Endurance
Rupert Guinness, ESPN Contributor 8y

Richie Porte details five key stages to decide 2016 Tour de France

The Tour de France starts in Normandy on Saturday with stage one from Mont Saint Michel to Utah Beach poised to suit the sprinters. But for the big prize, overall victory and the prestigious maillot jaune - the race leader's and eventual winner's yellow jersey - there are three weeks of racing totalling 3535 kilometres, broken down into 21 stages and including passages through the Pyrenees and Alps. Rupert Guinness and ESPN Tour diarist Richie Porte, who is one of the overall contenders as co-leader of the BMC team, take a look at the key stages of this year's Tour that finishes on July 24.

Stage 9: Vielha Val d'Aran to Andorra Arcalis, July 10, 184.5 kilometres

The second stage in the Pyrenees with four categorised mountains before the Tour's first summit finish at Andorra Arcalis at 2240 metres altitude. With 4960 metres of vertical gain in the day, the stage has every element for an explosive race -- especially with the next day being the first of two rest days.

The stronger riders should also start the stage with some idea of who may be vulnerable, based on what happens the previous day, the first in the Pyrenees; the 184-kilometre run from Pau to Bagnères de Luchon includes four categorised climbs, which include the legendary Col du Tourmalet and the Col de Peyresourde followed by a long and spectacular descent to the finish line.

Richie Porte says: "Stage nine is a very hard stage, with a particularly hard finish, especially with it being the second in the Pyrenees when the legs may be feeling the effects of the previous day, and everyone will have a little bit of an idea of how each other is going. Stage eight is likely to see a breakaway go, but then you have to be wary of who is in it.

"There should still be a fight behind the break between the overall contenders, though, if none are up front, with Nairo Quintana and Chris Froome going full gas -- especially Sky for Froome. But the descent to the finish might negate that."

Stage 12: Montpellier to Mont Ventoux, July 14, 184 kilometres

A blue riband stage with its finish on Mont Ventoux at 1912 metres altitude; this mythical mountain presents a brutal 15.2-kilometre climb rising at an average gradient of 8.8 percent, made harder by the frequent winds and heat that hit riders on the second half that is characterised by barren scree-slopes. With two smaller climbs before, expect an early break without the overall contenders -- and most probably with French riders given this is Bastille Day. On Mont Ventoux, the big names will come to the fore, again including including any French contender. A big question is how much they are all willing to extend themselves ahead of the 37.5-kilometre time-trial from Bourge Saint Andéol to La Caverne du Pont-D'Arc the following day.

Richie Porte says: "This is a hard stage in itself, let alone with a time-trial the next day. How do you balance your energy? Do you go into the red at the risk of paying for it in the time-trial? Those are questions every general classification rider will ask. I think you just have to take the race on as it unfolds before you. It will be an epic stage. I don't think anyone will hold back for the time-trial that should suit a climber who can time-trial, unless a time-trial specialist has an easier day on Mont Ventoux and feels a bit fresher. But then there shouldn't be an easy way up Mont Ventoux for anyone."

Stage 18: Sallanches to Megève, individual time-trial, July 21, 17 kilometres

The peloton faces a punishing final week with five days in the mountains, including this trial to Megève. Any rider with a shot of winning the Tour will need climbing ability, and also something still in the tank so late in the Tour.

As with the stage 10 time-trial after the stage up Mount Ventoux, this challenge is made greater because it follows a 184.5km stage from Bern to Finhaut-Emosson in Switzerland that includes three mountains plus a 10.4-kilometre climb to the finish.

The first four kilometres of the time-trial course is flat, but then it rises in levels -- the hardest being that from 2.5 kilometes to the 6.5-kilometre mark at an average 9.4 percent gradient.

Richie Porte says: "For riders not feeling good in the third week, this could be a stage where they lose time. The course is not that mountainous because it levels out a little in parts so the big question is: Do you use a normal road bike, or a road bike set up with tri-bars. I'll probably use the latter -- a road bike with a time trial set-up. There are areas where it flattens out a bit and you can gain time with an aerodynamic position. It will be tough after stage 17, a mountain stage in which the last climb is very steep, especially near the end. The climb before should warm up the legs for an exciting finish."

Stage 19: Albertville to Saint Gervais, July 22, 146 kilometres

Coming the day after the mountain time-trial, recovery will play a major factor in this short Alpine stage. Riders vary in their response to the effects of a time-trial, especially one like stage 18 where the overall contenders can't afford to hold anything back. This 19th stage may not be the toughest on paper, but this late in the Tour, when fatigue is building by the day, a bad day here could come at a price. It still includes four categorised climbs, the first after the route passes along the picturesque shores of Lake Annecy - the Col de la Forclaz de Montmin to the 42.5-kilometre mark - followed by the Col de la Forclaz Queige to 73.5km and Montée de Bisanne to 96.5km before the last climb to the finish line on Mont Blanc.

Richie Porte says: "We did that stage in reconnaissance [the week before last]. "I don't know. It's going to be a breakaway I would say, but the start of the last climb is really steep; the top part is quite steep. It is was worth seeing, put it that way. It is a tricky stage, probably because those climbs are deceptively hard. It is a stage where you don't want to let your guard down. You can't afford to do so in any Tour stage, but in this stage doing so could be too costly so close to the finish of the Tour."

Stage 20: Megève to Morzine-Avoriaz, July 23, 146.5 kilometres

This Alpine stage could upset the general classification, especially if the top overall time gaps are small at the start. There are four categorised mountains on a relatively short course - the Col des Aravis to 21km, Col de la Colombière to 45.5km, Col de la Ramaz to 93.5km and Col du Joux Plane to 134.5km. They should provide a fast and aggressive day of racing. The tensest moment could come inside the final kilometre to the summit of the Col du Joux Plane, after which there is 12 kilometres to the finish. All eyes will be on who tries to get a gap before the hair-raising descent to the finish. Colombian Nairo Quintano won here in 2012, when he was not yet considered a Tour favourite as he is today. This stage will confirm the Tour winner.

Richie Porte says: "This is a really dangerous stage. The last climb up the Col de Joux Plane is on twisting and narrow roads. It's a race that can be hard to control. But the descent to the finish is also a danger. The quickest way to the finish is probably not the way you want to go - that being, straight down, cross country. There are a lot of twists and turns [on the descent] where you have to stay alert, but also in touch ... if you are chasing."

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