Tour de France 2017: Saturday's Stage 14 Live-Stream Schedule, TV Info and Route
After two days of steady climbing, the peloton will face a classic transitional stage on Saturday, with the Tour de France leaving the Pyrenees and heading for the Massif Central.
The finish at Rodez is ideally suited for puncheurs and those who specialise in the spring Classics, but at this stage of the race, it's impossible to rule out a breakaway lasting until the end.
Don't expect the favourites to show their faces after two tricky stages and with Sunday's unique ride to Le Puy-en-Velay looming.
Here's a look at the stage profile and route for Saturday, via CyclingnewsTV:
TV Info: Eurosport, ITV 4 (UK), NBC Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: Eurosport website, ITV app, NBC Sports Live service
Preview
Radioestadio shared this image of the stage profile, but don't be fooled by the seemingly serious incline:
Those aren't mountains, but lumps somewhat reminiscent of the climbs the riders face in Belgium and the Netherlands during the spring Classics. On paper, they shouldn't trouble the riders too much, but after two weeks of heavy racing, tired legs could lead to serious time losses.
The final kilometres are ideally suited for a rider with the ability to stay away from a chasing group or finish a small sprint. Peter Sagan comes to mind, but the Slovak was disqualified in the opening week, leaving this stage up for grabs.
Team Sunweb's Michael Matthews should be a contender―the Australian displayed solid form in spring, with top-ten finishes at the Amstel Gold Race, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Gent-Wevelgem. He's the perfect blend of sprinter and puncheur, and after Friday's triumph of team-mate Warren Barguil, Sunweb are likely to ride in his service on Saturday.
Matthews congratulated Barguil for his superb showing on Bastille Day, and the Frenchman could be an excellent right-hand man on Saturday:
The problem is Matthews performed well in spring but didn't actually win any of the Classics. Finishing has been an issue for the Aussie, who is desperate to bridge the gap to Marcel Kittel in the green jersey standings.
Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet will have circled this stage on his calendar, and if a breakaway is unable to last the distance, he'll be among the favourites as well.
As for the contenders for the yellow jersey, they'll already be thinking of Sunday's ride to Le Puy-en-Velay. The stage profile is one of the strangest in the Tour's recent history, and as no one really knows what could happen, the top riders won't take any risks heading in.
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