tour de france 2023 climb categories

Tour de France 2023 route: Every stage of the 110th edition in detail

This year's race has kicked off in Bilbao, in Spain's Basque Country. It looks like it'll be a Tour for the climbers, with the Puy de Dôme returning and 56,400 metres of climbing in all

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The 2023 men's Tour de France began in Bilbao, Spain on Saturday, July 1, with a route that looks set to be one for the climbers. It features four summit finishes, including a return for the iconic Puy de Dôme climb for the first time since 1988.

There is just one time trial across the three-week event, a short uphill race against the clock from Passy to Combloux over 22km. There are also returns for other epic climbs like the Col de la Loze and the Grand Colombier, with 56,400 metres of climbing on the Tour de France 2023 route.

The race started on foreign soil for the second year in a row, with a Grand Départ in the Spanish Basque Country , the setting for the race's 120th anniversary. There were two hilly stages in Spain, before the peloton crossed the border into France for a stage finish in Bayonne on day three. 

After visiting Pau for the 74th time on stage five, the race's first real mountain test came on stage six, leaving Tarbes and cresting the Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet before a summit finish in Cauterets. 

On stage seven, the Tour’s second most visited city, Bordeaux, will welcome its first stage finish since 2010, when Mark Cavendish claimed his 14th of a record 34 stage wins. Leaving nearby Libourne the next day, stage eight will head east on a 201km slog to Limoges. 

Before the first rest day, the riders will wind up to the summit of the Puy de Dôme, a dormant lava dome which hasn’t featured in the Tour for 35 years. They’ll then enjoy a well-earned day off in Clermont-Ferrand before continuing their passage through the Massif Central. 

France’s national holiday, 14 July, will be celebrated next year with a summit finish on the Grand Colombier, the site of Tadej Pogačar ’s second stage win back in 2020. From there, the mountains keep coming. The riders will climb over the Col de Joux Plaine to Morzine on stage 14, before another mountaintop test in Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc the next day. 

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The sole individual time trial of the Tour de Franc route comes on stage 16, when a hilly 22km dash from Passy to Combloux will give the GC contenders a chance to force time gaps. The following day will bring the stage with the highest elevation gain, counting 5000m of climbing en route to the Courchevel altiport, via the Cormet de Roselend and the monstrous Col de la Loze. 

On stages 18 and 19, the sprinters are expected to come to the fore, with flat finishes in Bourg-en-Bresse and Poligny. 

The penultimate stage will play out in the country’s most easterly region, ascending the Petit Ballon, Col du Platzerwasel and finishing in Le Markstein, as the Tour de France Femmes did last year. 

The riders will then undertake a 500km transfer to the outskirts of Paris for the curtain-closing stage. The final day will start at France’s national velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the track cycling venue for the 2024 Olympics, and will conclude with the customary laps of the capital’s Champs-Elysées. 

The 2023 Tour de France will begin on 1 July, with the winner crowned in Paris on 23 July. 

2023 Tour de France stage table

Jonas Vingegaard raced in the Basque Country this year

Tour de France route week summary

Tour de france week one.

The race began in Bilbao, starting in the Basque Country for the first time since 1992, when the Tour started in San Sebastian. The first two stages are packed full of climbs, with ten classified hills in over the opening couple of days, meaning there will be a fierce battle for the polka-dot jersey. Watch out for Basque fans going crazy on the roadside.

Stage three saw the race cross into France, which it will not leave for the rest of the 18 days. As expected we saw a sprint finish in Bayonne, even after four categorised climbs en-route. Nothing is easy this year.

The fourth day was another sprint, on a motor racing circuit in Nogaro, as the race moved, ominously, towards the Pyrenees. The Hors Categorie Col de Soudet on stage five was the first proper mountain of the race, and was followed by the Col de Marie Blanque, which has tough gradients. A GC day early on, although they are all GC days, really.

Stage five was a mountain top finish in Cauterets-Cambasque, but its gradients didn't catch too many out; it is the Col d'Aspin and Col du Tourmalet that will put people through it.

The seventh day of the race was a chance for the riders to relax their legs as the race headed northwest to an almost nailed-on sprint finish, before another opportunity for the the remaining fast men presented itself on stage eight - after two category four climbs towards the end, and an uphill finish.

The long first week of the race - which will have felt longer because last year had a bonus rest day - ended with the mythical Puy de Dôme.

Tour de France week two

Magnus Cort in the breakaway on stage 10 of the Tour de France 2022

The second week begins with a lumpy road stage around Clermont-Ferrand, starting from a volcano-themed theme park. This will surely be a day for the break. The next day could also be one if the sprint teams fail to get their act together, with two early categorised climbs potential ambush points.

Back into the medium mountains on stage 12, with a finish in the wine making heartland of the Beaujolais, Belleville. Another day for the break, probably, but none of the five categorised climbs are easy.

The following day, stage 13, is France's national holiday, 14 Juillet. The Grand Colombier at the end of the day is the big attraction, with its slopes expected to cause shifts on the GC. Stage 14 is yet another mountain stage as the Tour really gets serious, with the Col de la Ramaz followed by the Col de Joux Plane. The latter, 11.6km at 8.5%, will be a real test for a reduced peloton, before a downhill finish into Morzine.

The final day of week two, stage 15, is yet another day in the Alps before a rest day in Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc. There is nothing as fearsome as the previous days, but 4527m of climbing should still be feared.

Tour de France week three

Tadej Pogačar in the final time trial at the 2022 Tour de France

The third and final week begins with the race's only time trial, 22km long and with a lot of uphill. It is not a mountain event, but it is certainly not one for the pure rouleurs .

Stage 17 looks like the race's Queen Stage, with the final climb up to the Col de la Loze looking incredibly tough on paper, and in real life. That follows the Col de Saisies, the Cormet de Roselend and the Côte de Longefoy, adding up to 5,100m of climbing. The race might be decided on this day.

After that, there is a nice day for the sprinters on stage 18, with a flat finish in Bourg-en-Bresse surely one for the fast men. The next day, stage 19 could be a breakaway day or a sprint finish, depending on how desperate teams are feeling, or how powerful the remaining leadout trains are.

The final mountainous day comes on the penultimate stage, with the men following the Femmes lead and finishing in Le Markstein. However, there's no Grand Ballon, just the Petit Ballon, and so unless something chaotic happens, there should not be great time switches on this stage.

Then, at last, there is the usual finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, after the race heads out of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which has a long-term deal to host the start of Paris-Nice too. ASO country.

Remember, this will be the last time Paris hosts the Tour de France until 2025. So, be prepared.

Tour de France 2023: The stages

Stage one: Bilbao to Bilbao (182km)

The opening stage is very lumpy

There was no easing into the Tour de France for the peloton this year, with a tough, punchy day in the Basque Country. Adam Yates took the first yellow jersey of the 2023 Tour de France after a scintillating stage in the Basque Country that saw the overall battle for the Tour take shape at the earliest opportunity.

The Briton emerged clear over the top of the final climb of the stage, the short and steep Côte de Pike, with his twin brother Simon a few seconds behind him. The pair worked well together to stay clear of the chasing bunch of GC contenders before Adam rode his brother off his wheel inside the final few hundred metres to claim victory.

Stage two: Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint Sebastian (208.9km)

Still in the Basque Country, there is a Klasikoa theme to stage two

This was the longest stage of the Tour, surprisingly.  Five more categorised climbs meant  it was unlikely to be a sprint stage, including the Jaizkibel, famous from the Clasica San Sebastian, tackled on its eastern side 20km from the finish. This second stage from Vitoria Gasteiz to San Sebastian on the Basque coast followed many of the roads of the San Sebastian Classic, held here every summer.

An early break was soon established in the first 50km and established a three-minute advantage. However, the break was reeled in and a group, including the yellow jersey Adam Yates, pressed towards the finish with Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) clearly hoping it would finish in a sprint. 

Victor Lafay (Cofidis) had other ideas however, and with all and sundry already having attacked Van Aert, Lafay finally made it stick with a kilometre to go, holding off the reduced bunch all the way to the line.

Stage three: Amorebiata-Etxano to Bayonne (187.4km)

Still some hills, but this should be a sprint stage

The third stage took the riders from Amorebieta-Etxano in the Basque Country and back into France, finishing at Bayonne in what was always tipped to be a bunch sprint.  Ultimately, despite a very strong showing in the leadout by Fabio Jakobsen's Soudal-Quick Step team, it was Jasper Philipsen who triumphed , having benefited from a deluxe leadout by team-mate Mathieu Van Der Poel.

Mark Cavendish, who is hunting for a record 35th stage win in what will be his final Tour de France, was sixth.

Stage four: Dax to Nogaro (181.8km)

A nailed on bunch sprint, surely. Surely!

Now this one was always going to be a sprint finish, right? It finished on a motor racing circuit in Nogaro, meaning teams have a long old time to sort their leadout trains.  After a sleepy day out all hell broke lose on the finishing circuit with a series of high speed crashes. Jasper Philipsen was one of the few sprinters to still have a lead-out man at his disposal and when that lead-out man is of the quality of Mathieu van der Poel he was always going to be very difficult to beat. So it proved with Australian Caleb Ewan chasing him down hard but unable to come around him.  Philipsen's win handed him the green jersey too .

Stage five: Pau to Laruns (162.7km)

The first proper mountain, and the first sorting out, as early as stage five

The first Hors Categorie climb of the race came on stage five, the Col de Soudet, which is 15.2km at 7.2%, before the Col de Marie-Blanque and its steep gradients. It certainly ignited the GC battle!  

A break that at one point contained 37 riders was never allowed more than a few minutes, but that proved unwise for Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar behind. Ultimately, with the break already splintering on the final big climb – the Col de Marie-Blanque – Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), riding his first Tour de France, attacked. 

With Hindley time trialling the largely downhill 18km to the finish, Vingegaard attempted to chase him down – and put time into Pogačar as he did so.

Picking up strays from the early break on the way, Vingegaard got to within 34 seconds of Hindley, but it wasn't enough to stop the Australian from taking the stage win, and the yellow jersey .

Stage six: Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque (144.9km)

While in the Pyrenees, why not tackle a few more mountains?

A day of aggressive racing in the Pyrenees towards the first summit finish saw Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) take the yellow jersey but Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates) win the stage .

Having had his team set a blistering pace on the Col du Tourmalet, Vingegaard attacked with 4km until the summit. Only Pogačar could follow him as yellow jersey holder Jai Hindley dropped back to the peloton

Having joined up with super domestique Wout van Aert over the top, the group of favourites were towed up the first half of the final climb before Vingegaard attacked. Once again Pogačar followed and with two kilometers to go the Slovenian counter-attacked.

He clawed back nearly half a minute by the line, making the race for yellow a three horse race between those two and Hindley in the process. 

Stage seven: Mont-de-Marsan to Bordeaux (169.9km)

Bordeaux is always a sprint finish

Renowned as a sprint finish town, Bordeaux didn't disappoint the hopeful fastmen –except perhaps for Mark Cavendish, who had to concede victory to hat-trick man Jasper Philipsen, despite a very strong charge for the line from the Manxman .

With Cavendish hunting that elusive 35th record stage win, and having won here last time the Tour came visiting in 2010, many eyes were on the Astana Qazaqstan rider, with on-form Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) who has won twice already, starting as favourite.

The day began with Arkéa-Samsic's Simon Gugliemi forging what turned out to be a solo break that lasted 130 kilometres. He was joined by Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and Nans Peters (Ag2r-Citroën) halfway through the stage, the trio forming a purposeful triumvirate of home riders.

However, with the sprinters and their teams on the hunt and few places to hide on what was a hot day crammed with long, straight roads, the break served only as a placeholder for the day's main action in Bordeaux.

A technical finish with roundabouts aplenty, first Jumbo-Visma (in the service of GC leader Jonas Vingegaard) and then Alpecin-Deceuninck took the race by the scruff of the neck in the final. Philipsen enjoyed a marquee leadout from team-mate Mathieu Van Der Poel, but when Cavendish turned on the afterburners at around 150m and leapt forward, the whole cycling world held its breath.

That 35th stage win had to wait for another day though, with Philipsen sweeping past in what was yet another command performance from the Belgian.

Stage eight: Libourne to Limoges (200.7km)

Three categorised climbs in the final 70km could catch people out

Mads Pedersen powered to victory up a punchy finish on stage eight of the  Tour de France , managing to hold off green jersey  Jasper Philipsen  in the process.

Pedersen, the Lidl-Trek rider, now has two Tour stage wins to his name, in a finish which mixed pure sprinters and punchier riders. Alpecin-Deceuninck's Philipsen was third, with Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) in third. To prove how mixed the top ten was, however, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) finished behind the likes of Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis).

On a day which could have been one for the breakaway, the race was controlled expertly by Jumbo, Trek and Alpecin for their options, and so the escapees were never allowed much time. Sadly, stage eight turned out to Mark Cavendish's last - the Astana-Qazaqstan rider crashed heavily and was forced to abandon .

Stage nine: Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dôme (184km)

The Puy de Dôme is back, and is vicious

In a north American showdown it was Canada that came out on top as  Michael Woods  beat American rival  Matteo Jorgenson  to the win atop the legendary Puy de Dôme.

Jorgenson had gone solo form a breakaway with 40km left to race. However, on the slopes of the Puy de Dôme where the gradient remains over 105 for more than four kilometres, Woods closed the gap and came around Jorgenson with just 600m left to go.

In the final kilometre, of what had been a blisteringly hot day with temperatures north of 30 degree Celsius, Tadej Pogačar managed to drop Jonas Vingegaard but the Jumbo-Visma captain dug deep to minimise his losses and came across the line eight seconds down.

Stage 10: Vulcania to Issoire (162.7km)

Five categorised climbs over this Volcanic stage

The breakaway had its day in Issoire, as Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) won beneath the scorching sun in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. 

After a frantic start, the mood finally settled and a 14-rider move went clear. Krists Neilands (Israel Premier Tech) launched a solo bid with around 30km remaining, but was caught in the closing moments by a chasing group led by Bilbao. The Spaniard then policed attacks in the finale, before sprinting to his team's first victory at this year's race. 

"For Gino," Bilbao said afterwards, dedicating his win to his late teammate, Gino Mäder .  

Stage 11: Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins (179.8km)

The flat finalé hints at a sprint, but it could be a break day

After a difficult previous day that was hot and hilly, the bunch allowed the break to go very quickly, with Andrey Amador, Matis Louvel and Daniel Oss quickly gaining three minutes. They were kept on a tight leash though, with the sprinters' teams eyeing a bunch finish. And this they delivered, with Jasper Philipsen winning a fourth stage after a tricky finale.

