PG - Tour de France 2024 Stage 1

The Course

I’ve read that this stage is everything between 3500 and 4500 climbing metres but whatever the reality, it’s not a stage for Sammy B or Fabio. The 2024 TdF kicks off with a bang because as we all know, we’re far too stupid to pay attention to a slow and suspenseful build up. We must be entertained! Even if Ala isn’t here!!

So the course lends itself to either an Ardennes type if not ridden balls out or one of those, ‘no one predicted this’ GC stages because Pog can’t help himself.

The Favourites

The aforementioned Pog should and I guess, will be at the top of the bookies pages. Wout and MvdP will be the best bets if it’s not ridden at a ridiculous pace. Outside of that we’re back to GC types like Rog and Remco or further afield to Bettiol or Van Gils. I’ll be backing Magnus Cort. Who have you got??

*he hasn't actually promised.

Here's your .

The Rules

In this game, only the race results matter. You're not committed to keeping the same riders throughout the series, you make fresh picks before every race. Our overall competition is just the sum of individual race scores. You're eligible for the overall even if you miss some races.

Pick 4 riders for the upcoming race. The order of your picks doesn't matter. All of your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favourites. See below for scoring details.

The strict entry deadline is the official start time of the race, the neutralized roll-out or Départ Fictif. Be warned - if your post is timestamped one minute late your entry won't count! So do remember that there's no disadvantage to getting an entry in early, even the day before, because you may always change your picks up until the deadline. Feel free to rethink your picks when it emerges which riders are more or less popular with other players. If you make changes, post your revised 4 picks in a reply to your original post.

The Scoring

Head over to the spreadsheet to check how you fared. Any issues, please email us on... WendyHellfreezes@over.com