Will van Aert strike again against the clock?
After the second rest day, a time trial on stage 16 of the TDF 2023 is lined up as a return to the saddle! Tips and odds are available below. There will only be one competition of this kind at this year’s “Grand Boucle”, which is why the specialists in this discipline will be particularly motivated at the start today.
Last year, Wout van Aert won the then second time trial, which is more comparable to the upcoming one than the first one a year ago, as it also has comparatively many metres in altitude. The Belgian is therefore once again one of the stage 16 favourites to win the race.
But beyond that, the two top riders in the overall classification, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, have very good chances because the course between Passy and Combloux suits them no less.
Direction of the 16th stage at the 2023 Tour de France
Passy enjoys being a Tour de France stage location for the first time in its history! The inhabitants no longer have to hide from their neighbours from Sallanches, who in turn have already been part of the Tour route four times and on top of that hosted the Road World Championships in 1980.
The then World Championships ended with a victory by cycling legend Bernard Hinault, who with five Tour victories is also one of four record holders of the Tour of France! Now there is a time trial coming up in the 16th stage of the Tour de France and the favourites to win are, of course, the riders who do best in the individual battle against the clock.
Peloton expects a challenging route profile
Although the course only provides for 22.4 kilometres, the profile is not flat throughout. In fact, there is a 2nd category mountain classification shortly before the end of the Tour de France time trial. The riders have to conquer the Cote de Domancy, which has an average gradient of 9.4 percent over a length of 2.4 kilometres. So it’s not just a small hill that awaits the peloton before the finish in Combloux!
16th stage Tour de France tip
Due to the slightly hilly profile, the pure time trialists are not the TDF’s 16th stage favourites to win. Rather, the hottest candidates for the stage win not only have to get consistently high watts into the pedals, but equally have to show all-rounder skills.
For the 16th stage of the TDF 2023, tips and odds on a success by Wout van Aert are therefore worth considering. The Belgian has already won numerous time trials in the course of his career and has also won similarly undulating sections of the day.
He also demonstrated his skills in this métier again just before the Tour when he won the title of Belgian individual time trial champion at the end of June. This is also the third time he has achieved this feat.
