Photo: Prensa Latina

Havana, July 18 (RHC) -- The Tour de France will reach its 16th stage today with a close fight for the yellow jersey and a short but tough time trial, which could make the difference. 

Despite yesterday's rest in Saint-Gervais, the two thousand 600 kilometers covered and the climbs in the Pyrenees, the Massif Central, the Jura and the Alps will take their toll on the cyclists, with a duel expected between the defending champion, Danish Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), and his great rival, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).

The time trial will start in Passy and finish in Cambloux, a town located almost a thousand meters above sea level, and will be just 22.4 kilometers long, with the difficulty of the ascent to the second category mountain pass Côte de Domancy, which has an average gradient of 9.4 percent.

Vingegaard is 10 seconds ahead of Pogacar, the winner in 2020 and 2021, so the 110th edition of the Grande Boucle promises to be a great final stretch.

Team-wise, Jumbo-Visma regained the top spot, three minutes and 22 seconds ahead of Ineos Grenadiers and more than seven minutes ahead of UAE Team Emirates.