Stage 2: Roskilde to Nyborg

Wind and Crowds

There’s a reason why there are more than 6,000 wind turbines in Denmark supplying about half the country’s electricity: lots of wind! The chances are that the wind (and the formation of echelons) will greatly influence this first road stage. It starts in Roskilde, a city founded by the Vikings that’s sure to give the Tour a huge sendoff. Tens of thousands attend the eight-day Roskilde rock festival that ends on this weekend with performances from California rapper Tyler, the Creator and New York indie band The Strokes.

More crowds will line the 200-plus-kilometer route, which first heads northwest through small towns and villages to the northern coast, with three small Cat. 4 climbs to liven up the first two hours of racing. It then swings south along flat coastal roads. That means the peloton could already be splintered before hitting the 20-kilometer-to-go sign at the start of the Great Belt Crossing, which spans the Baltic Sea via two of the world’s longest suspension bridges (respectively 6.8 and 6.6 kilometers long), with a 2.5-kilometer section across the small island of Sprogø in the middle. There will be no spectators on the bridges and no shelter from the winds.

“The peloton will be nervous because the wind, which often comes onto your right shoulder in this area, will have an impact,” says former Tour rider Lars Michaelsen. “This finale will cause some real damage.”

The finish line in Nyborg is only 2 kilometers after dropping off the second bridge. The last time the Tour had a similar flat stage exposed to coastal winds, in the Dutch polders seven years ago, the peloton was split into five groups spread over 11 minutes; some favorites lost 90 seconds to a lead bunch of 24. This Danish stage is the sort of one that local boy Mads Pedersen of Trek-Segafredo could win.