2014 Tour de France Stage 12 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 12 of the 2014 Tour de France! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
A hilly stage with four low category climbs evenly spread through the day will set up the tension between the sprinters and the breakaway artists. It’s the last opportunity for the sprinters to make a showing until Ni?mes on stage 15 and, with the intermediate sprint just 40km into the stage, the green jersey contenders will likely want to keep it all together to fight for the bonus points on offer.
At the end of the day, the category 4 Co?te de Grammond 21km from the line will barely be noticed as the peloton wind up the pace for the sprint into Saint E?tienne. They’ll keep an eagle eye on the break to make sure there isn’t a repeat of the 2008 finish in the city when Marcus Burghardt outfoxed Carlos Barredo for the stage win. It’s difficult to see past the pure sprinters on a stage such as this – especially if the race got away from them yesterday with the tough and technical run into Oyonnax. Cavendish, Greipel, and Kittel will sit patiently at the back of their trains all day and get ready to pounce. With some luck, though, maybe an outsider – Matt Goss perhaps – could upset the triumvirate of the world’s best drag racers and turn his string of Tour podiums into a first stage victory. It’ll be a fast and furious day no matter what.
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