Tour de France 2015 Favourites stage 8: Rebound for puncheurs
The second time the 2015 Tour arrives atop of a wall. Four years ago Cadel Evans took the stage with Alberto Contador in his slipstream. Who’s next? (Slideshow route/profile)
Usual suspects on arrivals like the Mur de Bretagne are puncheurs such as Peter Sagan, Alejandro Valverde and Michal Kwiatkowski. John Degenkolb is a sprinters that might be capable to surprise. The 2 kilometres climb opens steep, but flattens out in the second part. And let's not forget about Daniel Martin either, former winner of Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Alberto Contador may not be a classic puncheur, but given his explosive style of climbing we should reckon him an outsider. The same for Nairo Quintana, while Chris Froome was powerful in stage 3 to the Wall of Huy.
Other men to watch are Joaquim Rodríguez, who took the stage to the Wall of Huy, and Greg Van Avermaet.
*** Alejandro Valverde, Michal Kwiatkowski, Joaquim Rodríguez
** John Degenkolb, Peter Sagan, Chris Froome
* Alberto Contador, Nairo Quintana, Greg Van Avermaet
Tour de France 2015 stage 8: Route maps, height profiles, and more
Click the images to enlarge
Final kilometres##45
Profile intermediate sprint##30
Details Mûr de Bretagne##15
