2021 Tour de France Stage 7 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 7 of the 2021 Tour de France! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
At almost 250 kilometres, the 7th stage is the longest of this edition. In fact, it's the longest Tour de France stage of the last twenty years. Attackers are likely to have it their way.
The Tour de France never visited Vierzon before. The riders clip into their pedals in the town of 26,000 âVierzonnaisâ for a long day in the saddle. The route predominantly traverses undulating terrain in the first half before the second half enters the energy-sapping hills of the Morvan region.
There are lots of non-classified uphill sections that add to the fatigue, while five classified climbs stand out. After almost 160 kilometres in the saddle, the riders tackle the CĂ´te de Château-Chinon (3.2 kilometres at 5.3%) and immediately after the descent the route points uphill again. The first 10 kilometres are a prelude to the CĂ´te de Glux-en-Genne, which is a 2.6 kilometres climb at 4.2%. Not steep in itself, but itâs not an isolated test, is it?
The CĂ´te de la Croix de la LibĂŠration (4.6 kilometre at 5.3%) ushers in the finale, as the end of the downhill coincides with the start of the most demanding climb of the day. At kilometre 222.4, the riders tackle the unprecedented Signal dâUchon. Itâs a 5.7 kilometres climb at 5.7%, but thatâs a biased statistic. The first half goes up at approximately 6% before a flat section â a short descent even â makes way for another face of the Signal dâUchon. Almost 1 kilometre rises at 9.4% before the last 700 metres climbs at 13.1% to the summit. Still, 18 kilometres to go at this point.
The CĂ´te de la Gourloye is the last obstacle of the day. The 2.4 kilometres at 5.3% is not as nasty as the Signal dâUchon though, while itâs crested with 8 kilometres to go to Le Creusot.
The Tour de France finished two times before in Le Creusot. On both occasions, the industrial town was the endpoint of a time trial. Jan Ullrich took the spoils in 1998, Serhiy Honchar in 2006.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds. Furthermore, 8, 5 and 2 seconds are available at the Signal dâUchon.
The 7th stage of the Tour de France starts at 11.00 and the race is expected to finish around 17.25 â both are local times (CEST).
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