On paper, the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France is a flat stage, but a look at the profile suggests otherwise: there is quite a bit of climbing. Still, a bunch sprint seems like a plausible scenario. Most of the 2,400 meters of elevation gain come in the early part of the stage.

After a flat opening from Chambéry, the riders climb for about thirty kilometers after roughly twenty kilometers of racing. Nowhere is it truly steep, as the highest point of the stage is only around 1,100 meters: the Col des Prés. Only the final kilometers are somewhat challenging, with a 3.5-kilometer stretch averaging 6.6 percent.

This is followed by a descent back to Chambéry and the Col de Couz (8.6 kilometers at 2.8%). This hill is the last real obstacle before the finish, which is still 85 kilometers away. Nowhere in the last two hours is it entirely flat, but it is far from difficult. The final 35 kilometers even mostly descend.

In the finale, a small hill of 2.5 kilometers at 3.5 percent awaits—but will it be enough to prevent a sprint in Voiron? So late in the Tour de France, you never really know.