Despite two category-4 climbs, the early part of stage 2 gives the riders some time to warm up. It’s not until 84.5 kilometres in that the party starts. Cote de Bard is a 6.3 kilometre climb at 5.3%. Two similar climbs – one slightly steeper, one slightly longer – follow in quick succession and then the riders plunge down to the valley where the final climb awaits them.
Col du Béal is a grueling 13.6 kilomtre climb with an average gradient of 6.6%. Youngsters like Nairo Quintana, Andrew Talansky, Tom Jelte Slagter, Yannick Eijssen, Jhon Darwin Atapuma and Romain Bardet took part in a very entertaining stage on these slopes in the 2010 Tour de l’Avenir. Belgian Eijssen won the stage, followed by Atapuma and Talansky. Quintana went on to win the overall however.
The stage starts at 10:35 CET and the finish is expected around 15:00.
Critérium du Dauphiné 2014 stage 2: Images and more
Click on the images to zoom
