Tour de France 2009: Stage 7 preview

• Thursday, 25 June 2009
• Andrew McGrath
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When Friday July 10
Where Barcelona – Andorra Arcalis
How long 224km

IMPACT ON CLASSIFICATIONS
Yellow Jersey: 4/5
Green Jersey: 1/5
Polka-Dot Jersey: 4/5

STAGE DESCRIPTION
The peloton hits the Pyrenees, with a summit finish on Arcalis. For many riders, this will come as a huge shock to the systems after the previous week’s flat riding. At 224 kilometres, the stage is not only the Tour’s longest but features several tough climbs, including the first-category Col de Serra-Seca, before a final 10-kilometre slog up to Arcalis. The heat could also be an issue today. After almost seven hours of riding in the high mountains, the general classification will be turned on its head in Andorra.

STAGE FACTS

• This is the first of three mountain-top finishes in the 2009 Tour, with Verbier and Mont Ventoux to come.
• The Tour has finished in Andorra twice before, with wins going to Julio Jimenez in 1964 and Oliviero Rincon and 1993.
• The only time Arcalis has previously featured in the Tour was 1997, when Jan Ullrich went away solo to cement his yellow jersey.
• However, Arcalis is used more regularly in the Vuelta a Espana; most recently, Denis Menchov took stage victory there on the way to winning overall in 2007.
• No Andorran has ever ridden the Tour, but the small Pyrenean country principality can boast its own continental team this year, Andorra-Grandvalira.