Tour de France stage 17 preview - Last chance for pure sprinters

The 160.4 kilometres between Bollène and Valence offer a final glimmer of hope for the pure sprinters. Rolling terrain defines much of the route, but with no major climbs and a flat final, the profile favours a bunch sprint, provided the sprint teams can keep things under control. All eyes will be on Tim Merlier, who has already bagged two stage wins this Tour. Can the Belgian power to a third?

Start: 13:50 CET
Estimated arrival: 17:19 CET
Length stage: 160.4km
Elevation gain: 1592m

From Bollène to Valence, they could easily follow the Rhône River and have a completely flat stage. But the organizers aren’t doing the sprinters any favors, they’re taking a detour through the Alpine foothills instead.

From the start, the riders will mainly face gently rising roads. There is an intermediate sprint after 47.9 km, which also comes on an incline. I suspect the sprinters’ teams would prefer to let a small group break away, which would also be good for Milan to collect some important points at this sprint. Controlling the race for the entire first hour just to score all the points doesn’t seem really advisable for Trek here. You need a fresh train in the final.

The riders will then quickly reach the first of two category 4 climbs, and it is also the toughest of the two.

Col de Pertuis (3.1km at 5.8%) 
4th category - 94.2 km to go

After a long, gently descending section, the riders reach the final obstacle of the day. The Col de Tartaiguille is not very challenging and is also too far from the finish to trouble the sprinters.

Col de Tartaiguille (4.4km at 3.6%) 
4th category - 43.9 km to go

In the final 40 km, the route continues north over gently rolling roads that become completely flat towards the end.

The final kilometers are marked by 4 roundabouts within a span of 2 km, which will stretch the peloton into a long line.

The last roundabout is located about 2 km from the finish.

This is the left-hand turn at 650 meters from the finish.

A final straight of 600 meters, plenty of space to launch the sprint. The road bends slightly to the left, but it’s still a great finish.

Temperatures will range between 26 and 28°C with a light headwind from the northwest. Cloud cover will increase during the stage, and there is a small chance of rain in the final. Let’s hope it stays dry. In the final 600 meters, the wind will be at the riders' backs.

I think enough sprint teams will want to control the race and will allow a smaller breakaway to go up the road. That’s important, because on this kind of route in the 3rd week, you don’t want to be chasing a strong break. Trek and Quick Step are showing the wear and tear of this Tour, with several riders either having abandoned or not quite at their best, so they’ll need to manage their efforts carefully. The finale could be quite chaotic, with no single team taking full control, due to a lack of strong lead-out trains.

Merlier has pushed through specifically to reach this stage, I see him as the favourite. He’s the fastest sprinter here, but in the third week, surprises can always happen. Milan won’t be considered a surprise, he’ll definitely be there and needs the points for the green jersey. If he wins, it would put him in a strong position for the green.

Other riders to keep an eye on: sprinters who still have something left in the tank this late in the Tour, like Meeus, De Lie, Girmay, Lund, van Aert and Groves. These are the main contenders for the win and the podium. Meeus has had some bad luck with his crash earlier in the race, but don’t forget he came into this Tour in excellent form. He’s feeling much better now and will be doing everything he can to go home with a stage win.

Valence is one of the many finish locations where Cavendish has claimed victory. The last time the race finished here, in 2021, he beat Van Aert and Philipsen to the line.