Tour de France 2009: Stage 13 preview

• Friday, 26 June 2009
• Andrew McGrath
• 0 Comments

Tour de France 2009, stage 13 preview logo

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When Friday July 17
Where Vittel – Colmar
How long 200km

IMPACT ON CLASSIFICATIONS
Yellow Jersey 2/5
Green Jersey 2/5
Polka-Dot Jersey 3/5

STAGE DESCRIPTION
The town names become more Germanic halfway through the stage, as the Tour enters Alsace-Lorraine. With some tough Vosges climbs on the menu, it’s going to be a frenetic day’s racing as attacking all-rounders hungry for victory attempt to make the right breakaway. Twenty kilometres from the finish in Colmar, the second-category Col du Firstplan is a potential launchpad for a stage-deciding attack. Overall contenders will have to be vigilant, but it’s likely that they will be keeping their power dry for the Alps.

STAGE FACTS

• Avid Tour fans may remember the Col de la Schlucht as the final climb on stage seven of the 2005 Tour where Lance Armstrong was badly isolated by his US Postal team. That day, Pieter Weening outsprinted Andreas Kloden by a hair’s breadth for the stage win in Gérardmer.
• The Tour has finished six times in Colmar. Laurent Jalabert was the last winner here, on Bastille Day 2001.
• Colmar is the driest city in France.