Stage 12: Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais (168.8km)

Hills return, with some steep, punchy ones towards the end

Just like stage ten, Thursday's stage 12 was a fast and frenetic affair on the road to Belleville-en-Beaujolais. A strong group of puncheur type riders eventually got up the road after the breakaway took more than 80 kilometres to form. Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) came out on top at the finish, soloing to the line after a big attack on the final climb of the day. 

Stage 13: Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne to Grand Colombier (138km)

Welcome to the Alps, here's an hors categorie climb

Michał Kwiatkowski took an impressive solo victory on the summit finish of the Grand Colombier. The Polish rider caught and passed the remnants of the day's breakaway which included Great Britain's James Shaw to grab his second-ever Tour stage win. Behind the Ineos rider, Tadej Pogačar attacked and took eight seconds back on Jonas Vingegaard in the fight for the yellow jersey. 

Stage 14: Annemasse to Morzine Les Portes du Soleil (151.8km)

Five categorised climbs, four of which are one and above. Ouch.

Carlos Rodríguez announced himself on his Tour de France debut on stage 14 with a career-defining victory in Morzine. While all eyes were on Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar, the Spaniard broke free on the descent of the Col de Joux Plane and descended as if on rails to the finish. 

Stage 15: Les Gets Les Portes du Soleil to Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc (179km)

Back to a summit finish, there is no escape at this Tour

The breakaway had its day at the summit of Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc. After dedicating his career to domestique duties, the victory went to Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), who launched a late attack on the steepest slopes and held off Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) to the line.

Stage 16: Passy to Combloux ITT (22.4km)

A time trial! But not a flat one

Stage 16 brought the fewest time trial kilometres at the Tour de France in 90 years. On the uphill test to Combloux, Jonas Vingegaard proved the strongest , and by quite a way, too. The Dane's winning margin of 1-38 over Tadej Pogačar left him in the driving seat to taking his second Tour title.

Stage 17: Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc to Courchevel (165.7km)

Back to  the proper mountains, and there will be no let up on the final Wednesday

The Queen stage brought a career-defining victory for Austrian Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën), but all eyes were on the GC battle, and the demise of Tadej Pogačar. The UAE Team Emirates rider cracked on the slopes of the Col de la Loze, losing almost six minutes to Jonas Vingegaard, and slipping to 7-35 in the overall standings.

Stage 18: Moûtiers to Bourg-en-Bresse (184.9km)

Two category four climbs on the road to a chicken-themed sprint

Denmark's Kasper Asgreen put in one of the best performances of the race to grab his first-ever Tour victory . The Soudal Quick-Step rider was part of a four man breakaway that managed to hold on all the way to the line by just a handful of seconds ahead of the peloton.

Stage 19: Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny (172.8km)

Another sprint, maybe, or a heartbreaking chase which fails to bring the breakaway back

Matej Mohorič of Bahrain Victorious took an emotional victory in Poligny after a chaotic day of racing. The Slovenian rider launched an attack with Kasper Asgreen and Ben O'Connor on the final climb of the hilly stage before beating his breakaway compatriots in a three-up sprint for the line. It was Mohorič's third-ever Tour victory.

Stage 20: Belfort to Le Markstein Fellering (133.5km)

One last chance. Six categorised climbs, will it shake up the GC?

The race might be very near Germany at this point, but Belfort remained French after the Franco-Prussian War, unlike the territory the penultimate stage travels into. 

This is the last chance saloon for all teams and riders who aren’t sprinters, especially those with GC ambitions. However, it is not quite the task of the previous Alpine days, with the six categorised climbs not the most testing. Still, there will be a lot of people trying to make things happen.

Stage 21: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to Paris (115.1km)

The classic Parisian sprint. Lovely.

This will be the last time the Tour heads to Paris until at least 2025, so make the most of those shots of the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées. The classic procession will happen for the first 55km until the race hits the Champs for the first time 60km in. From that point on, anything goes, although that anything will probably be a bunch sprint.

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Adam is Cycling Weekly ’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.

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Mountain stages of the 2023 Tour de France

Post last updated:

This page showcases all the mountains and climbs for the 2023 Tour de France. The route was announced on 27 October 2022 and promises plenty of action in the mountains once again. This page reflects the information currently available and will be updated periodically as more information is released about the race.

I have been lucky to experience the thrill of watching the Tour de France on multiple mountain stages and am looking forward to 2023. My toughest descision will be which mountain to choose to spectate. In the Pyrenees the 2023 race returns to the slopes of the iconic Col du Tourmalet, while the race returns to the slopes of Le Puy de Dôme for the first time since 1988.

In 2023 the riders will be faced with the mountains in the first week when the hit the Pyrenees. It will be interesting to see how this shapes the race given there will still be a long way to the finish line. This year also sees a mountain stage on the day before the finish which will test the strength and resolve of all the riders before the final stage in Paris the following day. It will be interesting to see it all play out and I can’t wait until July.

If you are considering visiting France for a cycling holiday or to watch the Tour de France, be sure to check out the rest of the Seek Travel ride website. There is a wealth of information to help you plan your cycling holiday to France including lots of practical information , destination guides and travel information . Our Tour de France section includes a general guide to the race each year as well as tips for watching the event roadside.

A brief history of the mountains in the Tour de France

In most editions of the Tour de France, the mountain stages are where the race is won or lost. A single bad day for a rider in the mountains can see them lose minutes to rivals and an end to their title bid. On long mountain climbs, there is nowhere to hide and any little chinks in a rider’s armor are usually found. Over the years climbs such as Alpe d’Huez, Col du Galibier, Mont Ventoux, Col du Tourmalet, and Col d’Aubisque have become synonymous with the race.

The mountain stages are some of the most popular for people to watch the race and there are many iconic images of riders navigating a sea of spectators. It is estimated that many hundreds of thousands of fans line the mountain roads as they twist and turn their way to the summit. On rare occasions, fans get a little too close and bring a rider down.

First mountain stage in the Pyrenees

The mountains first entered the Tour de France in the 8th edition in 1910. In that year stage 10 started in the Pyrenean town of Bagneres de Luchon and climbed Col du Peyresourde, Col d’Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, and Col d’Aubisque before finishing 326km later in Bayon. Octave Lapize finished the stage first in a time of 14hrs 10mins. No mean feat given that all the mountain passes were dirt roads back in those days and the bikes had nowhere near the range of gears modern bikes now have.

Inclusion of the French Alps

While the organizers deemed the addition of the mountains to be successful the riders were less impressed and there were protests in 1910 about the stage. Nevertheless, in 1911 the French Alps were added to the race with the inclusion of Col du Galibier, Col de Castillion, and Col de Braus. This was in addition to the stage in the Pyrenees.

Since those early days, both the Pyrenees and French Alps have featured in the race annually. In later years climbs in other regions such as the Jura, the Vosges, and the Massif Central have been added to the race. The Pyrenees and French Alps have generally taken turns in being featured in the all-important last week of the race.

Famous climbs and the 2023 Tour de France

There are a number of iconic climbs from the Tour de France that everyone loves seeing in the race. Unfortunately they don’t all make it in every year but we thought I would go through and let you know which ones made the 2023 race and which did not.

Climbs in the French Alps

Alpe d’Huez will not feature in the 2023 Tour de France and was last included in 2022.

Col du Galibier , like Alpe d’Huez featured in the 2022 Tour de France and will not be back in 2023.

Col d’Izoard has not been included in the Tour de France since 2019 and again misses out in the 2023 Tour de France.

Mont Ventoux was climbed twice in the 2021 Tour de France and is not included in the 2023 race.

Climbs in the Pyrenees

Col du Tourmalet , the most climbed mountain in Tour de France history, will once again feature in the 2023 Tour de France. It’s going to be a busy year for the mountains with 3 grand tours, Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes and Vuelta a Espana, all using the mountain for stages.

The Col d’Aspin is also back for the 2023 Tour de France and will be the warm up act before the riders head up the Col du Tourmalet. It was also used in the 2022 Tour de France.

The Col d’Aubisqe last appeared in the 2022 Tour de France and is not included in the 2023 race.

2023 Tour de France climb stats

The 2023 Tour de France includes 10 stages with categorized climbs, four of which includes a summit finish; Stage 6 Cauterest-Cambasque, Stage 9 Puy de Dome, Stage 13 Grand Colombier, and Stage 15 Saint Gervais Mont Blanc. Stage 20, the second last stage, packs a punch with 5 categorized climbs. No doubt there will be plenty of tired legs come to this stage. The race in 2023 visits 5 of France’s mountain ranges, the Pyrenees, Massif Central, the Jura, the Alps, and the Vosges.

There are only 2 climbs over 2,000m in the 2023 Tour de France with the highest being Col de la Loze at 2,304m, followed by Col du Tourmalet at 2,115m. Col de la Loze is also the longest climb of the 2023 Tour de France at 28.4km in length. The shortest climb for this edition of the race is the first categorized climb, Côte de Pike, which averages 10% for 2km on stage 1.

ASO, who runs the Tour de France, has now released the full details of each stage. This includes maps, mountain categorisation and estimated time along the course. I have now updated the table to reflect this information and help you plan your own viewing of these mountain stages.

Categorization of Tour de France climbs

Each of the climbs is given a categorization which is an indication of the difficulty of the climb. Hors category (HC) are the toughest climbs followed by category 1, category 2, category 3, and category 4. A category 1 climb will be harder than a category 3 climb so the lower the number the harder the climb. A climb can change categorization based on how far into a stage it might be. For example, a climb could be considered a category 2 climb if it comes early on in the stage when riders have fresh legs, or a category 1 climb if it comes towards the end.

The climb categorization also comes into play when awarding points in the Polka Dot jersey competition. For example on an HC climb the first rider over the top will be awarded 20 points while on a category 4 climb the first rider will be awarded 1 point. On an HC climb points are awarded for the first 8 riders while on a category 4 climb only the top rider receives any points. There is a sliding scale of points and positions between HC and category 4.

We can help plan your trip

Planning a holiday is always great fun but can also be quite time-consuming. As you research more and more you may find yourself with more questions than answers. We offer a range of services to assist people with planning their own cycling holiday to France, ranging from one-on-one calls to answer your questions to a full planning and itinerary service. You can find a rundown of the services we offer on our Travel Planner page.

We first visited France for a cycling holiday in 2013 and returned numerous times before moving here permanently in 2021. Over the years we have travelled by plane, train and hire car with our bikes and learned lots of lessons about visiting France generally as well as travelling around with a bike. We enjoy both road cycling and cycle touring and look forward to being able to help you plan that perfect trip.

2023 Men’s Tour de France Reveals Record-Breaking Number of Climbs

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Riders at next year’s men’s Tour will hit the ground running — well, pedaling, uphill, a lot.

The Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) just finalized and announced the 2023 men’s Tour de France route and attracted some attention: it’s a doozy.

Yesterday, organizers unveiled a uniquely brutalizing program that visits all five of France’s mountain regions and includes 30 categorized “cols.” What’s that? A climb graded second-category or harder, breaking the race record and looping in seven more steeps than 2022’s race did.

For reference, a category 2 hill could be about 3 miles long at an average grade of 8%. This represents among the most manageable climbs on this year’s docket — the most punishing segments will be orders of magnitude harder .

The field will take off on July 1 from Bilbao, one of 12 brand-new towns and other locations Le Tour has never passed through. From there, riders will climb first into the Pyrenees, and then into the Massif Central, the Jura, the Alps, and finally, the Vosges mountains.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Tour de France™ (@letourdefrance)

Three climbs no Tour de France route has ever touched join the list, too: the Côte de Vivero (Basque Country), the Col de la Croix Rosier (Massif Central), and the Col du Feu (Alps). The Col de la Loze will be the “roof” of the 2023 Tour on stage 17, at 7,559 feet of elevation.

And don’t miss the wildly steep Puy de Dome climb that concludes stage 9. It returns after a 35-year hiatus — the iconic volcano has not appeared on any Tour route since 1988.

Only one time trial is scheduled, a single 22km (13.6 miles) segment in the Alps, at altitude and in steep terrain. It’s the 16th stage, from Passy to Combloux.

Rider impressions have varied in the wake of the announcement. Two-time winner Tadej Pogačar pointed out that the route’s bookends are steep and demanding, and hinted that the layout dovetails with his aggressive style, according to Cyclingnews .

Elsewhere, legendary sprinter Mark Cavendish is still hunting for a team after sitting out of last year’s Tour. Cavendish co-owns the distinction of the most Tour stages ever won with 34 — and implied that he’s hungry to get back in the mix and potentially break the record to own it solo.

“[I]f the sprinters can survive the mountains, they’ve got ample opportunities for real bunch sprints. Long boulevard finishes of more than a kilometre of a final straight,” he told Cyclingnews .

The outlet also asked whether Pogačar wants revenge after newcomer Jonas Vingegaard booted him off the top of the podium last year.

His answer: a modestly affirmative “Yeah, I guess.”

It’s a steep route back to the top for ​​Pogačar — and the rest of the field.

Don't Let the Yellow Jersey Fool You — The Tour de France Is Won by a Team

Riders who claim the yellow, green, polka dot, and white jerseys in the Tour de France may get all the glory, but the race is a team sport. Read more…

Sam Anderson is a staff writer at GearJunkie, and several other All Gear websites.

He has been writing about climbing, cycling, running, wildlife, outdoor policy, the outdoor industry, vehicles, and more for 2 years. Prior to GearJunkie, he owned and operated his own business before freelancing at GearHungry. Based in Austin, Texas, Anderson loves to climb, boulder, road bike, trail run, and frequent local watering holes (of both varieties).

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Preview: Your stage-by-stage guide to the 2023 Tour de France route

Tricky early stages and GC tests make this a difficult Tour de France.

We haven’t seen a Tour de France route quite like this one before. Not only because the host of the Grand Départ, the beautiful Basque city of Bilbao, has never hosted a Tour stage before, but because the overall direction and balance of the stages is unique in modern Tours de France.

It’s a difficult Tour, right from the start. The first week features more climbing than usual, much of it on the short, punchy ascents we know from races like the Tour of the Basque Country and Klasikoa San Sebastian. It’s a climber’s Tour, too, with only one 22 km time trial, which itself contains a difficult Category 2 climb. The 2023 Tour de France never goes more than two days without some sort of potential GC shakeup. That is no accident.

