TdF ’23 Stage 18 Dialogue – spoliers. Penultimate dash stage!

Stage 18 is a 10-9-mile flat stage, with mid-way sprinter factors two-thirds alongside the way in which. Groups preventing for these will preserve the tempo very excessive, and with the end not far off, could maintain this frenzy. Apart from everybody being very drained, this stage actually calls for a quick tempo. That is the ultimate likelihood for a good, regular dash win – the end in Paris is totally different.

The GC contenders can be completely happy to see a non-threatening breakaway kind, with a view to preserve a cap on issues. However with all up for grabs, and levels of freedom changing into fairly restricted, a breakaway will not be allowed to get too far out.

The route is just not notably twisty, so there’s not a lot to string the riders out.

With strategic stress like this, and this route, we have now to fret about crashes. GC contenders lately have tried to keep away from crashes by staying up entrance. This has bothered these gunning for dash factors and sprinter phases as a result of it truly is pointless and provides a number of threat.

This Tour has already had its share of crashes, though the one current crash was spectator-caused and never rider error.