Leaving Saumur, the pack set ssail in southeasterly direction. In a substantially straight line the riders head for Limoges. If a westerly is blowing it could turn out to be an interessting stage marked by crosswinds and echelons.
Saumur lies at an elevation of 25 metres above sea level, while Limoges is 400 MASL. The second half of the stage is on rolling terrain. All in all the riders are to climb, but one may wonder if it will be enough to get rid of the tougher sprinters. Yet, fast men like Kittel could get in trouble.
The only categorised climb, Côte de la Maison Neuve, is crested with 55 kilometres remaining. With 1,2 kilometer à 5,6% it’s no Mont Ventoux, but at the same time, the climb marks the opening of a hilly part of the race leading to a tricky finale. With 8 kilometres remaining a 500 metres climb at around 6% is a perfect spot to put pressure on Kittel et al, while the last 500 metres go up at 5%.
In 2010, a Paris-Nice stage finished in Limoges. Current World Champion Peter Sagan, back then only 20 years of age, almost took the flowers, but ultimately he was outsprinted by William Bonnet.
The first three riders on the line take time bonuses at 10, 6 and 4 seconds.
Race report/results 4th stage, 2016 Tour de France.
Tour de France 2016 stage 4: Route maps, height profiles, etc.
Click on the images to zoom
where will the best view points be in Le Dorat