Following his absolute domination of La Fosse aux Loups at the end of stage 1, Julian Alaphilippe downplayed his chances to do the same again at Mûr-de-Bretagne, saying that the iconic climb in the centre of Brittany isn’t his favourite, even though he came fourth up there in 2018 [behind Dan Martin, Pierre Latour and Alejandro Valverde who are in contention again]. Mûr-de-Bretagne is also the place that revealed his exceptional skills as a punchy rider as he came fifth at the 2012 Tour de Bretagne with no international racing experience yet. There’ll be two ascents of the climb with time bonus awarded the first time. This is the fourth stage finish at Mûr-de-Bretagne in ten years. Cadel Evans in 2011, Alexis Vuillermoz in 2015 and Martin await their successor.