The route starts in northern Spain and heads in a mostly northeasterly direction from there, doubling back on itself multiple times and, quite unusually, camping for long periods in two different cities. We spend four days within shouting distance of Clermont-Ferrand in the middle of the country, and then sit again in the heart of the Alps for three days (four if you include the rest day in the middle) near the end of the race.

The hardest stage, on paper, is probably stage 17 , which finishes on the new Tour favorite Col de la Loze, or 14 , which has endless climbing. Stages 15 , and 6 are in the same bracket. Monsters, each of them.

The Alps win out over the Pyrenees this year, at least in terms of total difficulty. But the race touches all five of France’s mountain ranges, and the days in the Massif Central, Vosges, and the Jura shouldn’t be ignored. In the Massif Central, a finish atop the volcano at Puy de Dôme contains some of the steepest kilometers of the whole race. In the Vosges, the final stage to Le Markstein has all the hallmarks of a GC trap. Its placement just a day before Paris could make it the most thrilling stage of the race.

Looking for Tour de France team rosters? We’re updating the eight-man lineups as they’re announced.

Jump to stage details: • Stage 1: July 1 – Bilbao to Bilbao – 182 km • Stage 2: July 2 – Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint-Sébastien – 209 km • Stage 3: July 3 – Amborebieta-Etxano to Bayonne – 185 km • Stage 4: July 4 – Dax to Nogaro – 182 km • Stage 5: July 5 – Pau to Laruns – 165 km • Stage 6: July 6 – Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque – 145 km • Stage 7: July 7 – Mont-De-Marsan to Bordeaux – 170 km • Stage 8: July 8 – Libourne to Limoges – 201 km • Stage 9: July 9 – Saint-Léonard-De-Noblat to Puy de Dôme – 184 km • July 10 – Rest Day • Stage 10: July 11 – Vulcania to Issoire – 167 km • Stage 11: July 12 – Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins – 180 km • Stage 12: July 13 – Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais – 169km • Stage 13: July 14 – Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne to Grand Colombier – 138 km • Stage 14: July 15 – Annemasse to Morzine Les Portes Du Soleil – 152 km • Stage 15: July 16 – Les Gets to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc – 180 km • July 17 – Rest Day • Stage 16: July 18 – Passy to Combloux – 22 km • Stage 17: July 19 – Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc to Courchevel – 166 km • Stage 18: July 20 – Moûtiers to Bourg-En-Bresse – 186 km • Stage 19: July 21 – Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny – 173 km • Stage 20: July 22 – Belfort to Le Markstein Fellering – 133 km • Stage 21: July 23 – Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines to Champs-Élysées – 115 km

This route is … evenly loaded?

There’s been a fair amount of chatter about this Tour route being frontloaded. That isn’t wrong when you put the route in context of previous years, but it isn’t exactly right when you compare the first week to the second half of the race.

To aid in visualizing the route as a whole, we (subjectively) ranked every stage’s potential GC jeopardy on a scale of 1-10. One is a sprint stage. Ten is a crazy high mountain day with an uphill finish (there are no 10s in this year’s Tour). Hilly stages like those found in Bilbao in the first week all sit between four and six. They’re hard, and could see potential time gains, but they’re not high-mountain hard.

The result? What appears to be a very balanced route. Like anybody trying to build narrative, the Tour de France clearly doesn’t want to slow things down for too many days in a row. Thierry Gouvenou, who designs the Tour’s routes, peppered interesting and/or difficult stages throughout the race, all the way from the short, punchy climbs of stage 1 to the final climbing day to Le Markstein.

The race will feature a total of 30 climbs categorized 2 or higher. That’s seven more than last year, three more than 2021. They are spread quite evenly, as the above chart suggests. One in the Basque country, six in the Pyrenees, four in the Massif Central, one in the Jura, 13 in the Alps, and five in the Vosges.

GC favorites will have to be on their game from stage 1 to stage 20. That’s somewhat unusual. But it should make for a fantastic race.

Let’s take a look at the profiles, key moments, and defining features of each stage of the 2023 Tour de France.

If you prefer to listen, this week’s podcast is a detailed breakdown of all 21 stages.

Stage 1: Bilbao to Bilbao – 182 km

Date: Saturday July 1, 2023 Stage type: Hilly Potential winners: Puncheurs or possibly a GC man. Julian Alaphilippe, Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard. Or maybe even Wout van Aert or Mathieu van der Poel. What to watch for: Jonas Vingegaard won a similar stage of the Dauphiné in June. He seems to have been working on his punch. Will he take advantage?  Stage 1 summary: No easing into this Tour de France. The very first stage takes in 3,300 meters (10,000 feet) of climbing in a large loop starting and finishing in Bilbao, in the heart of the cycling-mad Basque region. The final climb, the last in a series of four in the last 60 km, is the Côte de Pike, a nasty kicker that averages 10% over 2 km. To further increase the importance of that climb, there are bonus seconds (8-5-2) available for the first three riders over the top. 

It’s mean. It will split things up. The first yellow jersey (and all the rest of the jerseys) is on the line. 

It’s also taking place in one of cycling’s traditional heartlands, and specifically a region that has produced climbers by the bucketload. From 1994 to 2013, the sight of the distinctive orange jerseys of the team built around the Euskadi Cycling Foundation flocking to the front meant the real climbing was about to start. Names like Unai Etxeberria and Iban Mayo, and later Mikel Landa and the Izaguirre brothers, all performed their acts of antigravity while racing in that bright orange. The team is now rebuilding, currently with ProTeam status, with the goal of returning to the Tour de France.

Stage 2: Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint-Sébastien – 209 km

Date: Sunday July 2, 2023 Stage type: Hilly Potential winners:  Bauke Mollema loves the Jaizkibel climb. So do riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Matej Mohoric, and EF’s Neilson Powless. What to watch for: San Sebastian often comes down to a small group sprint and that’s the likely outcome of this stage, too. Stage 2 summary: This stage finishes 500 meters lower than it starts, but don’t let that fool you.

The decisive climb from Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa, a post-Tour one-day race in the region, is placed just 20 km from the finish of stage 2. The slopes of the Jaizkibel, 8 km long and averaging 5.1%, with a final 4 km at 7%, have decided most editions of that race.

The descent down the backside and into the finish could prove just as decisive in stage 2 of the Tour de France.

Stage 3: Amorebieta-Etxano to Bayonne – 185 km

Date: Monday July 3, 2023 Stage type: Flat Potential winners: Mark Cavendish, Fabio Jakobsen, Jasper Philipsen What to watch for: Potential echelons along the coast.  Stage summary: A couple early and relatively easy climbs shouldn’t spoil the day for sprinters, but the run-in to Bayonne isn’t exactly straightforward so a break may think it stands a small chance of pulling one over on the peloton. They’ll certainly try. Plus much of the route runs along the coast, making crosswinds and echelons a possibility. 

Still, a sprint is most likely for the stage that takes the race back to France. 

Stage 4: Dax to Nogaro – 182 km

Date: Tuesday July 4, 2023 Stage type: Flat Potential winners: Biniam Girmay, Jasper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen, Mads Pedersen, Caleb Ewan What to watch for: Auto racing circuits are always a bit chaotic, and usually harder than they look. This one is no different. Stage summary: This is the second in a pair of flat stages intended to give the peloton a small breather before the Pyrenees, very much designed for a sprint finish. It finishes on the Nogaro motor racing circuit, including an 800 meter straight into the finish line. 

That might seem to have bunch sprint written all over it, and that is a pretty safe bet. But the top sprinters, and more specifically their teams, may have a difficult time.

The last time Nogaro was used in a pro race was the 2017 Route du Sud when the stage was won by EF’s Tom Scully, who is not a pure sprinter. He was part of a 12-rider breakaway that was caught, but not passed, just as it crossed the finish line. The top sprinters on that stage were Elia Viviani and Bryan Coquard, in seventh and eighth respectively.

Motor racing tracks are full of corners that make it difficult to mount a real chase. If the sprint teams leave it too late, they could get caught out again.

Stage 5: Pau to Laruns – 165 km

Date: Wednesday July 5, 2023 Stage type: High Mountains – Pyrenees Potential winners: Pello Bilbao, Giulio Ciccone What to watch for: The fight for the break will be fierce.  Stage summary: The first true mountain day, though without a mountain-top finish. 

Stage 5 tackles the hors-categorie Col du Soudet at its halfway mark, climbing 15.1 km at 7%. It’s a climb that’s unlikely to see GC fireworks but the day’s breakaway, which could be large given the high likelihood of survival for any breakaway group, will seek to shed some of its members. 

The category 3 Col d’Ichère punctuates the second half of the stage before the final test: the category 1 Col de Marie Blanque, 9.2 km at 7.6%. That sounds hard, right? It’s even harder. The last 4.5 km average over 10%. 

The distance from the bottom of the final descent to the finish line is a bit too far for any real GC moves to stick, but expect a high pace to be set on the slopes of the Marie Blanque. It’s likely some B-level GC contenders lose contact and struggle to come back. 

Stage 6: Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque – 145 km

Date: Thursday July 6, 2023 Stage type: High Mountains – Pyrenees Potential winners: Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mattias Skjelmose, Adam Yates What to watch for:  Which GC team takes control on the Tourmalet, as that will indicate confidence Stage summary: Finally, the first big uphill finish of the 2023 Tour de France.

A short, sharp stage to end a two-day stint in the Pyrenees, this stage first tackles the Col d’Aspin, 12 km at 6.6%, then the fearsome Col du Tourmalet, 17.2 km at 7.3%. After a long descent off the Tourmalet, the race turns back to the south and climbs up to the finish in Cauterets. 

The 15 km finish climb averages only 5.3% but has a 2 km section at kilometers 13 and 14 that average about 10%. If anybody goes, it will be here. 

Stage 7: Mont-De-Marsan to Bordeaux – 170 km

Date: Friday July 7, 2023 Stage type: Flat  Potential winners: All the sprinters What to watch for: An attempt to distance the pure sprinters on the only category 4 climb Stage summary: Flat. Flat flat. Flatty flat flat. 

The goal of this stage is simple: Get out of the Pyrenees, get up to Bordeaux so we can all have a nice glass of wine and celebrate … Mark Cavendish’s record-breaking stage win ? It only seems right. 

Stage 8: Libourne to Limoges – 201 km

Date: July 8, 2023 Stage type: Mostly flat, punchy uphill finish. Potential winners: Mads Pedersen, Wout van Aert, or Fred Wright from a break What to watch for: Pure sprinters will console themselves by going for the green jersey points 80 km in.  Stage summary: The key route feature of stage 8 is the 2.8 km, 4.8% climb up to the finish line. 

Limoges is traditionally a sprint finish town. The last time the race finished here, Bryan Coquard came as close as he ever has to a Tour stage win, losing a photo finish to one Marcel Kittel. This year, the pure sprinters will have a difficult time contesting. 

First, there are the three categorized climbs (a cat 3 then two cat 4s) in the last 70 km. But that shouldn’t break things up too much. 

This is a classic peak-era Peter Sagan finish, or more recently a Wout van Aert finish. It’s the type of stage that could be incredibly important for the green jersey competition. The pure sprinters will want to try to nab a few points, even if they can’t beat Van Aert. Other more well-rounded fast men like Mads Pedersen will be licking their lips. 

Stage 9: Saint-Léonard-De-Noblat to Puy de Dôme – 184 km

Date: July 9, 2023 Stage type: Mountain Potential winners:  Much depends on the breakway, let’s say Rigoberto Uran for old time’s sake What to watch for: Superb volcano-related puns in Escape Collective headlines. Stage summary: The last 4 km of this stage average over 11%. Before that, the climb to Puy de Dôme sits at a measly 6-7%. 

This is a hard, potentially explosive stage, with one of the most difficult finishes of the entire Tour de France. Puy de Dôme is an ancient volcano and those final 4 km circle the top like some kind of real life Zwift volcano hell route (minus any actual lava). 

The climb was the home of one of the Tour’s iconic duels. Raymond Poulidor (grandfather of Mathieu van der Poel) and Jacques Anquetil battled up it on stage 20 of the 1964 Tour de France, a race that had seen the two crack, recover, swap the lead, and then finally battle shoulder to shoulder on Puy de Dôme. Poulidor won the day but it wasn’t enough to overhaul Anquetil in the overall. It was probably the closest the “eternal second” came to winning the Tour. 

The stage as a whole is not as difficult as what is coming in the Alps. A string of category 3 and 4 climbs will do little to break up the bunch. It should play out somewhat similar to last year’s Planche des Belles Filles stage, which was similarly flat in the leadup to the final climb. After a few hours of cruising, Puy de Dôme will erupt into a half-hour power test. 

July 10 – Rest day

Stage 10: Vulcania to Issoire – 167 km

Date: July 11, 2023 Stage type: Hilly for the breakaway artists. Potential winners: Toms Skujiņš What to watch for: Riders looking to chase the polka dot jersey will want to be in this break Stage summary: Rarely has a stage been so perfectly crafted for a breakaway as this one. 

The peloton will spin out its rest day legs as a breakaway group fights it out up front, racing across five categorized climbs before a mostly downhill run-in to Issoire. That front group will be full of hitters thanks to the string of early climbs that make the breakway selection particularly difficult. 

Stage 11: Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins – 180 km

Date: July 12, 2023 Stage type: Flat Potential winners: Biniam Girmay, Jasper Philipsen What to watch for: A mis-timed chase Stage summary: Clermont-Ferrand is the home of Michelin tires and that is by far the most interesting thing about this stage. 

Unless! Perhaps the peloton mistimes its chase on the undulating, semi-complicated run-in to Moulins. Breakaways have been surviving with increasing frequency in the last few seasons and this is the sort of stage where some strong rouleurs may try to pull off a coup. 

But, let’s be honest, it’ll probably be a sprint. 

Stage 12: Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais – 169 km

Date: July 13, 2023 Stage type: Hilly Potential winners: Breakaway artists who can climb. Perhaps Neilson Powless or Matej Mohorič What to watch for: The sprint points that come after two category 3 climbs will be tantalizing to any of the more-versatile sprinters. Could we see one try to jump in the breakaway, like Peter Sagan used to do? Stage summary: Deep in one of France’s iconic wine regions, this stage seems primed for another successful breakaway. The two category 3 climbs in the first 40 km will ensure that the break is strong. Of the two back-to-back category 2 climbs in the latter third of the stage, the Col de la Croix Rosier is the more difficult, averaging 7.6% over 5.3 km. Expect it to be the final launch pad for either a solo winner, or a small group that splits off the day’s main breakaway.

