Stage 18: Sallanches › Megève – 17km (ITT)
The Tour’s 18th stage is an unusual time trial that fits somewhere between a traditional chrono and a hill climb. The day starts out flat and finishes on a downhill, but there is a challenging ascent in the middle of the route—from kilometer 4 to kilometer 14.5 is a stretch of irregular climbing with an average gradient of a little over 6%. The topography is particularly difficult just at the start.
I see three riders as standing head and shoulders above the rest in the favorites conversation. The stage favors all-rounders, which makes this a great day for Chris Froome, who balances chrono ability with climbing legs probably better than anyone on the start list. Until Stage 13, it had been a while since we’d seen Froome lighting up against the clock, but there’s little doubt he’s as strong as ever now.
Richie Porte fits the bill as well. I think a lackluster Stage 13 could partially be written off as a result of lingering injury after his Stage 12 crash. He looked great Wednesday.
Tom Dumoulin is the other rider to watch. Obviously this is a much more climber-friendly TT than Stage 13, but Dumoulin is quite a strong climber in his own right, as evidenced in last year’s Vuelta, last week’s Arcalis stage, and a number of other times in his career. For me he’s the third favorite here, but it’s a pretty slim margin.
For stage win outsiders, look to Adam Yates, Bauke Mollema, Nairo Quintana, Ilnur Zakarin, and Ion Izagirre.
VeloHuman Stage 18 Favorites
1. Chris Froome | 2. Richie Porte | 3. Tom Dumoulin