Britain’s Mark Cavendish has already given his sprint rivals a hard time on the 2009 Tour de France but the Manxman shows no signs of relenting on Thursday.
At 211,5 kilometres, the 12th stage from Tonnerre to Vittel in the hilly Vosges region is the second longest of this year’s race.
And although featuring a total of six relatively manageable climbs, ranging in category from three to four, it is the second last chance for the sprinters to grab stage glory before the race heads steadily up into the mountains.
Ahead of Wednesday’s 11th stage from Vatan to Saint Fargeau Cavendish had taken his stage win tally to three, and seven overall in three participations.
With the green jersey for the points competition also in his sights, the 24-year-old from the Isle of Man has hinted that he has also bookmarked Saturday’s 14th stage from Colmar to Besson as a possible victory opportunity.
”There are four more opportunities for bunch sprints, three more this week, and I’ll keep on going for the wins,” Cavendish said Tuesday after winning the race’s 10th stage.
Because of its rolling profile, however, the 12th stage is likely to tempt more than one rider hoping to join a successful breakaway prior to or on the first category four rated climb at Baon whose summit is at 19km.
A further two category four climbs are at the 55 and 64,5 km marks, with the peloton allowed to pick up their feed bags shortly afterwards before tackling a series of three climbs starting at the 150km mark. — Sapa, AFP