[ritchiebaby]

Tomorrow's 169.5km stage heads east towards the Alps from Le Puy-en-Velay to Romans-sur-Isere, crossing the Rhone on it's way, and should be a good one for the sprinters, as it has two climbs early on (Category 3 at 20.5km and Category 4 at 65km) with an intermediate sprint at 121.5km before a long rolling run to the finish. There are long downhill stretches between the second climb and the sprint line, surely the scene of organised, meaningful attacks.

Sky will hope for a quieter day than yesterday and AG2R will hope for a more productive day to put pressure on Chris Froome. I expect Warren Barguil and Michael Matthews to be to the fore again in the hunt for points, with Marcel Kittel keeping his powder dry for a frantic finish. It's a toss-up between another long run for home to deny the sprinters or a mass attack at the end. I foresee a cat and mouse game between the top seven GC contenders, as the rest are too far back. Any rider wanting to mount a serious callenge to Froome must make inroads soon before the Time Trial in 4 day's time. To me, Bardet and Uran are the likeliest, as Aru has not shown enough awareness to make the decisive move. Now into the third week, tired legs could make all the difference at the end of stages and a few seconds deficit can turn into a few minutes in the last 10km.

The town of Romans-sur-Isere is famous as the birthplace of Phillippe Saint-Andre, French rugby union star of the Nineties and successful coach.