Cyclingpost.com - Brief Preview: Tour de France stage 7

Brief Preview: Tour de France stage 7

By Michael Holden
Sat, 14 Jul 2007 08:28:51

BOURG-EN-BRESSE, Jul 14 (CP) - The 94th Tour de France shifts up a gear in Saturday's seventh stage - the first of three important days in the Alps.

After a week in which the sprinters and yellow jersey wearer Fabian Cancellara have dominated the headlines, the attention now shifts to the general classifications contenders.

Stage seven starts off from where Friday's stage concluded - Bourg-en-Bresse, and sees the peloton make their way through the Haute-Savoie region, before finishing in Le Grand Bornand, 198 kilometers later.

The stage consists of four classified climbs, but most interest will center on the final ascent of the day. After over 165 kilometers of racing, the first real serious challenge in this year's race will confront riders. The 16 kilometer long, category one Col de la Colombière climb will certainly provide us with some insight into who is, and who isn't, in top shape at this race.

This tough climb averages nearly 7 percent. The last half of the mountain averages over 8.5 percent with the final two kilometers peaking at nearly 10. However most of the favorites will continue to carefully mark their immediate rivals. From the top of the climb riders will descend into Le Grand Bornand for a frantic finish.

Although a rider won't be able to win the Tour on a day like Saturday, any of the favorites who have a bad day could still lose significant time and seriously dent their overall aspirations. The cycling world will therefore be looking to the Astana duo of Andreas Klöden and Alexandre Vinokourov to see how they have recovered from their injuries sustained in stage five.

With still two weeks of racing to go, the favorites would also prefer not to have to defend the yellow jersey for so long. Saturday is also Bastille Day. Therefore expect to see a breakaway including some French riders given a bit of leeway in a stage where they might just succeed.