Tour Preview - Stage 13

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This is a stage for the sprinters. It surprises me that ASO decided to give this day to the fast guys and didn�t throw in a couple of climbs so the French riders could attack and hope for a stage win on Bastille Day - or La F�te Nationale as they call it in France. Any attacks seem doomed on this stage, but I won�t go as far as saying we will get a regular mass sprint. Because the race organizers have been a tricky after all.

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25 km from the line the riders have to climb Mont Saint-Clair. You may not think much of this climb, being just a category 3, but trust me it�s nasty! It�s just under two kilometers long but the average percentage is 10,2% with parts up to 20% - not exactly in favor of the heavy sprinters like Haedo, Van Hummel, Hutarovich etc.

The beginning of Mont Saint-Clair. 1,6 km - 10,2 %

If the Mont Saint-Clair wasn�t tricky enough the final kilometer certainly is! With only a few hundred meters to go the peloton bends right in 180� corner just before hitting the final stretch to the line. Andre Greipel will have a hard time getting his whole Lotto-Belisol leadout train over the steep Mont Saint-Clair and it will also be difficult for them to deliver him perfectly in the end. That 180� corner means that you need to slow down a little and Greipel likes it best when he can be delivered in high speed.

Instead the finish suits Peter Sagan a lot more since he is good at accelerating from low speed plus he won�t lose any positions in the tricky bend. Sagan is also one of the sprinter that shouldn�t be in trouble on Mont Saint-Clair. Actually I wouldn�t be surprised if Liquigas decide to put pressure on the peloton to see if they drop some of the sprinters before the finish.

If you are looking for a joker, look to Team Saxo Bank - Tinkoff Bank and Danish Michael M�rk�v. This year M�rk�v has shown that he really knows how to get in the right break and you can be sure that he will try again tomorrow. Saturday it�s exactly five years ago since his father died and Michael M�rk�v has said that he wants to honor him by winning in Le Cap d'Agde. I doubt M�rk�v will be able to pull it off, but I�m sure he will manage to show himself up the roads before the finish.

Winner pick: Peter Sagan

Joker:Michael M�rk�v