Stage 13: Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne to Grand Colombier – 138 km

Date: July 14, 2023 Stage type:  Mountain Potential winners: Jonas Vingegaard , Tadej Pogačar, anybody French What to watch for: It’s Bastille Day! The French riders will of course want this one. Can David Gaudu pull one over on the rest? Stage summary: Tour organizers have been keen on this sort of stage as of late. There isn’t much to separate the peloton ahead of the final test, an hors categorie slog up the 17.4 km Grand Colombier. That means tactics won’t really play a part in this stage. It’s a power test for the GC favorites.

There is a lump of a climb in the Col de la Lèbe before the Colombier, but after a short steep section early on it levels out and shouldn’t present any problems for even half-decent climbers.

The Grand Colombier itself is a monster. The length means there’s no hiding; a bad day could be catastrophic. The climb stair-steps a bit, with three distinct difficult sections. The second kilometer of the climb, 15 km from the finish, averages over 10%. Then kilometers 5-7 sit over 11%. Kilometers 10-12, with just 5 km to go, offer a final opportunity, sitting around 9.5%.

At this point, wind will play a part. The climb turns to the north for its final, flatter kilometers. If riders face a headwind, the top favorites will be less likely to go for it on that last steep section. If they have a tailwind, out of the south, we could see attacks fly with about 5 km to go.

Stage 14: Annemasse to Morzine Les Portes Du Soleil – 152 km

Date: July 15, 2023 Stage type:  Mountains Potential winners: A climber who can descend, like Giulio Ciccone or Tom Pidcock What to watch for: Aurélien Paret-Peintre is from the start town of Annemasse and is likely to try to slide into the break. Stage summary: The Joux Plane has been described as the nastiest climb in the Alps. Others have more notoriety, but few, if any, are actually harder. It was host to a famous Marco Pantani win in 1997 and, of course, the final climb in Floyd Landis’ unbelievable (and unnatural) solo, 120 km ride back into the yellow jersey in 2006. It has often flown under the radar but has a history of turning the Tour on its head.

Starting near the Swiss border before winding its way into the heart of the Alps, this latter half of the stage is nearly identical to the difficult day won by Ion Izaguirre in 2016. That stage also finished with the Col de la Ramaz and Col de Joux Plane before descending into Morzine, and we saw a large and star-studded breakaway ride clear before duking it out on the Joux Plane itself.

Behind, Chris Froome and his Team Sky train trundled along and kept their iron grip on the yellow jersey.

Could we see the same? It’s likely. The early climbs are good breakaway formation territory, and then the strongest climbers of that group will battle for the stage win. Behind, the GC men will have to be careful on Joux Plane and even more careful on the descent off its backside into the finish.

The descent is fast and dangerous, most because it’s unpredictable. The corners are often blind. What lies around the next bend? A sweeping, no-brakes flier or a nasty, decreasing radius corner? Riders will have to be on their game. Legend has it Sean Kelly once hit 124 km/h on this descent.

Stage 15: Les Gets Les Portes Du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc – 180 km

Date: July 16, 2023 Stage type:  Mountain Potential winners: GC favorites, Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard What to watch for: Small gaps could hold on this stage with few flat sections Stage summary: A fitting cap to an incredibly difficult few days in the Alps. This stage takes in five categorized climbs (though the cat 2 and HC at the end are really one climb with a very short descent between them) and has some sneaky difficult moments long before the finish.

The Col de la Forclaz Montmin, ridden from the wider but steeper north side, is 90 kilometers from the finish and looks like a potential springboard. If a last-ditch, long-range attack were needed by one of the contenders, this might be the place to do it. The front side is steep, over 10% for its latter half. Crucially, the descent is narrow, no more than one lane in places. A few seconds over the top and a bit of daredevil descending could see somebody go free.

The finale, while technically two climbs, is effectively just one. Waking tired legs up after a long descent near the end of a stage can be difficult, which means the 16% grades at the base of the Amerands could be a make-or-break moment for any GC favorite. Have a bad moment there and there isn’t much time to come back on the 7% average grade up Bettex to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc.

July 17 – Rest day

Stage 16: Passy to Combloux individual time trial – 22 km

Date: July 18, 2023 Stage type:  Individual time trial Potential winners: Wout van Aert, Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar What to watch for: Rest days do odd things to some riders. Will any favorites suffer rest-day legs? Stage summary: A category 2 climb defines this short but crucial time trial.

The Tour marks the “top” of the climb in Domancy, just 2.5 kilometers from the bottom. Those early kilometers are indeed the steepest, averaging 9.4%, but the climb doesn’t stop there. It keeps going for another 4 km. The total climb is 6.3 km at 6.6% average.

Three GC stages remain. This time trial, then two more days in the mountains. A bad day is not an option.

Stage 17: Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc to Courchevel – 166 km

Date: July 19, 2023 Stage type:  Mountain Potential winners: It seems unlikely a break will survive the GC onslaught, so one of the riders going for yellow What to watch for: If the fight for yellow is still close, the bonus seconds on top of Col de la Loze could come into play. Stage summary: Four categorized climbs and the narrow, twisty bike path up Col de la Loze define this final day in the Alps. A small descent means this isn’t technically an uphill finish, but that descent is short enough that any time gaps over the top of Col de la Loze are likely to stick until the finish line.

Stage 17 covers more than 5,000 m (16,400 ft) of climbing. The final three kilometers of the Col de la Loze are the most difficult, hovering around 10%. After that, a 6.5 km descent into Courchevel is capped by a short, incredibly steep (18%) kick up to the altiport.

Stage 18: Moûtiers to Bourg-En-Bresse – 186 km

Date: July 20, 2023 Stage type:  Flat Potential winners: Whatever sprinters are left; Mark Cavendish if he doesn’t have win 35 yet What to watch for: If the green jersey battle is still tight, this is one of the last opportunities for the pure bunch sprinters over the more versatile fast men. Stage summary: The Tour has turned toward Paris. Stage 18 is a long ride out of the Alps, finishing with what should be a bunch kick in Bourg-en-Bresse.

There is a small climb, about 3 km long, 15 km from the finish. But that shouldn’t bother the sprint teams too much.

The final 5 km of the stage run slightly downhill until the flamme rouge at 1 km to go. From there to the finish the road rises slightly.

Stage 19: Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny – 173 km

Date: July 21, 2023 Stage type:  Hilly Potential winners: Fred Wright, finally What to watch for: Can a break survive? Stage summary: Another push north, another likely sprint stage.

The only potential stumbling block is the category 3 Côte d’Ivory, roughly 25 km from the finish. The final kilometer of the finale is a slight uphill.

If Mark Cavendish doesn’t have his stage win yet, no way will Astana let this stage finish in anything but a sprint.

Stage 20: Belfort to Le Markstein Fellering – 133km

Date: July 22, 2023 Stage type:  Mountains Potential winners: Last-gasp French winner in Thibaut Pinot What to watch for: It’s a trap! Stage summary: A short, punchy stage with over 3,600 m (11,800 ft) of climbing packed into just 133 km across the Vosges mountain range.

Stage 20 doesn’t feature any hors-categorie monsters, but the pair of category 1 climbs in the finale offer up the final opportunity to take – or keep – the yellow jersey. Both climbs sit just over 8%.

The finale runs slightly downhill for the last 8 km, which could dissuade all but the most desperate from trying anything too audacious.

Le Markstein hosted the penultimate stage of last year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, where Annemiek van Vleuten took the race lead with a massive solo effort. That stage used the Petit Ballon/Platzerwasel combination earlier in the route.

The lack of flat roads on this route could lend it self to a long-range move. We can only hope.

Stage 21: Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines to Paris Champs-Élysées – 115 km

Date: July 23, 2023 Stage type:  Flat Potential winners: Any sprinter left standing What to watch for: Cavendish? Stage summary: Ahh, Paris. We have arrived. The biggest sprint in the world, some post-race champagne, and we turn our attention to Clermont Ferrand, where the Tour de France Femmes has just kicked off.

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2023 Tour de France escapecollective route preview Tour de France

Tour de France Guide

Here’s the 2023 Tour de France guide starting with the profiles of every stage with a quick summary of the day’s course.

There’s also the race rules like time bonuses, the points scale for the green and polka-dot jerseys, time cuts and more in case you need to look them up during July, just remember inrng.com/tour …or bookmark it .

Route Summary With the start in the Basque Country the race visits the Pyrenees but can’t go to deep into the mountains too soon for fear of revealing the GC contest too soon. Instead the Massif Central, the Jura, the Alps and then the Vosges all supply plenty of climbing, a record amount of top-rated climbs say the organisers and while this label is subjective, it is a certainly vertical vintage for the climbers, there’s only one short time trial and that’s hilly.

There are nods to history, the Tour will revive the old stories for the Puy de Dôme but its inclusion is all about reviving the location rather evoking black-and-white film reels. The Tourmalet is arguably the only other legendary climb en route, the Grand Colombier and Loze are tough but they’re “new” finds.

There are eight sprint stages but that’s at the most and there’s variety among them from motor racing circuits to uphill finishes.

The Jerseys

Yellow : the most famous one, the maillot jaune , it is awarded to the rider with the shortest overall time for all the stages added together, the rider who has covered the course faster than anyone else. First awarded in 1919, it is yellow because the race was organised by the newspaper L’Auto which was printed on yellow paper. Today it is sponsored by LCL, a bank.

There are time bonuses of 10-6-4 seconds for the finish of each stage except the time trials. There are also 8-5-2 seconds at the bonus sprints marked “B” in yellow on the profiles above on Stages 2,5,12,14 and 17.

Green : the points jersey, which tends to reward the sprinters. Points are awarded at the finish line and at one intermediate point in the stage and the rider with the most points wears the jersey. It is sponsored by Skoda, a car manufacturer.

• Flat stages (Stages 2,3,4,7,8,11,18,19,21) 50-30-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-7-6-5-4-3 and 2 points for the first 15 riders
• Hilly finish / Medium mountain stages (Stages 1,9,10,12,13): 30-25-22-19-17-15-13-11-9-7-6- 5-4-3-2 points
• Mountain Stages + individual TT (Stages 5,6,14,15,16,17,20) : 20-17-15-13-11- 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 points
• Intermediate sprints: 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 points

Polka dot : also known as the “King of the Mountains” jersey, points are awarded at the top of categorised climbs and mountain passes, with these graded from the easier 4th category to the hors catégorie climbs which are so hard they are off the scale. In reality these gradings are subjective. Again the rider with the most points wears the jersey. It is sponsored by Leclerc, a supermarket.

• Hors Catégorie double (Col de la Loze): 40-30-24-20-16-12-8-4 points
• Hors Catégorie (5 in total): 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-2 points
• Category 1 climbs (13): 10-8-6-4-2-1 points
• Category 2 (10): 5-3-2-1 points
• Category 3 (23): 2-1 points
• Category 4 (17): 1 point

White : for the best young rider, this is awarded on the same basis as the yellow jersey, except the rider must be born after 1 January 1998, ie aged 25 or under. It is sponsored by Krys, a retail chain of opticians

Timekeeping Three second rule : normally a one second gap on the finish line is needed to separate groups in a finish but for Stages 3,4,7,8,11,18,19 and 21, the likely sprint stages, three seconds is needed for a split in the field. The three kilometre rule doesn’t apply on Stages 6,9,13,15 and 17.

Stages are given a coefficient rating from 1-6, look up the stage’s rating in the table above. Then see the average speed for the day’s winner and look up the corresponding line below to calculate the time cut.

• Each day on a normal stage there’s €11,000 for the winner, €5,500 for second place and a decreasing scale down to a modest €300 for 20th place
• For the final overall classification in Paris, first place brings in €500,000 and the Sèvres porcelain “omnisports trophy”, awarded “in the name of the Presidency of the French Republic”. The full breakdown is €500,000 for first place, €200,000 for second place, €100,000 for third place and then €70,000, €50,000, €23,000, €11,500, €7,600, €4,500, €3,800, €3,000, €2,700, €2,500, €2,100, €2,000 €1,500, €1,300, €1,200 and €1,100 for 19th place. €1,000 for 20th-160th overall

There are other pots of money available in the race:

• €500 a day to whoever wears the yellow jersey
• €300 for the other jersey holders
• €25,000 for the final winner of the green and polka dot jerseys, €15,000 for second place, €10,000 for third place, €4,000, €3,500, €2,500, and €2,000 for eighth in the competition
• €20,000 for the final winner of the white jersey
• There’s also money for the first three in the intermediate sprint each day: €1,500, €1000 and €500
• The climbs have cash too with the first three over an hors catégorie climb earning €800, €450 and €300 and lesser sums for lesser climbs down to €200 for winning a 4th category climb
• The highest point in the race sees a prize when on Stage 17 the Henri Desgrange prize is awarded at the Col de La Loze and is worth €5,000
• the Jacques Goddet prize is also €5,000 for the first over the Tourmalet on Stage 6
• The “most combative” prize is awarded and worth €2,000 each day, the “Super combative” prize is awarded in Paris and the winner collects €20,000.
• There’s also a team prize with €2,800 awarded each day to the leading team on the overall, €50,000 for the final winners in Paris. Note the team prize is calculated by adding the time of the best three riders each day rather than the best three on GC. For example if a team has riders A, B and C make the winning break one day then their times for the stage are taken and added together. If riders X, Y and Z on the same team go up the road the next day, their times are taken. So it’s the times of a team’s best three riders each day as opposed to the best three riders overall.

The total prize pot is €2,581,029, meagre for an event of this scale but remember that unlike, say tennis or golf, pro cyclists are salaried and paid bonuses by their employers the teams. So prize money instead is a nice bonus on the side. Win a Tour stage and a rider might add a zero onto the salary, maybe more and so the race creates value rather than pays it. Crucially prize money is shared around the team (as well as levied and taxed) rather than pocketed by the winner, it’s possible the actual prize winner sees 5-10% of the headline sum . In addition, every team that starts gets paid a participation fee of €51,243 to cover expenses. And should a squad make it to Paris with six or more riders they stand to collect an additional €1,600 bonus for each rider.

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What Do The Mountain Categories Mean in The Tour de France?

Alpha ninja explains how mountains are categorized in the tour de france.

12 July, 2016 Alpha Ninja Ask Alpha Ninja

Tim: Hey Alpha Ninja! What are all the categorizations of the mountains in the Tour de France? I keep seeing numbers thrown around, but I don’t quite understand what they mean.

