Tour de France 2018: Stage 20 Route, Live-Stream Schedule, TV Info for July 28
July 28, 2018
Just one more real challenge awaits the riders in the 2018 Tour de France, with Saturday's Stage 20 being the penultimate stage in this year's race.
It will be the only individual time trial in the 2018 Tour, and the last opportunity to make major moves in the general classification. The battle for the yellow jersey appears all but over, but behind Geraint Thomas, there's still plenty of room for drama.
Here's a look at the current GC:
Route: From Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle to Espelette
Profile: Time Trial
TV Info: Eurosport, ITV (UK), NBC (U.S.)
Live stream links: Eurosport Player, ITV Hub, NBC Sports App
Expected time of finish: The last rider is expected to arrive after 4 p.m. BST (11 a.m. ET).
The Tour organisers opted to include just a single individual time trial this year, and the profile for the stage is hardly traditional. The riders will face several steep hills, including the Col de Pinodieta right at the end.
Former professional footballer Bixente Lizarazu tried his hand at the short climb, which features a section with a gradient above 20 per cent.
He was barely moving:
The Inner Ring believes it will be a test of fitness rather than time-trial ability:
Versatility will certainly be key, as riders will have to be adept at maintaining a good pace on the flats, tackle the climbs with explosiveness and survive the tricky descents. Per Meteo France, the weather forecast calls for rain, making those descents that much harder.
Thomas is a solid time-trialist, a good climber and an adept descender. If he can avoid crashing or major mechanical issues, the yellow jersey should be his, given his huge lead in the standings.
Tom Dumoulin is a phenomenal time trialist, but it's unlikely he'll make up two full minutes, even in this tricky stage.
The most intriguing battle should be for the final podium position, where Primoz Roglic holds a lead over Chris Froome after his stage win on Friday. Roglic has made leaps as a time trialist and appears to have the fresher legs, but Froome has performed miracles against the clock before.