2nd stage of the Ain Bugey Valromey Tour 2017

It will start from the Combe du Val in the commune of Outriaz, which recently joined the Communauté de communes du Haut Bugey. This 99 km stage will follow in the tradition of the "VALROMEY", with a 3.4 km neutralized section before the real start in Vieu d'Izenave. With a 6 km warm-up on a downhill false flat to climb the first difficulty of the day, the 830 m bosse de Chevillard, this small (outlying) commune must not often have seen cycling races, and if it does, it'll owe it to its attachment to the Com. Next up is the Col de la Cheminée (925 m), after 23 km of racing, which is a very rolling climb for the strongest cyclists, but it will be hard for those who are left behind to catch up with the peloton, as they have to follow a hilly course with a 12 km descent to Le Poizat, where the first sprint will be contested. Then it's on to the Col de Berentin (1158 m), which has already been climbed three times in recent years. I don't think the riders will have time to enjoy the wild landscapes of the Retord plateau, the event's sponsor with its Syndicat Mixte. A 10 km descent takes us to Hotonnes for the second sprint of the day, before climbing the Col de Richemont ( golet du Four 966 m ). We're already past the halfway mark, and runners will have to take on a downhill finish with the last quarter of the course all hilly. The finish, however, will be terrible: after the last sprint in Artemare at km 93.7, there will still be 5.5 km to go to the finish in Champagne en Valromey, with the last 3.4 km at over 10%. This finish will count as a hors catégorie for the award of the mountain jersey. It's going to be a great day out, as we won't know the final winner, but we will know right away who has lost the overall classification.

Vincent LAVENU & Bernard GAMBADE