After yesterday’s start, the Tour de France enters the next round. Like yesterday, it will probably be a stage for the sprinters. SPOX shows the route of the second stage and gives you the information where you can follow the race.
This year’s Tour de France lasts from 7 to 29 July. It is the 105th edition of the Tour of France.
The second stage covers 182.5 kilometres from Mouilleron-Saint-Germain to La Roche-sur-Yon. Apart from some hills at the beginning of the stage, the section remains relatively flat and will probably be a matter for the sprinters. However, the home stretch is slightly uphill, a difficulty for the sprinters.
Already after 28 kilometres there is the first and only mountain classification of category 4, the sprint classification follows after 132 kilometres. The newly introduced sprint for bonus seconds takes place 14 kilometres before the finish.
The start of the stage will be at 1:10 pm, the finish will be between 5:23 pm and 5:47 pm.
The entire Tour de France will be shown on free TV by ARD and Eurosport 1. However, ARD usually only starts broadcasting towards the middle of the stage, with sister channel One showing the start of each stage. Today the ARD broadcast begins at 3 pm.
Both ARD and Eurosport provide the broadcast as a free live stream. However, you have to register with Eurosport first.
Alternatively, you can follow the Tour de France via the SPOX live tickers. This will keep you up to date in the final stages of all stages. Click here for the ticker of today’s section.
As expected, the first stage ended in a bunch sprint, which shooting star Fernando Gaviria won in his first tour participation. World Champion Peter Sagan reached second place, Marcel Kittel came third as best German.
Very unfortunate began the tour for defending champion Chris Froome and some other title favourites like Nairo Quintana. They were affected by a mass crash over the last ten kilometres and lost 50 seconds to the top.
As always, the 2018 Tour de France will consist of 21 stages, with two days off. More information about the stages can be found here.