La Picto-Charentaise

Leaving behind the Giro Women and with the Paris Olympics in sight, the Movistar Team competes at the end of July in two French events, nine days apart, as a prelude to the Tour de France Femmes starting in the Netherlands in mid August. The first of those will be La Picto-Charentaise, one of two races organised by the men’s Tour du Poitou-Charentes.

The technical sections and narrow roads typical in this part of France will be the main difficulty over the 128km route between Poitiers and a final circuit in Châtellerault, three laps, featuring the day’s main elevation: 800m at 5%, max 7%. It should be a finish for the sprinters, yet the usual attacking style in these races makes it much more unpredictable than what it looks like on paper.