Tour preview: Will there be another spectacle in the ride to ‘Dutch’ Alpe d’Huez? † cycling

This is the state of affairs in the Tour de France prior to the twelfth stage:

Stage 12: Briançon – Alpe d’Huez

• When: Thursday 14 July, start at 13:05 and arrival around 18:10
• Distance: 166 kilometers
• Type: mountain stages

A Quatorze Juillet that settles into the legs, because the mountain stage has 4,750 vertical meters. The climbing festival starts again with the Galibier (this time via the Lautaret: 23 kilometers at 5.1%) before heading along the Croix de Fer (29 kilometers at 5.2%) to the iconic 21 bend final climb. With this, the Tour celebrates the 70th anniversary of the very first finish at height. Alpe d’Huez itself is 13.8 kilometers long at 8.1% on average. After this stage, a first real interim balance can be made: the cards will be more than shuffled!

Overview

The winner of this year’s Tour will have to be at home in all markets, as the organization has mapped out a very varied route. Below you will find an overview of what the riders can expect in the coming weeks.

View all the stages still to be completed below:

Stage 13: Bourg d’Oisans – Saint-Etienne

• When: Friday 15 July, start at 13:05 and arrival around 17:35
• Distance: 193 kilometers
• Type: hill ride

Today may be a crucial day in the battle for the green jersey. The profile shows that it does go up and down today, but without insurmountable obstacles. Wait and see how fast the race gets towards the finish. In these kinds of stages, escapes usually get little room to move… but that’s never an exact science!

Stage 14: Saint-Étienne – Mende

• When: Saturday, July 16, starting at 12.15 pm and arriving around 5.15 pm
• Distance: 195 kilometers
• Type: hill ride

No real climb awaits today, but the efforts are incessant. This passage through the Loire, Haute-Loire and Lozère will spur the most robust of escape kings into action. On the short but vicious climb of the Croix Neuve Montée Jalabert that leads to the airport (3 kilometers at 10.2%), a double battle awaits: that for the stage win and that within the group of favourites.

Stage 15: Rodez – Carcassonne

• When: Sunday 17 July, start at 13:05 and arrival around 17:50
• Distance: 200 kilometers
• Type: train

The road to Carcassonne is often hilly and invites you to escape. But this time, the course has been designed to reserve this day for the sprinters’ teams. Provided that they focus on checking the flight of the day, from whom can always expect a surprise in the third week.

Third rest day

Monday, July 18, the riders can enjoy the beautiful, medieval Carcassonne. Although it is more likely that they will limit themselves to a short coffee ride and an extensive massage to spare the tired legs.

Stage 16: Carcassonne – Foix

• When: Tuesday 19 July, start at 12.30 pm, arrival around 5.10 pm
• Distance: 179 kilometers
• Type: transition stage

One of the nine mid-mountain rides that this Grande Boucle knows. A transition stage to the real Pyrenees cols, but with the Port de Lers (11.4km at 7%) and the Mur de Péguère (9.3km at 7.9%) there are two serious traps for the classification riders. Towards the finish it is up to the better descenders to dive into the twenty kilometers towards Foix.

Etappe 17: Saint-Gaudens – Peyragudes

• When: Wednesday 20 July, start at 1.15 pm and arrival around 5 pm
• Distance: 130 kilometers
• Type: mountain ride

Short but sweet. As in the Alps, fierce war can be waged in the Pyrenees for two days in a row. Before the riders arrive, the Tour crosses the Aspin, the annoying Hourquette d’Anzican and the Val Louron-Azet. The final climb is painful, with 8 kilometers at 7.8%. Anyone who is not in his day will be dropped from the standings. Tadej Pogacar explored the ride and his reaction at Peyragudes airport says it all.

Stage 18: Lourdes – Hautacam

• When: Thursday 21 July, start at 1.30 pm and arrival around 5.40 pm
• Distance: 143 kilometers
• Type: mountain ride

The very last fight in the mountains, but one that can count. From the pilgrimage site of Lourdes, the last mountain stage goes over the Aubisque (16.4 kilometers at 7.1%) to the Col de Spandelles, which is brand new in the Tour: ten kilometers long and an average climb of eight percent. Thursday afternoon on Hautacam (13.5km at 7.8%) we basically know the mountain king and the potential final winner.

Stage 19: Castelnau-Magnoac – Cahors

• When: Friday 22 July, start at 1.05 pm and arrival around 5.30 pm
• Distance: 189 kilometers
• Type: train

Strangely enough, the visit to the Lot after crossing the Gers and Tarn-et-Garonne is also a nod to the opening scene of the Tour: after all, the nearby castle of Cayx belongs to the royal family from Denmark. We can be brief about the race: in Cahors we can expect a battle between the remaining sprinters after a stage without significant obstacles. Although the two fourth category slopes can cut off your legs just before the final, just after a grueling journey through the Pyrenees…

Stage 20: Lacapelle-Marival – Rocamadour

• When: Saturday 23 July, first start at 1.05 pm and last arrival around 5.50 pm
• Distance: 40 kilometers
• Type: individual time trial

Finally, on the last Saturday, there is a time trial of forty kilometers in the hilly department of the Lot. That will be a very long one survival of the fittest and the hour of truth. It is a difficult time trial, which is ten kilometers longer than last year. Continuous up and down, twisting and turning. Like two years ago at Planche des Belles Filles, it can still happen here. In total, this Tour counts five kilometers less against the time than last year, but forty kilometers at the end of a difficult Tour is a killer long.

Stage 21: Paris La Défense Arena – Paris Champs Elysées

• When: Sunday 24 July, start at 4.30 pm and arrival around 7.30 pm
• Distance: 112 km
• Type: train

In 2024, the Tour through the Olympic Games will not end in Paris, but this year we can enjoy the traditional closing: after a trip through the suburbs of the capital, where traditionally the overall winner already sips a first glass of champagne, it follows the legendary Champs Elysées the ‘World Championship for sprinters’. Or the first criterion, depending on how you look at it. The fact is that every sprinter has this evening stage to write in his name.