Tour de France 2018 - Stages P-2

Introduction
From now on I will be posting in depth previews and analysis about each of the 21 stages of my 2018 Tour de France route. I will also be including local knowledge from either professional riders or club riders who have trained and raced on the roads I am using. At the end I will be sending the complete racebook to some pro riders, race directors and journalists to get their views on it.

Prologue - Edinburgh - 7.9km
We all know how prologues work - you hop on your bike for a quick 8/9 minute burst and then it's back onto the team bus to await the next 20 days of hell. This one will follow a similar routine however anyone who wants to wear the first yellow jersey will have to put in a lung bursting effort around Scotland's capital. The first kilometre is all uphill and features some rough cobbled sections before the riders turn right onto North Bridge and cross into the new town for some flat riding before crossing back into the old town via the Mound, featuring in the finish of stage 1. Stick it in your highest gear and grind around the next 4.4km and you might just be standing under Edinburgh Castle in the yellow jersey.



Stage 1 - Edinburgh - Edinburgh - 133.2km
Having never been visited by the Tour de France before I have made up for it by giving them 3 stages and this one just might turn into a classic. Taken in isolation there's not much difficulty on this stage, there's only 2 categorised climbs, both cat 4, and it's only thanks to the final 2km that it breaks the 1,000m total elevation mark. The first 90km are a gradual rolling introduction to the Tour but they are very exposed and if the wind blows then there could be huge time gaps by the end of the day. Most of the second half of the stage should be into a headwind but with 25km to go there is a left turn and 12km of coastal road, if there's not a strong wind blowing then it will be a first for Scotland.

Congratulations to any sprinters who are still in the bunch at this point but it's going to be in vain. This is not a sprint finish. The 800m climb up Dundas Street at race pace will split apart the bunch before the finish into the castle which will make the final selection. Expect to see a classics rider such as Gilbert or Gerrans atop the podium.




Stage 2 - Glasgow - Glasgow - 167.5km
It might not be hard enough to prevent a bunch sprint finish but this is still going to be a stressful day for the overall favourites. If the peloton decide to ride on Dukes Pass then the race will tear apart and it will be a very select group who fight it out on the streets of Glasgow. Wind shouldn't be an issue on this stage but the rain may well be and if it does pour then watch out on the run in to Glasgow, the favourites will all want to be at the front and this jostling is likely to lead to a number of crashes.
When the riders jump on the planes that will take them to France they will have completed just 3 of the 21 stages however how many Top 10 hopes will be left in tatters on the roadside? This is certainly not a straightforward start to a Grand Tour and I imagine there will be a number of riders breathing a sigh of relief immediately after take off.