Course: This stage has one of the event’s most beautiful stagingareas. Chambord is the largest of the Loire châteaux and one of world’sfinest Renaissance buildings. The stage is on rolling roads that generallyhead eastward, with crosswinds likely on a 40km stretch next to the LoireRiver before a final with-the-wind swoop into Montargis.

History: The Tour has only once ended a stage in Montargis, in1969, when it was the terminus of a giant 10-hour, 330km slog from Clermont-Ferrand on the penultimate day. The winner was Belgium’s Herman Van Springel, who also won that year’s stage over the mighty Galibier Pass in the Alps.

Stage 5 - Chambord to Montargis > 183km

Favorites: In theory, breakaways will have a good chance of succeeding on this 183km stage. But in a year when the opportunities for field sprints are limited, the fast men are likely to prevail. It should be quite a drag race between McEwen, Boonen and the rest on a 500-meter-long finishingstraight.