As Tour De France 2014 gears up to kick start its 14th day and the second Alpine stage of the tournament on Saturday, stage 13 winner Vincenzo Nibali will look to strengthen his hold on the yellow jersey.
Covering a total distance of 177 kms from Grenoble to Risoul, the race will mostly be an uphill climb for the riders, who will have to scale two mountain ranges Col de Lautaret and Col d'Izoard during the course of the day, with the latter making for a steeper climb.
The terrain at Grenoble starts out a bit flat as compared to the steep climb that awaits the riders at the foot of Col de Lautaret which stands at a distance of 34 kilometers from the base and makes for a 30 km decent.
Col d'Izoard is a shorter climb with 19 kms in total but a steeper one at that wherein the cyclists will have to zoom down at high speeds.
The race finishes at a resort in Risoul which makes for a 12.6 km upward climb, possibly the toughest one for the racers who would have gone up and down two rocky mountains already.
Nibali might have a slightly tougher race and not enjoy the full support of fellow Astana teammate and helper Jakub Fuglsang, who will begin the race all bandaged up, owing to injuries sustained in the previous stage.
He will have to win the race to strengthen his grip on the yellow jersey with his man to beat being Joaquim Rodriguez of team Katusha, who is known to be an uphill specialist.
Katush's teammates Simon Spilak and Yuri Trofimov are also seen as tentative threats.
Riders who went slow on Chamrousse might come in with some pent up energy and perform well on day 14 with the likes of long distance front runners like AG2R's Christophe Riblon, Rafal Majka, Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardetmight most likely to find themselves a podium finish.
Nibali will have to put in quite a bit of effort to keep second position holder Alejandro Valverde at bay, as anything is possible in this stage.
Where to Watch Live:
Ten Sports Day 14
7 PM To 9-30 PM (IST) Saturday
Online Link HERE
