, team time-trial (35.5km) Stage 10 Stage 11 Stage 4, Tues July 10 Annecy to Le Grand-Bornand, to La Rosière, La Baule to Sarzeau (195km) 158.5km 108.5km Stage 5, Weds July 11 Enter the . The first hors categorie climb of this year’s An exact copy of a stage in last month’s Criterium du Lorient to Quimper (204.5km) Tour finishes on the unpaved road up to the Plateau de Dauphiné, when , , Glières but it is the two ascents at the end of the stage where and were all in the top five. At only 108.5km, TV Stage 6, Thurs July 12 the significant attacks will come. executives are hoping the main contenders attack early. Brest to Mûr de Bretagne (181km) Col de Col de Montée du Col de la Col du Pré Cormet de Roselend Stage 7, Fri July 13 1 la Croix HC plateau Colombière 1 1,748m 2 1,968m Blu y Montée de Fougères to Chartres (231km) Fry des Glières 1,618m Villard-sur- 622m HC Bisanne HC La Rosière 1 1,477m 1,390m Col de Doran 1,855m Stage 8, Sat July 14 4 1,723m Romme 1 646m Dreux to Amiens (181km) Thones S 1,297m S Stage 9, Sun July 15 615m Arras to Roubaix (156.5km) Rest day, Mon July 16 0km 158.5km 0km 108.5km Annecy Stage 10, Tues July 17 Annecy to Le Grand-Bornand (158.5km) Stage 12 Stage 17 Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Alpe d’Huez, Bagnères-de-Luchon to Saint-Lary-Soulan, Stage 11, Weds July 18 Albertville to La Rosière (108.5km) 175.5km 65km Stage 12, Thurs July 19 Three hors categorie climbs and not one, but two sets of As the shortest road stage in 30 years, with three climbs and Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Alpe d’Huez hairpins: the glorious Lacets de Montvernier, followed by the the final summit finish of the race, this stage was unusual second summit finish in two days, through tens of thousands enough before organisers introduced an F1-style grid start. (175.5km) of boozy fans at Alpe d’Huez. Expect chaos. The top 20 will depart at intervals, followed by the rest. Stage 13, Fri July 20 Col de la Montée de Lacets de Alpe d’Huez Col du Portet Bourg d’Oisans to Valence (169.5km) Croix de Fer 1 2,215m Col de la Montvernier 2,067m 1,850m 1,645m Col de Val 1 Stage 14, Sat July 21 HC 782m Louron-Azet HC Madeleine HC Loudenvielle Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Mende 2,000m HC S 1,580m (188km) 2 945m Stage 15, Sun July 22 Millau to Carcassonne (181.5km) Rest day, Mon July 23 0km 175.5km 0km 65km Carcassonne Stage 16, Tues July 24 Carcassonne to Bagnères-de-Luchon (218km) Stage 19 Stage 20 Stage 17, Weds July 25 Lourdes to Laruns, Saint-pée-sur-Nivelle to Espelette, Bagnères-de-Luchon to 200.5km 31km Saint-Lary-Soulan (65km) Most Tour de The is the most visited major climb in Tour Depending on what has happened in the previous 19 days, Stage 18, Thurs July 26 France titles de France history. A savage stage this late in the race and with this race against the clock will either be yawningly dull or Tries-sur-Baïse to Pau (171km) GC riders attempting to keep something back for the time-trial clenchingly tense. The Basque-country terrain is not flat, so Five titles the next day. it’s not a given that powerful riders like Chris Froome and Tom Stage 19, Fri July 27 Côte de Dumoulin will top the standings. For most of the peloton 1 Col des Bordères Lourdes to Laruns (200.5km) (France) 4 Col d’Aspin though, their race finished on the previous stage. Loucrup Côte de 1,156m Col d’ 532m 1,490m Stage 20, Sat July 28 () Capvern 2 Souraïde- Col du Aubisque Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle to Espelette, (France) 4 -les-Bains 1,709m Ustaritz Xurxurieta 604m HC Tourmalet 92m 144m individual time-trial (31km) 2,115m HC (Spain) Sarrancolin S Stage 21, Sun July 29 631m Houilles to Paris titles Champs-Élysées (116km) Chris Froome (GB) 0km 200.5km 0km 31km 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017

Roubaix Stage start Team time-trial cobbles Stage finish Individual time-trial JERSEYS Stage start/finish Transfer Rest town Overall leader Mûr-de-Bretagne 9 Worn by the leader climb 8 of the general 21 classification 7 Finish: 6 July 29 Plateau des Points leader 4 Glières gravel Worn by the leader of 5 3 track the points classification Start: 2 July 7 1 11 Worn by the leader FRANCE 10 of the mountains 12 classification 13

Best young rider 14 18 Worn by the best young 20 15 rider (aged 25 or under in the current year) 16 Col du Mende Alpe 19 17 Tourmalet airstrip d’Huez