Pure sprinters will be struggling to keep up with the pace and GC riders have nothing to gain on a course such as this. Which opens the way for the breakaway to succeed.
Given the nature of the route a furious battle for the breakaway is expected. And it’s unlikely to be solved swiftly, especially since the first part of the race is on descent. Which makes it extra hard to open up a gap.
After 27 kilometres the Côte de Brié could serve as a launch base for the breakaway, although it’s a short climb – 2.4 kilometres at 6.9%. Following the downhill the route continues with another 30 kilometres on the flat. If there’s still no breakaway up the road at kilometre 74 the Col de Parménie is sure to take care of business. It’s a 5.1 kilometres climb with an average gradient of 6.6%. Still 113 kilometres left to race at the top.
The last climb of the day, Côte de Saint-Romain-en-Gal (6.6 kilometres at 4.5%), is crested with roughly 40 kilometres to go. A downhill takes the riders onto a false flat of 20 kilometres long before the last 7.6 kilometres are played out on the flat.
Favourites 13th stage 2022 Tour de France
*** Wout van Aert, Alberto Bettiol, Michael Matthews, Magnus Cort
** Jasper Stuyven, Peter Sagan, Andreas Kron, Taco van der Hoorn, Fred Wright
* Fabio Jakobsen, Caleb Ewan, Dylan Groenewegen, Matej Mohoric, Valentin Madouas
Another interesting read: route 13th stage 2022 Tour de France.
Tour de France 2022 stage 13: routes & profiles
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