Hey Tim: Welcome to the world’s most confusing question. OK, not that the basic classifications are confusing, but when the asphalt of the Tour de France heads skyward, things get a little air-headed.

How Are Tour de France Climbs Classified?

Each of the mountain categories get increasingly more difficult from 4 to HC. The peeps in charge determine classifications based on gradient, distance, and max elevation:

Category 4:

The easiest climbs. Like pretty much a descent for the peloton. Usually needs to be at least 4km and 4% gradient (or a steeper gradient and shorter distance)

Category 3:

Getting a little tougher here. The pros are probably having a tough time holding the high note to “Let It Go.” As a rule, around a 6% gradient for 4km or so. Sometimes shorter distances at around 8% gradient.

Category 2:

Longer climbs that are sometimes steeper. Heavier breathing for the peloton, but they’re probably still humming whatever tune keeps their minds off the men in devil costumes (or worse) running alongside them up the climbs. Generally more than 5km at 7% gradient or longer than 10km at around 5%.

Category 1:

This one has Froome studying his handlebars pretty closely as he concentrates on the glory of things like how well yellow jerseys go with his eyes. Roughly 5-10km at 8% gradient or 15km+ at 6%.

HC or “Hors Category”:

This is a slick French term that means the climb is above categorization. These are the days that sprinters buy streamers for .  . . as decorations for their pity party. Long climbs. 15km, 20km, 30km. Steep, long, brutal. At least 15km above 8%.

Subjectivity of Tour de France Climbs

So all those numbers I listed above only kind of matter. Because there’s another word that also matters: subjectivity. For instance, if organizers feel like a climb is harder, it’ll get a higher rating. Or if a Cat 1 comes near the end of a stage, it turns into an HC. So I’m happy to have sort of answered your question as it kind of applies.

Well, that’s what I’ve got. Hope it helps, Tim. You can be cool like Tim too,  just send me whatever questions you’ve got , and get answers.

• ask alpha ninja
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I read once that the classifications were based on what gear your car need to be in to climb the hill.

I think that was an old classification used decades now. You have better cars these days, so it wouldn’t be needed now

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Tour de France 2023 Favourites stage 14: Climbers with descending skills

To arrive at the foot of the feared and revered Col de Joux Plane the riders have to conquer the Col de Saxel (4.2 kilometres at 4.6%), Col de Cou (7 kilometres at 7,4%), Col du Feu (5.8 kilometres at 7.8%), Col de Jambaz (6.8 kilometres at 3.8%), and Col de Ramaz (13.9 kilometres at 7.1%). The Joux Plane itself is a brutal test – 11.6 kilometres long and the average gradient sits at 8.5%. Which is all the more intimidating with the realisation that the second half is virtually entirely double digit material.

The summit of the de Joux Plane is not the start of the downhill finale. The riders stay at altitude for a couple of kilometres – first false flat down, then false flat up – before the descent is extremely technical and difficult. The last few hundred metres in Morzine climb at 3% to the line, which could be important in a sprint.

Attackers or GC riders? We would say the first category, but it could be the other way around just as easily.

Favourites 14th stage 2023 Tour de France

*** Thibaut Pinot, Marc Soler, Giulio Ciccone, Mattias Skjelmose ** Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Pello Bilbao, Tom Pidcock * Ion Izagirre, Julian Alaphilippe, Dylan Teuns, Matteo Jorgenson

Another interesting read: route 14th stage 2023 Tour de France.

Tour de France 2023 stage 14: profiles

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Giro d'Italia

Uci mtb nove mesto czech republic, winston-salem cycling classic, uci mtb eliminator world cup - sakarya, dwars door het hageland (exterioo cyclin, brussels cycling classic, criterium du dauphine, tour of britain (women), uci mtb leogang austria, tour de suisse, elfstedenronde (exterioo cycling cup) -, baloise belgium tour, uci mtb val di sole italy, tour of slovenie, tour de suisse women, 2023 tour de france stage 20 profile: facing the final climbs, jonas vingegaard wears the yellow jersey going into stage 20 of the 2023 tour de france as cyclists will set off to le markstein, france.

It’s almost the end of the 2023 Tour de France and with only two stages remaining the cyclists set off for Le Markstein, France in stage 20. On July 21 the cyclists face some of the most challenging climbs to appear on this year's route. 

Matej Mohorič won stage 19 of the 2023 Tour de France. Going into stage 20, Jonas Vingegaard wears his yellow jersey proudly. 

Vingegaard returned this year seeking his second-consecutive Tour de France win. As cyclist approach the final finish line on July 22, it seems the dream could turn into reality. Vingegaard's lead is more than 7-and-half-minutes ahead of the field. 

2023 Tour de France

The Tour de France is considered to be the most prestigious cycling race of the year. It’s an extremely long route that needs to be divided into 21 stages, and every stage’s terrain is extremely physically demanding. That doesn't change in stage 20. 

Subscribe to FloTrack to Keep Up With The Tour de France!

What Happened To Tadej Pogacar In The Tour de France 2023? | Chasing The Pros

Stage 20 has six consecutive climbs, ranging from an average incline of 4.6% to 7.9%. Here is everything you need to know about stage 20 of the 2023 Tour de France. 

Tour de France Stage 20 Route

Stage 20 is 133.5 kilometers, or 82.95 miles, made up of six climbs and it's sure to be full of attacks.

The first ascent appears 24 kilometers in. Ballon d'Alsace is the longest climb, so a slot start is to be expected as the cyclists need to pace themselves. 

The Petit Ballon and Col du Platzerwasel are the final two category-one climbs of the stage. The last time the Col du Platzerwasel was featured in the Tour was on stage 10 of the 2014 Tour de France. 

Tour de France Stage 20 Climbs 

This stage is full of opportunities for climbers to earn King of Mountain points. Here are the details for every climb featured in this stage. 

• Category 2, 11.8 km, 7.33 miles at 5.2%
• Category 2, 5.2 km, 3.23 miles at 7.3%
• Category 2, 3.2 km, 1.98 miles at 6.1%
• Category 3, 14.7 km, 9.13 miles at 4.6%
• Category 1, 9.6 km, 5.96 miles at 7.9%
• Category 1, 7.3 km, 4.5  at 7.9%

2023 Tour de France Results

The Tour de France is a 21-stage race that ends on July 23. There are winners for every day of the race, including colored jerseys awarded based on different classification performances. 

Here are all the results of every stage of the Tour de France so far:

• Stage 1  
• Stage 2  
• Stage 3  
• Stage 4 

How To Watch Tour de France In The USA

A live broadcast will be available on NBC and Peacock. FloBikes will provide updates, highlights, and behind-the-scenes coverage throughout the entire event.

How To Watch Tour de France In Canada 

FloBikes will provide a live broadcast for Canadian audiences.

Tour de France 2023 Schedule

The Tour de France begins July 1 and finishes July 23 at the Champs-Elyees. The complete route is divided into 21 stages featuring different types of terrain and distance. Stages 1-3 are completed. 

Here is the full Tour de France schedule .

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Tour de France: Vingegaard stuns Pogacar in dominant stage 16 win – as it happened

The Danish rider produced a blistering time trial to take a giant step towards winning the Tour for a second consecutive year

• Jeremy Whittle’s stage 16 report from Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc
• 18 Jul 2023 Vingegaard leaves rivals trailing in race of truth
• 18 Jul 2023 Jonas Vingegaard speaks ...
• 18 Jul 2023 Top five on General Classification
• 18 Jul 2023 Top five on stage five
• 18 Jul 2023 Jonas Vingegaard wins the stage!
• 18 Jul 2023 Jonas Vingegaard rolls out
• 18 Jul 2023 Tadej Pogacar rolls out
• 18 Jul 2023 Wout van Aert takes the lead!
• 18 Jul 2023 Wout van Aert rolls out
• 18 Jul 2023 Michael Morkov finishes ...
• 18 Jul 2023 Stage 16 is go!
• 18 Jul 2023 Who’s wearing what jersey?
• 18 Jul 2023 Victory for Poels as Vingegaard stays in yellow
• 18 Jul 2023 The top five on General Classification
• 18 Jul 2023 Stage 16: Passy to Combloux (22.4km ITT)

Jonas Vingegaard wins the stage!

In what was arguably the greatest performance of his life, Jonas Vingegaard wins the stage in a time of 32min 36sec. Pogacar, who caught his two-minute man Carlos Rodríguez, finishes second 1min 38sec behind.

Vingegaard leaves rivals trailing in race of truth

Stage 16 report: Jonas Vingegaard deflated the hopes of Tadej Pogacar with a devastating performance in the 22.4km race of truth from Passy to Combloux to extend his overall lead in the Tour de France from 10sec to nearly two minutes. Jeremy Whittle reports …

Jonas Vingegaard speaks ...

“I was feeling great today,” says the stage winner and race leader. “I think it’s the best time trial I have ever done. I’m really proud of what I did today and I’m really happy about the victory. Today I even surprised myself with the time trial I did. I didn’t expect to do so well.”

He’s asked if his win today means the Tour de France is over. “No,” he says. “There’s still a lot of hard stages to come so we have to keep fighting the next days and we’re looking forward to it. I’m really, really happy with the victory today and I’m really proud of it. It’s my first time trial victory in the Tour de France.”

An email: “This raises the astonishing prospect that Pogacar is not the new Eddy Merckx but the new Felice Grimondi, who was tipped to be the greatest until the Belgian emerged and utterly eclipsed him,” writes Paul Griffin.

Top five on General Classification

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 63hr 06min 53sec

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +1min 48sec

Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +8min 52sec

Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +8min 57sec

Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +11min 15sec

Sepp Kuss, Pello Bilbao, Simon Yates, David Gaudu and Felix Gall make up the top 10.

Top five on stage five

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 32min 36sec

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +1min 38sec

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) +2min 51sec

Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) +2min 55sec

Simon Yates (Jayco–AlUla) + 2min 58sec

Remi Cavagna, Adam Yates, Mattias Skjelmose, Mads Pedersen and David Gaudu make up the top 10.

Jonas Vingegaard: He takes another 10 seconds out of Pogacar, who isn’t having a bad day and is about to overtake Carlos Rodríguez, stretching the gap to 1min 32sec.

Jonas Vingegaard: The gap to Pogacar on the road goes out to 1min 22sec. If this time trial course was a just a bit longer, Vingegaard would catch and overtake Tadej Pogacar. It’s an astonishing effort from the Dane.

Jonas Vingegaard: At the third time check, the reigning champion has a lead of 1min 05sec over Pogacar. That is massive!!! He has three kilometres left to travel.

Tadej Pogacar: The live time on the road puts Jonas Vingegaard 51 seconds ahead of the Slovenian. He hasn’t changed his bike, in case you’re wondering. Pello Bilbao puts in a fine ride to keep his seventh place on GC ahead of Simon Yates. Gaudu is in ninth on GC, ahead of Guillaume Martin.

Jonas Vingegaard: The race leader hits the second time check with an official lead of 31 seconds over Pogacar. They’re both on the brutal climb to the finish.

Jonas Vingegaard: The maillot jaune has a lead of 30 seconds over Pogacar. David Gaudu comes home in fifth place on the day, two minutes ahead of his GC rival Guillaume Martin.

Tadej Pogacar: He hits the second time-check with 6.3km to go at 19min 36sec. Will he change his bike? Yes! He dismounts, throws his leg over the bar of his road bike and gets a push-off from his mechanic.

Vingegaard v Pogacar: Vingegaard has set off like a rocket and opened an unofficial gap of 36 seconds on his rival for top spot on GC.

Tadej Pogacar: He passes under the 10 kilometre banner, approaching the climb, 30 seconds down on Vingegaard. Further up the course, Simon Yates is three seconds quicker than Wout van Aert at the final time check.

The Yates twins: Adam was 47 seconds slower than Vingegaard at the first time check, but just three slower than his sibling.

Jonas Vingegaard: He hits the first time check at 7.1km, a full 16 seconds quicker than Pogacar. He’s flying!

Tadej Pogacar: The Slovenian hits the first time check 25 seconds quicker than Stefan Kung, who was previously quickest at that point.

Vingegaard: “Today you show the world who is strongest,” says a voice from the team car in the Dane’s earpiece.

Eurosport: Those on comms for the network suspect the graphic that put Vingegaard 20 seconds ahead of Van Aert after just five minutes of racing must be incorrect. I’m not so sure.

Jonas Vingegaard: After five minutes of racing, Jonas Vingegaard has taken 20 seconds out of Wout van Aert’s time at the same point. Crikey!

The Yates twins: “You haven’t mentioned the Yates twins yet,” writes June. “How did they do?”

They’re out on the road as I type, June. Simon has nine kilometres to go and is two seconds off the pace set by Van Aert.

Jonas Vingegaard rolls out

Stitched into a yellow skinsuit that looks painted on, the race leader and defending champion is last man out of the starter’s hut, taking care to avoid the slippery section on the first corner that did for a few riders earlier this afternoon.

Tadej Pogacar rolls out

In second place on GC, just 10 seconds behind Jonas Vingegaard, the two-times Tour winner from Slovenia rolls down the ramp.

Wout van Aert takes the lead!

The Belgian knocks 15 seconds off Remi Cavagna’s time, coming home in 35min 27sec. The Frenchman waves to the camera and vacates his hotseat. Au revoir, Remi. Chapeau.

Jai Hindley sets off: In fifth place on GC, the Australian pedals his way out of the hut. David Gaudu, on whom I foolishly stuck £5 to win this year’s Tour, is further up the road. I could have bought a pint with that money. Or just thrown it in the bin.

An email: “Wout did NOT change bikes, and he knows a thing or three about bikes and time trials,” writes Jeremy Boyce.

Wout van Aert: Heavy is the head that wears the crown and Remi Cavagny is looking a little weighed down on the leader’s throne. It looks like Wout van Aert is about to take the lead, one the Frenchman probably expected to lose some time ago. Sepp Kuss sets off from the starter’s hut.

Guillaume Martin: Tenth on General Classification, the Cofidis rider sets off. We’re at the business end of this time trial now.

Wout van Aert The Beglian was fourth fastest at the bottom of the climb to the finish and is seven seconds slower than Cavagna, whose minutes in the leader’s throne look like they could be numbered.

Julian Alaphilippe: Smiling under the visor of his aerodynamic helmet and waving to the crowd, the French legend crosses the finish line 1min 43sec down.

