Tour de France 2024 Stage 16 Preview: Will Wind Deny Sprinters?
Tour de France 2024 Stage 16 Preview: Will Wind Deny Sprinters?
On paper, Stage 16 of the Tour de France 2024 is flatter and an opportunity for the sprinters to shine one more time. But wind could play a huge factor.
The riders at the Tour de France 2024 return from their second rest day for a relatively flat 188.6-kilometer journey from Gruissan to Nimes.
While it previously was suggested there may not be many more opportunities for the sprinters to shine, this one was tucked into the itinerary, and it looks like Stage 16 on Tuesday could be a chance for the fast few to do battle once again.
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Biniam Girmay, the first Black rider to win a stage at the Tour de France, has been the talk of the 2024 TDF with his three stage wins. Sprint legend Mark Cavendish won the record 35th stage of his Tour career. Jasper Philipsen has gotten hot as of late, winning Stage 10 and Stage 13.
Will one of them win again, or will Wout van Aert finally be the first one across the line? Or will the wind along the way play a factor and spoil their hopes?
In the overall standings, two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar cruised into the rest day with a lead of 3 minutes, 9 seconds over two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard.
Pogacar used a late attack to run away with Stage 15 on Sunday, ultimately finishing more than a minute ahead of Vingegaard, the 2022 and 2023 champion.
Remco Evenepoel is in third place, more than five minutes behind Pogacar, while Joao Almeida is nearly 11 minutes behind the leader.
FloBikes coverage of Stage 16 will begin Tuesday at 6:55 a.m. Eastern and is expected to conclude around 12:10 p.m. EDT.
Here’s what to know about Stage 16 of the Tour de France:
How To Watch The Tour de France 2024 Stage 16
In Canada, the Tour de France is streaming live on FloBikes and the FloSports app.
In the United States, the NBC family of networks and the streaming service Peacock are broadcasting the race.
FloBikes and the FloSports app are home to race highlights, stage breakdowns and more breaking news.
Stage 16 Tour de France 2024
Stage 16 of the Tour de France 2024 will take the riders on a relatively flat ride from Gruissan to Nimes that, under ideal conditions, could mean another chance for a sprint finish.
This year's 188.6-kilometer journey is harder than the profile may suggest, however, with one Category 4 climb about two-thirds of the way through, but that's not where the riders will find their biggest challenge.
Instead, it will be an invisible obstacle they can't see on a map - wind. Crosswinds could cause trouble, at least for setting up the sprint finish. The course also will be much warmer than they experienced in the Pyrenees mountains over the weekend.
Regardless, Stage 16 is far more straightforward than the two challenging mountain stages the riders faced before their rest day.
The ride into Nimes will be the 20th time the city has hosted the finish of a Tour de France stage, with the last time being 2021. Though most of those have been sprint finishes, including a victory by Cavendish in 2008, the 2021 edition (Stage 12) was won by Germany's Nils Politt after a breakaway.
Bonus seconds again will be offered to the first three riders across the line Tuesday - 10, 6 and 4 seconds, respectively.
188.6 Kilometers To Miles: How Long Is Stage 16 Of The Tour de France 2024?
Stage 16 of the Tour de France is 188.6 kilometers, or just over 117 miles long.
Tour de France 2024 Stage 16 Profile
Here is what the elevation looks like for Stage 16:
Who Won Stage 16 Of The Tour de France in 2023?
Jonas Vingegaard, winner of the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023, won Stage 16 of the 2023 race, which was an individual time trial.
Vingegaard dominated the 22.4-kilometer ride from Passy to Combloux in 32 minutes, 36 seconds, picking up more than a minute and a half on Pogacar. It was an unexpected turning point in the 2023 race that made many suggest the contest was over.
If the time trial didn't decide Pogacar's fate, however, his struggles the next day certainly did, as he lost almost six more minutes on a tough mountain climb.
Though Vingegaard won the TDF in 2022 and went on to successfully defend that title in 2023, wearing the yellow jersey from Stage 6, Vingegaard only has four stage wins in his TDF career - two in 2022 (Stage 11 and Stage 18), one in 2023 (Stage 16) and one this week at the 2024 race (Stage 11).
TDF Results: Here's Who Has Won Each Stage So Far In 2024
- TDF Stage 1 Results
- TDF Stage 2 Results
- TDF Stage 3 Results
- TDF Stage 4 Results
- TDF Stage 5 Results
- TDF Stage 6 Results
- TDF Stage 7 Results
- TDF Stage 8 Results
- TDF Stage 9 Results
- TDF Stage 10 Results
- TDF Stage 11 Results
- TDF Stage 12 Results
- TDF Stage 13 Results
- TDF Stage 14 Results
- TDF Stage 15 Results
Tour de France 2024 Route Map
Here is the map for this year's Tour de France:
Here are a few more things to know about the Tour de France:
How To Watch Tour de France 2024 In The United States
A live broadcast of the 2024 Tour de France will be available on Peacock for those watching from the United States.
Peacock is the exclusive home of the event in the United States through 2029, with start-to-finish coverage of every stage, though select stages also will air on NBC.
How To Watch Tour de France 2024 In Canada
FloBikes will provide a live broadcast for Canadian audiences.
Viewers in Canada will be able to watch all 21 stages of the Tour de France 2024 live on FloBikes and the FloSports app.
FloBikes also will provide updates, highlights and behind-the-scenes coverage throughout the entire event for all Flo subscribers.
On What Channel Is The Tour de France 2024?
The Tour de France will be on the NBC network and will stream daily in the United States on Peacock. The entire race will be broadcast on NBC's channels and USA Network.
Tour de France Teams For 2024
There will be 22 teams and up to 176 competitors in this year’s Tour de France:
Teams
- Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
- Alpecin - Deceuninck
- Arkéa - B&B Hotels
- Astana Qazaqstan Team
- Bahrain - Victorious
- BORA - hansgrohe
- Cofidis
- EF Education - EasyPost
- Groupama - FDJ
- INEOS Grenadiers
- Intermarché - Wanty
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- Lidl - Trek
- Movistar Team
- Soudal Quick-Step
- Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
- Team Jayco AlUla
- UAE Team Emirates
- Israel - Premier Tech
- Lotto Dstny
- Uno-X Mobility
- TotalEnergies
When Does The Tour de France 2024 Start?
The Tour de France is a 21-stage event.
The 2024 edition will begin in Florence, Italy, on June 29 and conclude in Nice, France, on July 21.
Every day, the cyclists start together to complete the stage of a race. Every stage varies in distance and physical demand.
What Is The Schedule For The Tour de France 2024?
Here is the complete schedule for the 2024 Tour de France.
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