Stage 9

The crescendo starts to build here on stage 9 as the riders face 7 category climbs over the 208km stage. The first 50km will be a leg-warmer with nothing too tasking for the riders, but once past this point it will be a rollercoaster ride pretty much to the finish. The stage will benefit the rider that can descend as well as they can climb. If the peloton is still together over the first five climbs we may well see an attack from the GC riders at around the 154km mark, with 40km to go and a final climb at 193km this may be a deciding blow to start shaping up the top ten. Or it could be a day for the escape artists, who might get their day due to the following being a rest day. My cap would be duly doffed in the direction of Sylvain Chavenel, Johnny Hoogerland, John Gadret or Jens Voigt.