The battle of the Ardennes

Starting from Philippe Gilbert's native town of Verviers, stage 3 is much hillier than stage 2. A visit will be paid to the car racing circuit of Spa-Francorchamps after 20km of racing through the Ardennes on the roads of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the oldest of the big classics. 130 kilometres of the course are in Luxemburg, the country of the recently retired Schleck brothers. One Luxemburger, Ben Gastauer of AG2R-La Mondiale, is part of the 195-rider strong peloton. Everyone else who is not familiar with this small country will realize it's not a flattish one. Stage 3 is long too: 212.5km. It might be a hard day for some riders. It's a land of opportunities as well. The finish on French soil in Longwy atop the 1.6km long climb of the Religieuses surely pleases Peter Sagan as much as the hill to La Glacerie in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin at the end of stage 2 last year. The finish suits Gilbert too, and many others who would be well inspired to make the race hard earlier on.