The riders set off in Reims for a race in easterly direction. On predominantly flat roads the course runs to Nancy, where the brilliant Fausto Coppi won stages in the only two editions of the Tour de France he competed in – 1949 and 1952.
The 7th stage of the 2014 Tour de France traveled on a similar route from Épernay to Nancy. The finale was pepped up by two cols before Matteo Trentin outgunned Peter Sagan in a blistering sprint on the line.
Probably, it will be the pure sprinters battling it out for the stage honours this time. The route features two KOMs, but as these are both 4th category it’s likely to be more of an inconvenience for the sprint teams than anything else. The Côte de Maron – 3,2 kilometre at 5% – is crested 15 kilometres before the line.
Nancy hosted thirteen Tour de France finishes since 1947.
Time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds are awarded to the first three riders on the line.
Another interesting read: results/race report 4th stage Tour de France 2019.
Tour de France 2019 stage 4: route, profile, more
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