Ciccone does it! He is 40 seconds quicker than Neilson Powless on the climb and guarantees himself the polka-dot jersey for another day at least. There’s plenty more climbing to be done, however, tomorrow’s stage has two category one climbs, a category two and a HC. Saturday’s stage into Le Markstein Fellering has several brutish ascents too.

Giulio Ciccone: In the polka-dot jersey, the Italian is well on his way up the final climb, having swapped his TT bike for his climbing conveyance. He needs to hit the climb at 30min 29sec to beat Neilson Powless to take maximum points, although some of the GC lads could hoover them up later.

• Tour de France 2023
• Tour de France

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The most epic and legendary climbs of the Tour de France.

Climb list: legendary climbs of the tour de france (sort by distance, difficulty, elevation and more), statistics: view tutorial, total climbs: 116, top 100 world: 1, avg. fiets (top 5) : 12.8, sort by attribute:, zoom/pan map to discover additional climbs., pjamm trips adventure starter bundles, member comments.

TOP 10 MOST FREQUENT CLIMBS OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE

10 FAMOUS TOUR DE FRANCE CLIMBS

See bottom of this page for list of all climbs included on this Legendary TdF Page.

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HISTORICAL TOUR DE FRANCE FACTS OF INTEREST

• Climb Most Often Featured in the Tour: Tourmalet - 84 times as of 2021

From Campan:  16.9 km gaining 1267m at 7.5% average grade.

From Luz Saint Sauveur:  18.7 km gaining 1319m at 7.1%.

• Highest Point Ever Reached in the Tour de France: Cime de la Bonette

Cime de la Bonette is 2,802 meters.

Stage 18 1962 (passed again in 1964, 1993 and 2008).

Top 5 high points of the Tour de France

Also see Top 10 Highest Points of the TdF

• Highest point of first TdF (1903):   Col de la République (1,161m).
• First Mountain Stage and climbs in the Tour de France:
• Stage 10 July 21, 1910 - Luchon to Bayonne
• 326 kilometers
• Circle of Death:  Col de Peyresourde, Col d’Aspin, Col du Tourmalet and Col d’Aubisque
• On arriving at the top of Col d’Aubisque Octave Lapize (TdF 1910 winner) yelled to tour organizers what is variously reported as “murderers,” “assasins,” or “criminals.”  He also said he would quit the tour after descending to Laruns, but he rallied to complete the stage and go on to win the 1910 Tour de France.

Circle of Death

Tourmalet was the highest point the tour had ever reached as of 1910 (2115m)

Previous high point had been Col de Porte (1326m).

•  First mountain-top stage finish :  Alpe d’Huez (Dutch Mountain / The Alpe) was the first mountain-top finish in the history of the Tour de France in 1952, Stage 10.  
• Most TdF Wins:
• 5 Jacques Anquetil  (1957, 1961-1964)
• 5 Eddy Merckx  (1969-1972, 1974)
• Merckx has the most Grand Tour wins of anyone (11 - 5 TdF, 5 Giro, 1 Vuelta)
• 5 Bernard Hinault   (1978-1979, 1981-1982, 1985)
• Has the second most Grand Tour wins (10 - 5 TdF, 3 Giro, 2 Vuelta)
• 5 Miguel Indurain  (1991-1995)
• 4 Chris Froome :  (2013, 2015-2017)
• Most Days Wearing the Yellow Jersey:  
• 111 (Eddy Merckx)
• 79 (Bernard Hinault)
• 60 (Miguel Indurain)
• Most Stage Wins:  
• 34 (Eddy Merckx)
• 30 ( Mark Cavendish )
• 28 (Bernard Hinault)
• Most Stage Wins in a Single Tour:  
• 8 ( Charles Pélissier , 1930)
• 8 ( Merckx 1970, 1971)
• 8 (Freddy Maertens 1975)
• Most Times Atop the Podium   (top three TdF finish):  
• Raymond Poulidor  (8)
• Country Wearing the Yellow Jersey Most:  
• France (709)
• Belgium (434)

Frenchmen have been in the maillot jaune far more than any other country.  

• Winning TdF in First Appearance:
• 11 between 1903 - 1983 but none since Laurent Fignon  (1983), until 2020 and Tadej Pogačar  
• Youngest Winner of the Tour:  
• Henri Cornet (France, age 19) 1904
• Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia, age 21) 2020
• Oldest TdF Winner:
• Firmin Lambot  (Belgium, age 36) 1922
• Most TdF Appearances:
• 18 Sylvain Chavenel (2001-2018 age 42; top finish 19 2009)
• King of the Mountains :  Mountain Classification victories (first recognized in 1933; jersey introduced 1975)

“Symbol of the mountains, of a rider pushing beyond their limits and of courage, the red polka dot jersey, which is sponsored by Carrefour, is awarded to the Tour de France’s leader of the best climber classification. Although this classification was introduced in 1933, its symbol, the polka dot jersey, appeared in 1975, which was also the year the Tour first finished on the Champs-Élysées and was won by Bernard Thévenet. It owes its appearance to track racing specialist Henri Lemoine, who competed between the 1930s and 1950s, and that Félix Lévitan, co-director of the Tour with Jacques Goddetwhich, had particularly noticed. While Belgium’s Lucien Van Impe was its first winner and claimed the mountains classification six times, just like his illustrious predecessor, Spain’s Federico Bahamontes, the so-called “Eagle of Toledo”, Frenchman Richard Virenque holds the record for victories with seven titles” ( Tour de France: Polka Dot Jersey ).  

• Richard Virenque : 7 - 1994-1997, 1999, 2003, 2004 (best tour finish #2 1997)
• Frederico Bahamontes  (six: 1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964; nine in Grand Tours)  
• Triples (none ever in the same year):   Frederico Bahamontes  and Louis Herrera .
• Doubles same year (TdF+Giro):   Fausto Coppi , Charly Gaul , Lucien Van Impe , Claudio Chaippucci

King of the Mountains is designated by the red polka dot jersey.

• Most Green Jerseys  (total points):
•  7 ( Peter Sagan )
• Most White Jerseys  (best young rider):
• 3 - Jan Ullrich  (1996-1998),
• 3 Andy Schleck  (2008-2010)
• Least Finishers:  
• Shortest Margin of Victory:  
• 8 seconds - Greg Lemond  over Laurent Fignon in 1989 (Lemond overcame 50 seconds in the final time trial using aero bars for the first time in the TdF).
• Greatest Margin of Victory:
• 2h49’21” in 1903 between Maurice Garin and Lucien Pothier .
• Country With Most Wins:
• France (36)
• Belgium (18)
• Britain (6)
• Luxembourg (5)

THE 5 MOST LEGENDARY CLIMBS OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE

#1:   ALPE D’HUEZ

Alpe d’Huez Elevation Profile .

77.5% of the entire climb is at 5-10% average grade.

Steepest kilometer is 10.7%.

Alpe d’Huez is the most famous bike climb in the world and has been included in the Tour de France 30 times between 1952 and the 2022 TdF.

Ride 14 km gaining 1081m at 7.7% to 1801m

Photo clockwise from top left:

Start; Turn 21 (first turn); Turn 1 (last turn); finish; Turn 1 (center).

21 most famous hairpins in the world - 11.4 km at 8.4%.

Turn seven is the most famous of the Alpe d’Huez hairpins: Dutch Corner.

Dutch Corner is where cycling fans from the Netherlands congregate on the day the Tour de France comes to Alpe d’Huez for its inevitable exciting mountain top finish.  On this day and at this hairpin, the air is filled with loud European music, the smell of barbeque, and sounds of some of the greatest cycling fans in the world.  The tradition originates with Joop Zoetemeik who in 1976 became the first Dutchman to win the Alpe d’Huez stage.  Thereafter, Dutch riders won the next seven of twelve Alpe d’Huez finishes, but have not done so since Gert-Jan Theunisse in 1989 (Joop Zoetemelk 1976, 1979; Hennie Kuiper 1977, 1978; Peter Winnen 1981, 1983; Steven Rooks 1988 and Gert-Jan Theunisse 1989).

Bernard Hinault sealed his 5th Tour victory on Alpe d’Huez 1985

Photo: Bloomsburysports.com

Alpe d’Huez has become “the summit of the modern era,” and no other stage of the Tour de France has such presence.  With its 21 bends, steep ramps, and massive crowds, it has become the “Hollywood climb,” according to the ride’s official historian, Jacques Augendre.  Each year that this climb is included in the TdF, thousands of spectators flock to the area.  The massive crowds create what some participants in the ride have described as a feeling of both fear and exhilaration, and as French journalist Philippe Brunel described the look of the road during Marco Pantani’s victorious ascent in the 1995 race, “that thin ribbon of burning asphalt, covered in graffiti, between two deafening walls of spectators, which threaded between his wheels.” Alpe d’Huez has been included in the Tour de France 29 times between its first appearance in 1952 (including two appearances in 1979 and 2013).  Each of the 21 hairpins of this climb has been named after one or more of the winners of the 29 Tour de France stages to finish here.  Of note, the first stage up this exceptional climb was fittingly won by the incomparable climber Fausto Coppi .  Only three cyclists have won the Alpe d’Huez stage more than once: Marco Pantani  (1995, 1997), Gianni Bugno  (1990, 1991), and Hennie Kuiper  (1977, 1978).  

Fausto Coppi became the first stage winner of Alpe d’Huez - stage 10 1952 TdF.

YouTube video of Coppi win  

Photo: dw.com  - 10 most memorable moments on Alpe d’Huez

Likely the most famous and widely remembered and retold stories of Alpe d’Huez is from 1985 when, after two weeks battling each other, it appeared that Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault had reached a truce and that Hinault would achieve the glory of his fifth TdF without further challenge by Lemond. As the two rode up Alpe d’Huez, the Frenchman led and Lemond followed directly on his wheel.  The two passed through throngs of ecstatic French fans and the path grew more narrow as the two neared the climb finish.  In the end, the two embraced and Hinault moved slightly ahead of Lemond for his 26th Stage win, at the time placing him second all-time behind Eddy Merckx (34).  Hinault went on to win two more stages in his glorious career and is now third with 28 wins, behind Merckx and Mark Cavendish (30).

The exceptional Italian climber, Marco Pantani, holds three of the five fastest times up Alpe d’Huez, the fastest time is 37’35”.  

Marco Pantani near the finish on Alpe d’Huez

photo:   Hein Ciere

Alpe d’Huez was the stage for one of the most famous (infamous?) cycling moments of all time.  Alpe d’Huez was the final  climb of three on Stage 10 July 17, 2001 (Col dd Madeleine, Col du Glandon, Alpe d’Huez).  Lance Armstrong had dropped from 5:56 back after stage 7 to 35:43 back after a disastrous stage 8 which saw a freak breakaway won by Erik Dekker (s.t. Alto Gonzalez and Servais Knaven). Armstrong was 20:07 back after Stage 9 and his main rival that year, Jan Ullrich, was at 22:41 going into Stage 10.

Armstrong appeared weak on Col de Madeleine which led Uhllrich and his Team Telekom begin an insane sprint up Col du Glandon, leaving Armstrong barely(?) hanging on to the rear of this lead group.  However, just a couple kilometers up Alpe d’Huez and with 11 kilometers remaining, Armstrong surged to the front of the group, passed Uhlrich and then, in a moment of Tour lore, looked back (“ The Look ”) at Uhlrich, fixed his gaze on him momentarily, then put the hammer down and sprinted away (uphill) to victory and his 3rd Tour de France victory of 7. [1]  

The Look, Alpe d’Huez Stage 10: 2001 Tour de France

Photo from J Barber and F Ruggeri as published in Masculine Heart  

#2: COL DU TOURMALET

From Luz Saint-Sauveur - 18.7 km gaining 1319m at 7.1% average grade.

Col du Tourmalet from Luz Saint-Sauveur

PJAMM Gradient Profile  

With Alpe d’Huez, Col du Tourmalet is a TdF and world legend.  This is the highest pass in the Pyrenees and has been included in the Tour de France a record 84 times between its first appearance in 1910 and 2021. From 1919 to 1939, Tourmalet was included in the TdF every year except 1922, and then only because the tour rerouted due to heavy snow.

2019 featured comments on the official website for the Tour de France:

“It’ll be the third time that a finish is set at the top of the Pyrenean mountain after 1974 (victory of Jean-Pierre Danguillaume) and 2010 (victory of Andy Schleck). The Tourmalet is also to date the mountain that has been climbed the most in the history of the Tour: 82 times” ( Tour de France 2019 ).

Although no other climb has appeared more times in the Tour, Tourmalet has only been the finish three times.

Jean-Pierre Danguillaume won the first stage to finish on Col du Tourmalet (1974).

Photo:   deskgram.net

Tourmalet has a rich TdF history that began with its very first appearance in The Tour.  The legendary TdF organizer, Henri Desgrance had decided to include Tourmalet in the 1910 tour in what became known as the Circle of Death (Col de Peyresourde, Col d’Aspin, Col du Tourmalet and Col d’Aubisque). The first rider over Col du Tourmalet on July 21, 1910 was eventual 1910 tour winner Frenchman Octave Lapize.  Lapize was overtaken on the next climb (Col d’Aubisque).  At this time Lapize unleashed on tour organizers as he reached the pass - this is not disputed -- what he said, however, is variously reported as either some or all of the following:  “murderers,” “assassins,” and/or “criminals.”  Sadly, Lapize was to die seven years later from injuries sustained when his fighter plane was shot down during WWI.  

Octave Lapize -- the first rider (hiker?) over Tourmalet, 1910.

Photo:   Cycling Passion, Octave Lapize walks over the Col du Tourmalet

The tour was not held from 1940-46 due to WWII.  When The Grand Tour reappeared in 1947, so to did Tourmalet. From 1947 to 1955 Tourmalet was featured in the TdF.  It wasn’t until 1956 that Tourmalet was left off the Tour’s agenda without excuse; from 1919 to 1957 Tourmalet was included in the Tour every year that it occurred.

One of the most famous stories of Col du Tourmalet and the Tour de France is from 1913.  Descending Tourmalet towards Campan, French cyclist Eugène Christophe crashed and broke his front fork.  Showing the resilience and spirit of those times (and, lacking any support staff), Christophe walked down the east side of Tourmalet to Campan where he found a forge and amazingly repaired his bike sufficient to ride to the stage finish in Bagnères-de-Luchon.  To add insult to injury, on top of already having lost three hours due to the crash, the race organizers penalized him for the “assistance” he was given by a seven year old boy who had pumped the bellows for him while he repaired his bike a blacksmith’s shop in Campan.

