By David Hunter Gien > Gien 14km ITT Time trial day.

By David Hunter Oinville-sur-Montcient›Amilly(188km) A stage the organisers created with the hope of seeing some echelons.

By David Hunter Saint-Cyr-L’École > Saint-Cyr-L’École 166km Stage 1 is a day with a few possible outcomes, but to me it looks like a sprint. We start and finish in Saint-Cyr-L’École, which is the twin town of where I live!

By David Hunter Time for the first proper world tour stage race of 2021. Stage 1 A nice little loop to start the week. It will be cold, but the wind should be light, so that means we’ll get a sprint. The final 600m averages 3%, which will make things interesting.

By David Hunter Siena > Siena 184.2km For me, it’s the first monument of the year.

By David Hunter Laigueglia > Laigueglia 202.9km This race is all about the lap circuit.

By David Hunter Quaregnon > Dour 205km Hipsters go get the beard oil, it’s time for Le Samyn.

By David Hunter Eurre > Eurre 178.5km After today’s fun, the main protagonists will be back for round 2. The Drôme Classic is significantly easier than Ardèche, it only has 2290m of climbing in 179km of racing. The first half of the day is relatively straightforward, but things start to get much harder in the second…