The 5 Key Stages of the 2015 Tour de France

We're now just 5 days away from the biggest day in the cycling calendar and we continue our build-up with a look at the 5 key stages in this year's race.

Stage 2 - Utrecht - Zeeland 166km

Expect to see some serious echelons today.

We're starting early with the second stage but with the second half of the stage being run along the Northern Coast of the Netherlands this will be an exposed stage and I expect to see at least one team leader getting caught out. The stage couldn't be flatter if it was drawn with a ruler but with the peloton splitting, forming and repeating don't expect this to be an easy day.
If the wind is strong enough then we should see a Belgian team, maybe Etixx, come to the front and blow the whole race apart. Cavendish has excellent pedigree when racing in echelons so he will be the favourite here.

"Interesting" Fact - The Netherlands are often incorrectly named Holland. Holland is just a region of the Netherlands but for 100km today we will be racing in that region.

Stage 4 - Seraing - Cambrai 218km

Will Nibali again be able to prevail?

We're back on the cobbles of Northern France after last year's escapades. In 2014 Nibali looked at home on the rough terrain and put huge chunks of time into his rivals as Froome abandoned after numerous crashes before the first sector of cobbles. The Italian will need to build a cushion after this stage to stand a chance of winning overall I suspect.
Although he isn't at home on this terrain, Nairo Quintana spent a week earlier in the season racing in some of the Northern semi classics and he will be hoping this proves vital in the first week. As long as the main contenders stay within 2 minutes of Nibali they should be able to make that deficit back in the mountains.

"Interesting" Fact - Cambrai will host a stage for the third time in the Tour de France. Remarkably this will also be the third time that it has hosted Stage 4.

Stage 12 - Lannemezan - Plateau de Beille 195km
The final day in the Pyrenees is by far the hardest. It features 4 climbs, each one harder than the previous one until we reach the desperately difficult finish of the Plateau de Beille. It's the third consecutive day of climbing so expect to see some seriously tired legs slogging up to the ski resort finish.
There's quite a lot of flat between the climbs so don't expect an overall contender to go early. The route also features the memorial to the tragic death of Fabio Casartelli who died on the descent of the Col de Portet-d'Aspet 20 years earlier, the peloton will most likely stay together until this point to pay their respects.
The final climb may not had the prestige of Alpe d'Huez but it's significantly harder, the gradient doesn't drop below 6% until the final kilometer. That means there will be 15km of unrelenting, punishing climbing. This should be a day for Quintana, Contador and Froome to fly away.

"Interesting" Fact - The Tour has visited the Plateau de Beille 5 times. The winner on this climb has only failed to go on and win in Paris once, Jelle Vanendert in 2011.

Stage 17 - Digne-Les-Bains - Pra-Loup 161km
It's not the hardest Alpine stage and it's certainly not a long stage, however, we do have the descent of the Col d'Allos which might do more damage than any climbs today. This exact parcours was used in June during the Dauphine Libere and Romain Bardet won that day by escaping over the top of the d'Allos and free falling to the base of Pra-Loup. It's unlikely that Bardet will be allowed to do this again in July but the blue-print should be used. Alberto Contador rode away from Quintana on the descent of the Port de Bales in the recent Route du Sud but the Columbian has proven he can descend so he won't be caught out again. The most worried riders will be Chris Froome and Thibault Pinot. Froome does not class bike handling in his list of strengths and Pinot has had a well publicised struggle with going downhill - both will need to ensure that they aren't isolated at the summit.
We're nearing the end of the Tour but this stage is just the first of four brutal Alpine stages and the main contenders will want to expand as little energy as possible whilst still making sure that they don't lose any time.

"Interesting" Fact - The start town of Digne-Les-Bains is also where Victor Hugo's novel Les Miserables begins, it is the home of Jean Valjean.

Stage 20 - Modane - Alpe d'Huez 110.5km

The Croix de Fer will be used again today.

It's the last day in the Alps and the last day of the Tour where the overall standings will change. Due to a landslide we're not going over the Galibier, instead we will be heading back over the Croix de Fer for the 2nd time this Tour. This shouldn't change the race too much though, the 2011 plan remains which is to attack early and hard and see who can follow. If anyone has been hanging on for the last few days then they will find themselves jettisoned immediately and handing over vast wedges of time.
It's always a big occasion when the Tour visits Alpe d'Huez and if the time gaps at the top are minimal then we might be in for an epic stage. It's a pure climber's day today so we should be seeing Quintana and Froome going clear as Nibali tries to limit his losses. Where will Contador be though?

"Interesting" Fact - The ONERA wind tunnel in Modane is the largest in the World and is used to test civil and military aircraft.