Cycling news
Tour Stage 17 preview: urgency rises for teams still winless
Stage 17 should start aggressively, with 14 teams still chasing a win and the route framed as the last opportunity open to half the peloton.
Why the opening could be hard
Stage 17 is set up less by the profile details in the preview than by the race situation around it. Eight teams already have a stage win, while 14 still do not, and that imbalance matters. At this point in the Tour, a winless team has fewer chances left to rescue its race, so the incentive to fight for the early move rises sharply.
That is why the preview points to a lively start. If this is the last stage open to half the peloton, then waiting is no longer a rational option for a large chunk of the race. Teams without a win have to spend energy early, even if that makes the first phase more chaotic and harder to control.
The time trial marker
The source also notes the contre-la-montre performance, with Remco Evenepoel taking the stage win after blitzing the course. Tadej Pogačar was the only rider within a minute, which underlines how clearly the day separated the strongest specialists from the rest.
Full details are at the linked source.
Source: Inrng.com