Chainring choices and stem maps: riders get ready for Tour de France's first mountain stage

Riders and teams were busy before the start of stage five of the Tour de France on Wednesday, preparing for the race's first mountain day

Tour de France team mechanics were kept busy overnight getting their riders' bikes ready for the 2016 race's first excursion into the mountains.

After four flat days, it was a case of swapping to lighter climbing bikes and changing to smaller chainrings for the stage's six categorised climbs.

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.