Mont Ventoux is finally here! Most of it, anyway. Perhaps the most anticipated stage of the 2016 Tour de France had to be cut short by six kilometers because of expected high winds near the summit of the legendary climb. Stage 12 will now end at Chalet Reynard, just before Ventoux’s famous/infamous moonscape. It will still be a very hard climb -- the Tour is still categorizing it as hors categorie -- but it’ll be a little less fun (and thankfully, much safer for the riders).
Tour de France 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and route for Stage 12
The ride up to Mont Ventoux has been cut short, but Thursday should still be the most important day thus far in the battle for the yellow jersey of the Tour de France.
Stage 12 will get underway at 6:15 a.m. ET, with NBCSN picking up coverage at 7 a.m. Streaming will begin at 8:10 a.m. for those who have a subscription to NBC Sports Gold.
A smaller Mont Ventoux is bad news for the climbier general classification contenders. Nairo Quintana and Romain Bardet likely had Bastille Day marked on their calendars as an attack day ahead of the pesky time trial scheduled for Friday. The shortened race should make Chris Froome’s breakaway on Stage 11 sting all the more. Froome now leads the general classification by 28 seconds over second-place Adam Yates, 35 seconds over Quintana and 56 seconds over Bardet.
Anyone looking to attack Froome will also have to deal with another nervy ride through crosswinds. On Wednesday, high winds caused a strung out peloton to ride at high speeds and form echelons. There should be more of that Thursday, with approximately 120 kilometers worth of flat terrain before climbing starts.
Despite the complications, Stage 12 should be the most important day of general classification battles so far. Froome caught a break, again, but that doesn’t mean that Quintana and company can’t still strike blood. This should be a tense day of racing from start to finish.
Stage route
Profile
Mont Ventoux
Stage 12 map and profiles courtesy of the Tour’s official site.
Tour de France coverage for Stage 12 on Thursday
Start time: 6:15 a.m. ET (approx.)
Route: 178 kilometers (formerly 184 km.) from Montpellier to Chalet Reynard
TV: NBCSN, beginning at 7 a.m.
Streaming: NBC Sports Gold (subscription required), beginning at 8:10 a.m.
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