Today the route feature several big hills; six, to be exact. The Tour doesn't usually hit the hills and mountains as early as Stage 2, so this could make for some exciting racing! The course is in the same area as the famous "spring classic" Liege-Bastogne-Liege; very hard climbs, but not as big as the ones in the Alps and Pyrenees. Three category 4 climbs, followed by three category 3 climbs. Ouch, ouch, and more ouch! Click for more stage background

Only one stage of the Tour has finished in the little town of Spa, back in 1962. The route is entirely in Belgium today; tomorrow the Tour de France will finally get to France!

Start Time: 12:00 p.m. Central European Time.

Stage Type: Road Race. Explain

Riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first at the end of the course. Members of teams together to work to give advantage to their fastest riders or to their rider best placed in the overall standings.

Stage Distance: 201 KM or 124.9 miles. How far is that?

201 km is 125 miles. That's going to hurt with several ranked climbs on the route today!

Estimated Length of Time:5:00 How long is that?

Five hours is the time it would take to watch ten Ben 10 episodes, including all the commercials!

Terrain: hilly.

Number of Climbs: Three Cat 4, three Cat 3 climbs.. What does "cat" mean?

"Cat" is short for "category." The climbs are rated according to how long and hard they are. They are ranked Category 1-4, with 4 being the "easiest" (I'm not sure they're so easy!) and 1 being the "hardest." But wait- there's even a harder one! Climbs that are rated "Hors Categorie" (above category) are longer and steeper than a Category 1. That sounds HARD!

Estimated Calories: 5000 How much would you have to eat?

The riders will be burning the calories big-time today, with 6 climbs on the menu. 5000 calories is like 8 or 9 of those hot dogs from yesterday's 4th of July party!

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Are you hungry?

By Mari Holden at Velo Betty

It's really important for the cyclists to eat and drink while they are on the bike. In a race like the Tour de France the riders can barely keep up with replacing the amount of calories that they burn. So, they have to make sure that they eat while they are riding. Normally they will carry some small bars and gels in their jersey pockets. But, they can go back to their team cars in the caravan to get more food and bottles. There are guys on the team who are designated to help the other riders, and they will make many trips to the car. Their job is really important because they are helping the other riders on the team. There are also areas called "feed zones" where each team has people waiting by the side of the road to hand their riders bottles. They normally hand the bottles to their riders in "musettes which are like cloth purses for food and bottle. That way each rider can get a couple bottles and some food all in one bag. The cyclists have to eat so much every day that they actually get tired of eating and have to work hard to get their calories. So, sometimes the teams add some of the riders favorites in their musette bags... Things like small sandwiches, and cookies are favorites...

 

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