|
|
Arenberg Porte du Hainaut
207 km
Tuesday 6 July
This is unquestionably one of the highlights of the first week of the race, and a major first for this stage start and finish. Cobblestones haven’t been negotiated on the Tour since 2004. There will be 7 cobbled sectors over a total of 13,2 kilometres, including the Haveluy sector, only ten kilometres from the stage finish. The finish line will be located at the entrance to the notorious Arenberg Trench, the legendary backdrop to Paris-Roubaix.
• Stage town for the first time
• Population: 13,000
• Town in the Province of Liège (Belgium)
Tour supporters may not be familiar with the name of Wanze, but it will ring a bell with all Flèche Wallonne fans. Indeed, Wanze is located close to Huy and its famous Mur, where the finish of the Ardennes Classic is held each year. Wanze also hosts an international flea market for cycling collectors and enthusiasts.
• Stage site for the first time
• Population: 144,000 for the 39 towns of the urban community including 5,600 for Wallers-Arenberg
• City and Urban Community in Nord (59)
After the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour pays homage to Paris-Roubaix with a finish in Arenberg, where the world famous cobbled sector, the “Drève des Boules d’Hérin” is located. Now more familiarly known as the “trouée” (the trench), it is here that the Queen of the Classics has so often selected its winners and its losers. It was Jean Stablinski, a pit face miner in Wallers, who first recommended the site to the race organisers.
• www.agglo-porteduhainaut.fr
• www.tourisme-porteduhainaut.fr
