The stage starts in the historical city of York, founded by the Romans in 71 AD.
Upon leaving York, the bunch goes west and passes yesterday’s start town of Leeds. The stage is a very bumpy one, surprisingly so for so early in the Tour. It’s like an English version of Liege-Bastogne-Liege with about 20 climbs in total.
Today’s main hills
The biggest climb of the day is Holme Moss after 150 kilometres. Officially the climb is 16 kilometres long but the first 10 are really a false flat. Gradually the gradient goes up and reaches 14% near the summit.
Oughtibridge Lane could be pivotal to today’s outcome, featuring just 16 kilometres form the finish line. Locals prefer to call the climb The Jawbone – it is 1.6 kilometres long and averages 8.9%. Its steepest section is 15%.
Just 5 kilometres from the end riders face one last bump: Jenkins Road. It’s an 800 metre climb with an insane maximum gradient of 33%!
Anything could happen today although it would seem too soon for GC men to make a statement. Maybe a day for Sagan?
The stage begins at 12:20 CET and the finish is expected around 17:30.
Tour de France 2014 stage 2: Images and more!
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