Three days in the Alps, three days to give the Tour de France all the answers it still seeks. It begins with stage number 18, the Voiron - Orcières-Merlette of 185.2 km, with 5 categorized climbs, 3,900 meters of elevation gain and a summit finish.

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The first day in the Alps, as we said, and certainly the easiest stage, although calling it easy... On the agenda, as mentioned, there are five mountain passes, climbing begins right from the start of the stage and thus emerges the ideal day for all climbers who want to try to win a stage while perhaps avoiding the likely showdown between the big names that could take place on Friday and Saturday on Alpe d'Huez.

There are many riders who could attempt it today and among them we would like to see Italian riders such as Davide Piganzoli, now free from tactical duties, and Antonio Tiberi, called upon to redeem a Tour that has so far been disappointing. It won't be easy, because the competition will be as fierce as always.

For the record, here are the categorized climbs to tackle today: Côte d'Engins at km 36.7, 1st category, 11.5 km at 5.4%; Côte de Monteynard at km 92.2, 2nd category, 9.7 km at 5%; Côte des Terrasses at km 112.8, 3rd category, 3.4 km at 6.6%; Côte de Saint-Leger-les-Mélèzes at km 166.2, 3rd category, 2.5 km at 6.9% and finally the finish at Orcières-Merlette, 1st category, 7.1 km at 6.7%.