Mûr-de-Bretagne, a legendary passing point of the Tour de France in Brittany with hundreds of “gwen ha du” (white and black Breton flags) to cheer for the riders, was first featured as a stage finish in 2011 with eventual overall winner Cadel Evans winning ahead of Alberto Contador and Alexandre Vinokourov. The “Breton Alpe d’Huez” is a 2-km long climb that saw the victory of Alexis Vuillermoz on 2015. Moreover, Chris Froome proved to be the strongest before hitting the big mountains. For the first time, the climb is to be done twice with a time bonus sprint three kilometres after the first passage. Therefore, it’s no longer a stage like a classic. It can favour riders like Julian Alaphilippe and Alejandro Valverde. The Frenchman is even considered the biggest threat by current race leader Greg Van Avermaet, likely to take the yellow jersey over from him. But it’s above all a stage in which the GC contenders can’t hide, even though the differences between them shouldn’t be too big. Psychologically, it’s a crucial stage.
