By David Hunter Al Thafra Castle > Al Mirfa 176km Let the sprint battle begin.

By David Hunter Welcome to the world championship for sprinters, with two mountains thrown in. We are used to most of these stages, but this year we do have a couple of new sprint finishes. The race attracts a stellar line-up. Not only do we have the best sprinters in the world, but we also have…

By David Hunter Fayence > Fayence 168km My type of stage.

By David Hunter Biot > Gourdon 187.5km The opening stage is a funny one. At the end of the stage the riders go climb, descend, climb, descend and finally climb. I can’t remember a time when this has happened before, although I’m sure somebody out there will point it out to me.

By David Hunter The race that was simply known as Haut Var now has a ridiculously long name, sad times for preview writers! The three-day stage race is about as hard as you can get, if you’re a sprinter and you’ve been sent here then it’s clear the DS doesn’t like you. I’m looking at you,…

By David Hunter Avignon > Salon-De-Provence 163km The final stage.

By David Hunter Puebla de Vicar > Roquetas del Mar 186.5km A bike race in Spain? Given the cancellation of the other Spanish races, I am surprised this one survived, but I’ll take it.

By David Hunter Istres > Chalet Reynard 152km The big day in the GC battle.