We begin in Mondorf-les-Bains in Luxembourg, home of the Schlecks and head towards Vittel in France, home of the bottled water.

There is little to mention until the race reaches 37km to go, where we have back-to-back climbs. The first is a short Cat 4 and the second is an even shorter uncategorised climb. These won’t trouble the sprinters and we expect another mass bunch gallop in Vittel after the break has been absorbed following the sole KOM point on offer.

If the preamble to Vittel was straight forward, the final 5kms to the line are anything but. The road rises up at 3km to go and then there is a downhill run which take in a sweeping left hander and then two tight right handers. The fight for position will be fierce and it’s very likely a crash could play a big factor in the final result, as could the chance of a plucky late attack. There is also the added factor of the uphill drag to the line from under the flame rouge, which will neutralise the raw pace and power of some sprints and instead be a test of endurance of maintaining power to the line.

Kittel was the quickest man on Stage 2, even though his Quick Step train misfired. He instead decided to go down the right-hand side in search of a clean line and so relied on his raw pace to seal the win. He can perform on an uphill drag, but it will bring his rivals much closer to him.

The man that stuck onto Kittel’s wheel was Cavendish and it was great to see him take 4th, showing he could be here to compete for stage wins. He said afterwards that he didn’t have any more power to try and take the win, but he will be very happy with that result. The uphill drag could prove too much for him, but he will be surfing the wheels of others and could use his brain more than his legs to take another strong result.

Greipel’s face cut a picture of frustration when he looked up to see that Kittel had taken the win on stage 2. This finish will suit him better and his shortened train will be able to cope with the technical nature of the finish. He’ll be hoping to upgrade his 3rd place finish.

Perhaps the best placed German to take the win here is Degenkolb. As a classics man, the undulating finish won’t faze him and he looked in good shape during the first sprint but suffered from poor positioning and gave up towards the end.

Sagan was a winner on Stage 3 and that uphill finish will have taken it out of him and as we saw on Stage 2 he didn’t have the pace to compete with the pure sprinters. Another top 10 from him, with a hope of nabbing some minor points. We expect the exact same from Matthews.

The man who will be licking his lips at the uphill drag is Demare. He was just pipped by Kittel on stage 2, but the ramp to the finish will even out his advantage. The French national champ’s form has been brilliant of late and he will want to be flying the national flag (via his jersey) as he crosses the line.

Bouhanni will be seething if his former teammate pulls this off, but we can’t seem him competing with the best men here. Swift stated he fancied Stage 3 but that challenge didn’t materialise, the fact remains that he needs a big win and soon! Colbrelli would be our dark horse for this. He has really stepped up a level this season and the uphill finish will suit him.

Podium Prediction: