Stage 17 Preview

Stage 17
Start: Pau
End: Col du Tourmalet
Length: 174 km
Difficulty Profile (1-10): 10
The dreaded Tourmalet has finally arrived. Yes the most punishing climb that has been talked about since the route was announced has finally arrived and many (myself included) believe that this will be the stage where the Tour is won and lost. This is pretty much the decisive stage of the Tour and there will be so many things to watch for. The first and most obvious will be the battle between Schleck and Contador. Andy has to make up time on Alberto in THIS stage, because Contador will surely outride him in the TT on Saturday and the other two stages don't support attacks. It will simply be a battle of the strongest on the way up the Tour's most punishing climb (Tourmalet). The race actually went up a part of Tourmalet on Tuesday, but it was not nearly as brutal as what they are going to face tomorrow. On top of the GC race, the King of the Mountains competition will also come to a conclusion tomorrow, as there are no more points to be won on any of the last 3 stages. The final thing to watch for is how well the riders come off the rest day, because many of the opted to take a true rest and not do much of a practice ride.