Eugène Christophe repairing his bike in Campan, 1913 (Image from Jean Durry ).

YouTube summary  of Christophe’s 1913 bad luck.

In 1919, Eugène Christophe became the first man to wear the yellow jersey.  

In 2010 Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck battled up the Col du Tourmalet from Luz-Saint-Sauveur for a mountain top finish (the second straight day Tourmalet was featured in the tour and only its second mountain top finish ever).  With ten kilometers to go, Schleck and Contador broke from the group and were alone on a fog shrouded ascent to the Col du Tourmalet.  With two kilometers to go, the two raced up the mountain side by side in heavy fog and light rain, having tried to break each other multiple times over the past eight kilometers.  Schleck led the entire final kilometer and there was no sprint at the finish, Contador conceding the stage to Schleck, but keeping the yellow jersey, both riders finishing with the same 5:03:29.

Andy Schleck edged Alberto Contador TdF 2010 stage 17.

Photo by filip bossuyt .

YouTube segment  of Schleck and Contador on Tourmalet.

WHAT’S ON TOP?

  “Géant au Col du Tourmalet”  -- Paying homage to the “Giants” of the road.  

Velopeloton.com  writes of the Géant:

“Géant au Col du Tourmalet is an iron sculpture first erected in 2000. It was created by the artist Jean-Bernard Métais, as part of the Tour de France sculpture on the A64 autoroute between Tarbes and Pau. This sculpture features 8 cyclists, Le Géant is the 9th person of the work. Le Géant is installed at the summit on the first Saturday of June each summer. It is a great occasion known as “Montée du Géant” – “Rise of the Giant” and attracts approx 1000 cyclists, who ride up the mountain with Le Géant. Le Géant travels on the back of a truck, accompanied by a brass band. There is a celebrity cyclist each year, with Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain among those who have honoured the Giant with their effort. Le Geant is removed at the beginning of October each year for safekeeping from the harsh winter. It is mostly on display in Bagneres de Bigorre, but has spent a couple of winters in Tarbes.”

Géant au Col du Tourmale

Photo:   Velopeloton.com

#3: MONT VENTOUX

After Alpe d’Huez, Mont Ventoux is the second most famous of TdF legendary climbs.

Featured 17 times between 1951-2021 (10 summit finishes).

Mont Ventoux Elevation Profile

46% (9.8 km) of the climb is at 5-10% and 21% (4.5 km) at 10-15%.

From Bedoin, the traditional route, ride 21.2 km gaining 1593m to 1909m.

This is the third hardest bike climbs in France and a top world 150.

One of the features of cycling Mont Ventoux that separates it from many of the other exceptional climbs of Europe is that its unique radio tower at the top is visible throughout the climb.  At times it seems this tower just refuses to grow any bigger no matter how fast we pedal!   SportActive.net  explains that this distinctive red and white building, resembling a lighthouse, was built in 1968 and is used as a meteorological station as well as to broadcast television signals.  

MONT VENTOUX HAS TAKEN ITS TOLL ON TdF RIDERS LIKE NO OTHER

This climb first appeared in the Tour de France in 1951 when the race crossed, but did not finish, on its summit.  The first serious blow the mountain inflicted on riders was in 1955 when Swiss rider Ferdi Küble   (winner 1950 TdF) attacked 10 km from the summit and paid for it dearly. Ignoring the searing heat and steep grade, Kübler raced up the mountain only to seize up and have to dismount his bike well before the summit.  He eventually made it over the top, but had lost his lead and was a demoralizing 20 minutes behind the leaders. On the descent, Kübler crashed three times but ultimately made it to Avignon where he was observed entering a bar close to the stage finish and pounding down beer after beer.  After replenishing in the bar, Kübler mounted his bike and headed out in the opposite direction from the finish. That evening, Kübler called a press conference and retired on the spot - Ventoux had vanquished him ( Fotheringham, William,  put me back on my Bike, in Search of Tom Simpson , Yellow Jersey Press, 2007, p. 199).

Ferdi Kübler on Mont Ventoux 1955

Photo: Cycling Passion, Ferdi Kübler climbing Mont Ventoux, Tour de France 1955

Another great rider had been crushed by Venoux on on the 1955 stage - Frenchman Jean Malléjac  (second in 1953 and ninth overall on this day) keeled over on Ventoux, semi comatose and turning one pedal as he lay on the ground - he was never to race again.  Half a dozen other riders collapsed in the Ventoux furnace that day (Fotheringham, p. 199-200).

Jean Malléjac on Ventoux 1955;

Photo Rouleur, Tour de France 21 Stories: Vicious Venoux

And then there was 1967 and one of the greatest tragedies to occur during the Grand Tour. On July 13, 1967, during the tenth stage of the Tour de France, Tom Simpson, known as the charming “Mister Tom” and leader of the British team, had become ill (later his illness was traced to the substances of the day) but he pressed on, ultimately weaving desperately and collapsing on Ventoux.  The team mechanic, Harry Hall, pressed Simpson to stop, but he insisted on continuing, famously stating, “Me straps, Harry, me straps!" and his manager Alec Taylor acquiesced (Fotheringham, 2007, pp. 34-35).  He did not utter the more famous phrase, “put me back on my bike” - those were invented by an overzealous journalist.  Sadly, Mister Tom’s final turns of the pedal were over the next 500 meters and he soon collapsed and could not be resuscitated by Tour doctor Pierre Dumas, the same physician who had tended to Jean Malléjac on Mont Ventoux 12 years earlier.

Tom Simpson, Mont Ventoux, July 13, 1967

Photo:   Sport Vintage

There is a memorial honoring the great British rider Tom Simpson  0.7 miles from the summit of Mont Ventoux -- this is the location where he perished at age 29 during the thirteenth stage of the 1967 Tour de France.

Tom Simpson Memorial

First erected 1969 and re-erected 2014

The Tour de France included Mont Ventoux in 16 stages between 1951 and 2016, and it has been the finish on 10 of those, most recently in 2016 (as of 2020). “Mont Ventoux has become legendary as the scene of one of the most grueling climbs in the Tour de France bicycle race, which has ascended the mountain fifteen times since 1951. The followed trail mostly passes through Bédoin. Its fame as a scene of great Tour dramas has made it a magnet for cyclists around the world”  ( Wikipedia ).

Charly Gaul Stage 18 1958

Photo: Cycling Passion - Charly Gaul on Mont Ventoux Tour de France 1958  

The “Angel of the Mountains,” diminutive Charly Gaul  raced up crushed the Stage 18 Mont Ventoux time trial in 1958, sealing his only Tour de France victory.  His record time of 1:02:09 over poor roads and in the hot sun stood for 31 years until taken by American Jonathan Vaughters of the US Postal team.  The current record is 55:51 set in 2004 by Spain's Iban Mayo

#4: COL DU GALIBIER

Col du Galibier

From Valloire:  Ride 17.4 km gaining 1199m at 6.9% average grade.

From Col du Lautaret:  8.6 km gaining 569m at 6.7%.

PJAMM Cycling’s Col du Galibier from Valloire Gradient Profile

72% (12.5 km) of the climb is at 5-10%.

Col du Galibier was the highest point ever reached by the Tour when featured in 1911 (2556m)

The Tour did not go higher until Col de l'Iseran in 1939 (2770m).

Finish and Tour markings at the Col du Galibier

Bartali handing Coppi a water bottle on the Galibier in the 1952 TdF,

Or Coppi sending it back to Bartali -- the debate rages . . .  

Photo:   iconicphotos.com

Included in the Tour 63 times from 1911 through 2022  Galibier was passed as the highest point in the Tour each year from 1911-1914 (suspended 1915-1918 WWI) and 1919-1937.  In all Col du Galibier has been the highest point in any individual TdF significantly more times than any other climb (50;  Col de L’Iseran is second with 8).

Haute Route quotes Henri Desgrange in his praise of this climb:

The Galibier became a legend at the very first time it was used by the Tour de France, in 1911. This is how Henri Desgrange, creator of the Tour de France, introduced it to his readers: “Oh! Sappey! Oh! Laffrey! Oh! Col Bayard! Oh! Tourmalet! I will not fail in my duty in proclaiming that next to the Galibier you are as weak as dishwater: before this giant there’s nothing one can do but doff one’s hat and bow down low” (translation by Marvin Faure) ( Hauteroute.org - Col du Galibier ).

When first crossed in 1911 by the Tour de France, no tour rider had ever ridden higher.  Although the Galibier route until 1976 tools the tunnel at 2,556 meters.  From 1976, the Tour has gone over the pass at the top which is 2,642 meters.

Andy Schleck, Stage 18 of the 2011 Tour de France.

Col du Galibier -- highest mountain top finish ever.

Photo: roadbikereview.com

As with many of the challenging and beautiful climbs of France, Galibier is fabulously famous because it has been justifiably blessed by the Tour de France on many occasions (35 times since its first post WWII appearance in 1947, which was the first TdF since 1940).  Most recently (as of 2020) Galibier was featured in The Tour in 2019 ( Nairo Quintana  won the stage from Embrun to Valloire).  In 2017 debutante Primoz Roglic  became the first Slovenian to win a TdF stage when he came out on top in Stage 17 from La Mure to Serre-Chevalier.

Primoz Roglic, Stage 17 Tour de France.

First Slovenian to win a TdF stage.

Photo:   Cyclingtips.com

Of Galibier and the Tour de France, Wikipedia  writes:

The Col du Galibier was first used in the Tour de France in 1911; the first rider over the summit was Emile Georget, who, with Paul Duboc and Gustave Garrigou were the only riders not to walk.

Emile Georget, Col du Galibier, 1911

Photo: Emile Georget  

The original summit was at 2556 m; while the tunnel was closed from 1976 until 2002, the tour route went only over the pass closer to the mountain peak at 2645 m. In 2011, the Tour de France went through the tunnel for the first time during the 19th stage from Modane Valfréjus to L'Alpe d'Huez. At the south portal of the tunnel, at the edge of the road, there is a monument to Henri Desgrange, instigator and first director of the Tour de France. The memorial was inaugurated when the tour passed on 19 July 1949. Whenever the tour crosses the Col du Galibier, a wreath is laid on the memorial. The "Souvenir Henri Desgrange" is awarded to the first rider across the summit of the highest mountain in each year's tour. In 2006, the prize of 5,000 euros was claimed on the Col du Galibier by Michael Rasmussen.

Since 1947, the Col de Galibier has been crossed 31 times by the Tour de France. It was scheduled to be used in 1996, but was left out at the last minute due to bad weather. As a result of snow on both the Col de l'Iseran and the Col du Galibier, the scheduled 190 km stage from Val-d'Isère to Sestriere in Italy was reduced to a 46 km sprint from Le-Monetier-les-Bains which was claimed by Bjarne Riis, resulting in him taking the yellow jersey which he retained to the finish in Paris. In the 2008 Tour, the Col du Galibier had been crossed on 23 July in the 210 km stage 17 from Embrun to Alpe d'Huez. The 2011 Tour climbed the Col du Galibier twice to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first appearance of the pass in the Tour de France, including the first ever summit finish, won by Andy Schleck after a 60 km solo breakaway. This was the highest ever stage finish in the Tour de France. It was scheduled to be used again in stage 20 of the 2015 Tour, but was left out nine days before the race start due to landslides in the Chambon Tunnel, situated towards the bottom of the descent of the climb.”

The Telegraphe, and Galibier, are the scene of the greatest racing day in the life of Marco Pantani .  It was here and in this Stage 15 of the 1998 TdF that Pantini attacked on the Galibier and ultimately turned a three minute deficit into an 11 minute lead against Jan Ullrich.  Pantini went on to win the Tour de France that year.  

Pantani attacks 4.2 km from Galibier summit.

Photo:   Cycling-passion.com

#5: COL D'AUBISQUE

CLIMB 1 (CAT __) - COL D'AUBISQUE  

PJAMM CYCLING INTERACTIVE PROFILE TOOL

16.7 km, 1193m at 7.1%

The incomparable Col d’Aubisque - included in the first ever mountain stage of the Tour de France in 1910 - Stage 10’s four mountain climbs over the 326 kilometer course (Col de Peyresourde, Col d’Aspin, Col du Tourmalet and, finally Col d’Aubisque) were coined The Circle of Death.  It was also on the Aubisque that eventual 1910 TdF winner Octave Lapize uttered his famous comments to tour organizers - variously reported at “murderers,” “assassins,” or “criminals.”

Col d’Aubisque (and Col d’Aspin)  has appeared in the Tour de France 73 times between 1910 and 2022, more than any other climb other than Col du Tourmalet with 88 appearances.

Stage 10 TdF 1911 [2]

Photo:   bikeraceinfo.com  (an exceptional resource for all Grand Tours).

We rode this route in 2011 and 2018 . . . guess what . . . still the same. 👍

Same cliff, same mountain, same tunnel (as pictured above) over 100 years later.

Aubisque is our choice for Top TdF Nostalgic Climb.

The descent from Eaux Bonnes (western approach) towards Col du Soulor was and is a dangerous route - it’s a narrow road with sheer cliffs. On Stage 13, July 17, 1951, this hazardous stretch of road was the scene of one of the most horrific and famous crashes in Tour history.  The unlikely leader on this day was the pleasant and good natured Dutchman Wim van Est .  This Tour included pure and true cycling legends Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, and Louison Bobet, and, while an accomplished pursuit racer, van Est was never expected to compete for the overall classification in the greatest of the Grand Tours.  Nonetheless,  on July 26, during Stage 12, van Est, who started the day over nine minutes behind leader Roger Levêque, broke away and won the stage, finding himself in the yellow jersey by :02:29.

A deadly road.

However, winning the flat Stage 12 by using his specialty sprint to gain time on the peloton is one thing, but a sprinter holding a slim lead over the Aubisque would be quite another.  And so it was that Van Est had lost his lead as he summited the mighty Aubisque and set about to regain some of what he had lost.  However, the narrow and windy road descending from Col d’Aubisque towards Col du Soulor is a poor choice for downhill heroics.  And so it was that fell and tumbled 70 meters down and nearly sheer mountainside. It was not just the fall that remains in our memories from this day, but the way Van Est was extricated from his predicament and that he was still alive and  able to climb up the mountain back to the road under his own power.

Photo:   Edwin Seldenthus as published in velopeloton.com .

Here is  amazing YouTube footage  of the rescue of Wim van Est.  He was helped up the mountainside by a chain of tires strung together by spectators and his support team.  Still alive and unbelievably without major injury, Van Est insisted on continuing the race, but was convinced by wiser authority to go to the hospital.

Making lemonade out of lemons (or money out of near death?) -- when he flew off the Aubisque cliff, Van Est fortuitously (in hindsight anyway) was wearing a team issued Pontiac wrist watch which became the launching point for Van Est focused advertising campaign with this slogan: “Seventy meters deep I dropped, my heart stood still but my Pontiac never stopped.”

All the greats have raced on the Aubisque

Louison Bobet, Stage 11 1954 TdF (champion 1953-1955)

 Photo:   bikeraceinfo.com

Full list of every climb ever included in the Tour de France

[1]  We all know, but it is necessary to mention here, that Lance Armstrong’s seven tour victories were all stripped due to the use of PEDs.

[2]  Note:  The cliff and tunnel approach to Col d’Aubisque is from the Argeles Gazost/Arrens side, not Laruns.

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The Strava Kings and Queens of Cycling’s Iconic Mountain Climbs

A look into the pro and amateur cyclists topping the leaderboards of the Col du Tourmalet, Passo dello Stelvio, and other legendary climbs of this year’s Grand Tours.

Yes, the Classics and Monuments provide thrilling, fast-paced action, but by this point in the spring, we’re craving long climbs to summit finishes. Who can forget the epic battle up the Col du Tourmalet between Kasia Niewiadoma, Demi Vollering, and Annemieke van Vleuten on 2023’s Tour de France Femmes ?

This is why we wanted to dive into the data to see who the current Strava Queen and King of the Mountain (QOMs and KOMs) owners are for some of the biggest climbs on this year’s routes—and the results may surprise you!

Shockingly, not every climb is claimed by a rider like Tadej Pogačar , Mathieu van der Poel , or Demi Vollering . This is because, often in races, the peloton approaches climbs with caution and tired legs from already having put in many miles, often several days’ worth, before these challenging climbs. That’s why quite a few KOMs and QOMs have been snatched during training rides when riders are able to focus their efforts entirely on a single climb rather than thinking about the finish line.

Tour de France: Col du Tourmalet

KOM: Thibaut Pinot QOM: Illi Gardner

Featured on Stage 14 of this year’s Tour, the Col du Tourmalet climb is a classic for a reason: At 11.70 miles long, it climbs 4,350 feet with an average seven percent grade. The Hors Categorie or “beyond categorization” ascent is one of the most challenging, with riders facing 17.1 km with an average gradient of 7.3 percent. The second half of the ascent is the toughest, with several kilometers of pitches hovering between 9 and 10 percent.

On Strava, over 75,000 rides have been logged on the iconic climb. It’s no surprise that the KOM holder is Thibault Pinot, the recently retired pro who rode for FDJ for over a decade. But the women’s record holder may shock you: It’s not Vollering, it’s Illi Gardner, a 24-year-old Brit who specializes in climbing. She secured the QOM last summer in June.

Tour de France Femmes: L’Alpe d’Huez

KOM: Sepp Kuss QOM: Illi Gardner

Stage 8 of this year’s Tour de France Femmes will take riders over the hardest side of the Col du Glandon (a high mountain pass in the Dauphiné Alps), followed by a summit finish on one of the most famous ascents in cycling: Alpe d’Huez. The climb is known for its 21 hairpin bends, each named in honor of a rider who has won the race to the summit.

As for the record holders... Americans, rejoice: Coloradan Sepp Kuss owns the KOM on the famed climb, a brutal 8.64-mile climb that gains 3,613 feet with a nearly eight percent average grade. Kuss secured this KOM on a blistering hot Tour stage in 2022—the recorded temperature was 91 degrees! For women, Gardner clearly loves snagging QOMs on classic routes and owns this one as well as the Tourmalet.

Giro d’Italia: Passo dello Stelvio

KOM: Mattia Gaffuri QOM: Emmie Collinge

You can’t sleep on the Stelvio, one of the most narrow, mild, terrifying/intimidating climbs in the Giro d’Italia. Following a rest day, Stage 16 opens the third week of the stage race with a trip over the Stelvio, a 9,049 ft pass that’s by far the highest in this year’s race. The 12.11-mile climb has an average gradient of 7.5 percent and soul-crushing switchbacks for days.

The current KOM holder is Matt Gaffuri, who snared it last summer. For the women, Italian runner (seriously) Emmie Collinge has owned this segment since 2017—the highest up pro in the rankings is Gaia Realini of Lidl-Trek, whose time was 10 minutes slower than Collinge on race day in 2023.

Tour de France: Col du Galibier

KOM: Romain Bardet QOM: Erika Magnaldi

First used in the Tour de France in 1911, the Col du Galibier is slightly less steep, with a “mere” 6.9 percent average grade, and the last kilometer going up to 9 percent before the descent. The climb will appear in Stage 4 of this year’s Tour de France, a hilly stage that travels from Pinerolo to the French Alps.

UAE Team ADQ’s Erica Magnaldi has the QOM, secured back in 2020 during a pandemic training ride. On the men’s side, Team dsm’s Romain Bardet secured the KOM in the 2022 iteration of the Tour de France.

Tour de France: Puy Mary (Pas de Peyrol)

KOM: Tadej Pogačar QOM: Private

The Puy Mary is the name of the mountain—an extinct volcano—with puy meaning ‘peak.’ Pas de Peyrol (“Peyrol step”) is the pass where the road is. This 5.7-mile ascent is located in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, and has an average gradient of 6.9 percent and a total elevation gain of 2,062 ft. Since 2011, the Pas de Peyrol has been featured ten times in the Tour de France, but a stage never finished atop its summit until 2020.

We had to find one climb that was owned by Tadej Pogačar! The Slovenian snared this KOM on a September training ride in 2020.

Molly writes about cycling, nutrition and training with an emphasis on bringing more women into sport. She's the author of nine books including the Shred Girls series and is the founder of Strong Girl Publishing . She co-hosts The Consummate Athlete Podcast and spends most of her free time biking and running on trails, occasionally joined by her mini-dachshund.

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MAILLOT JAUNE 2024 RANGE: A COLLECTION THAT HITS THE HEIGHTS !

On Thursday 16th May, the Maillot Jaune range is releasing its 2024 collection, made up of three new kits: Alpe d’Huez, Cime de la Bonette and Combo. New members have joined the ranks of Maillot Jaune official licenced suppliers: the specialists Prologo (saddles) and Scicon (bags and luggage) have been added to the range of equipment available from Maillot Jaune in 2024. Products from the Maillot Jaune range are available on the Tour de France’s official web site, on licensee and partner websites, as well as in the Santini Shop at the Grand Départ and in Nice from 11th July.

The Maillot Jaune range Maillot Jaune offers a whole range of equipment dedicated to cycling and the Tour de France. Whatever the season, rain or shine, every cyclist can achieve his or her sporting goals with the help of the Maillot Jaune range. For occasional sports enthusiasts or for those who want to try and keep up with the champions, Maillot Jaune promotes a commitment to excellence and is a tribute to the history of the Tour de France. The elements of the Maillot Jaune collections combine style and performance.

The new collections For 2024, the Maillot Jaune range is launching three new kits: Combo, Alpe d’Huez and Cime de la Bonette. Following on from previous collections, the common denominator is that they pay homage to the Giants that have made the Tour de France legendary.

  Alpe d’Huez : this kit has been imagined and designed with reference to the 21 switchbacks that make up the Alpe d’Huez climb, which is engraved in the annals of the Tour de France’s history. Alpe d’Huez products are intended to be Proust’s madeleine for cycling enthusiasts, aficionados of the success of cycling team La Vie Claire, or more recently fans of the victories achieved by Pierre Rolland or Thibaut Pinot. Cime de la Bonette : the Cime de la Bonette, the standard-bearer for the Tour de France’s highest summits, rises to an altitude of 2802 metres. The design of these products symbolises the conquest of legendary summits and they have been created for conquering cyclists who aspire to get closer to the sky on some of the steepest roads in the history of the Tour. Combo : inspired by the combined jersey formerly awarded to riders who excelled in several categories, it is made up of the current colours of the Tour de France’s distinctive jerseys. The design of the collection reveals a portion of each jersey: the yellow jersey, the green jersey, the white jersey and the polka dot jersey. Combo kit products evoke strong sporting values such as humility and diligence. The markers for each distinctive jersey are a symbol of fighting spirit.

Partners and licensees Since its launch in Spring 2022, the ambition of the Maillot Jaune brand is to join forces with the leading specialists in cycling equipment to offer a complete range of products to cycling fans. Santini, a pioneer in this collaboration, paved the way and enabled the range to expand with other technical and eye-catching products. Since 2023, Elite has been part of the range with a sober water bottle in Maillot Jaune colours, as has Lazer, which combines safety and style, with a sleek helmet in harmony with the existing collections. This year, Prologo has come on board the Maillot Jaune adventure by adding a bike saddle in the colours of each collection to the kits. Scicon proposes bags and luggage accessories to make the most of every outing. This team spirit is also the DNA of the brand, which co-creates to deliver perfectly adapted products.

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Tour de france: tadej pogacar claws back time with victory at cauterets-cambasque.

Hindley drops down overall standings as Vingegaard moves into maillot jaune

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) remains firmly in the hunt to win the Tour de France after he dropped Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) to win a dramatic stage 6 to Cauterets.

Vingegaard did enough to divest Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) of the yellow jersey after springing onto the attack on the penultimate climb of the Col du Tourmalet, but it was hard to couch the first summit finish of the race as anything other than a bracing defeat for the Dane.

After beating Pogačar convincingly in the first round of their contest in the Pyrenees on Wednesday, Vingegaard seemed to be eyeing an early knock-out blow throughout stage 6, which brought the race over the Aspin and Tourmalet ahead of the finishing climb.

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For most of the day, the terms of engagement were duly dictated by the Jumbo-Visma squad, who dispatched Wout van Aert in the early break and then split the race asunder on the Tourmalet with 50km remaining, distancing Hindley and the rest of the podium contenders with a disquieting facility to tee up a Vingegaard attack that only Pogačar could follow.

Van Aert waited for Vingegaard and Pogačar on the descent of the Tourmalet before leading them back up to the break, and on the final climb to Cauterets, the Belgian proceeded to lay down a brisk tempo on behalf of his teammate.

The inevitable Vingegaard acceleration arrived with 4.6km to go, but Pogačar managed to resist the Dane's onslaught, even if, at first, he gave the impression of a man clinging on to his Tour challenge.

Instead, Pogačar was simply in the process of conjuring up a rope-a-dope strategy worthy of Muhammad Ali. 2.8km from the summit, Pogačar rose from his saddle and accelerated sharply out of Vingegaard's rear wheel, immediately opening a sizeable gap on the Dane.

Vingegaard scrambled to keep the deficit at around 50 metres for a time before gradually ceding ground to Pogačar all the way to the summit, crossing the line 24 seconds behind the two-time Tour winner.

"I would not say revenge but it's good to win today and take back some time. I feel a little bit of relief and feel much better now," Pogačar said.

"The display Jonas showed yesterday was incredible and I was thinking when they started pulling on the Tourmalet: 'Shit, if it's going to happen like yesterday, we can pack our bags and go home.' Luckily, I had good legs today and I could follow on the Tourmalet quite comfortably. Then, when I felt it was the right moment in the end I attacked. It was a big relief."

The overnight leader Hindley was the best of the other GC contenders, but he was already two minutes down on Pogačar and Vingegaard atop the Tourmalet, and he came home 2:39 down in the company of Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos) and Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula).

Although Vingegaard had the consolation of claiming the yellow jersey, he lies just 25 seconds ahead of Pogačar. Hindley is now third at 1:34 and the Tour, as if we didn't know it already, is a straight duel between Pogačar and Vingegaard.

"I would say it's almost perfect the gap," Pogačar said. "It's going to be a big, big battle until the last stage, I think."

Vingegaard, meanwhile, had the look of a man who knows he is in a real contest. "We wanted to try to test him again today and see how he felt," he said. "I suppose he felt better than yesterday. It's going to be one hell of a battle all the way to Paris."

How it unfolded

Vingegaard's show of force on the opening day in the Pyrenees had suggested that he was a rung ahead of even Pogačar, and for most of stage 6, Jumbo-Visma raced as though they were certain of it. Although Hindley's Bora-Hansgrohe squad exercised a little more control on the opening kilometres than UAE Team Emirates had done the previous day, it was still a brisk start to proceedings and the seemingly indefatigable Van Aert was again the main driver of the early break, attacking from the start in the company of Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep).

Van Aert and Alaphilippe would eventually be joined by a group of 20 riders that included Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates), Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), Neilson Powless, James Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Ruben Guerreiro (Movistar) and Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X), and they amassed a lead of 3:20 ahead of the Col d'Aspin.

Powless led over the Aspin, and the front group was whittled down still further on the mighty Tourmalet, where Alaphilippe set off on the attack with Shaw. Van Aert, however, soon took command of affairs, bringing back Alaphilippe and then setting a tempo that only Kwiatkowski, Guerreiro, Powless, Shaw and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X) could follow.

At the same moment, Jumbo-Visma had massed at the head of the yellow jersey group, gradually dialling up the intensity as the Tourmalet wore on. Their grand offensive began in earnest 4km from the summit when Wilco Kelderman set a pace that only Sepp Kuss, Pogačar, Vingegaard and Hindley could follow, while the rest of the podium contenders were scattered down the mountainside.

Hindley was burnt off once Kuss came to the front before Vingegaard climbed from the saddle and launched a searing acceleration with 2.5km of the climb remaining. Remarkably, Vingegaard's effort meant that he and Pogačar gained two minutes on all of their rivals on the upper reaches of the Tourmalet, and it later emerged that the Dane had bettered the previous record time for the ascent by a similar margin.

Vingegaard and Pogačar, in other words, were operating on a different plane to anybody else in the race, at a level rarely, if ever, seen in the history of the Tour. Over the top of the Tourmalet and down the other side, men like Hindley, the Yates brothers and Romain Bardet (DSM) tried to find common cause to limit the damage, but the gaps are already eye-watering with over two weeks of the Tour still to come.

After Pogačar, Hindley is now the only rider within three minutes of Vingegaard's lead, while the Yates brothers and Rodriguez are the only men within four minutes of the maillot jaune.

"What can I say, it was just an epic day riding around in the yellow jersey doing some mythical climbs and to be honest I got my arse handed to me," Hindley said. "But I really enjoyed it."

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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation , published by Gill Books.

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