Speak of the devil… and he shall appear. Stage 18 of the Tour de France 2025 has been at the heart of discussions since it was announced that the peloton, already worn out by two and a half weeks of gruelling effort, would have to trudge their way to the Col de la Loze. The ascent is a recent addition to the history of the Tour, but one that has already left a spectacular mark on the race and fuels many fantasies.
At 2,304 metres of altitude, La Loze is the highest summit in this edition, making it the Souvenir Henri Desgrange - a special prize named after the iconic creator of the race, who took the riders over 2,500 metres as early as 1911 at the Col du Galibier. La Loze might be a bit lower, but its irregular slopes have taken a unique toll on the riders on the two occasions it has featured in the race, in 2020 and especially in 2023. It remains the site of the most striking defeat suffered by Tadej Pogacar in his otherwise dominant history in the Tour. “I’m gone, I’m dead,” the Slovenian star admitted, as he lost more than five minutes to Jonas Vingegaard, with Felix Gall taking off to win the stage from the breakaway.
Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t - Pogacar is marked for life by this ascent, although this edition explores a slightly different side (26.4 km at 6.5%, with gradients above 10% on several stretches). Last week, Pogacar showed at Hautacam that he can turn the tables at the venues that saw him crumble. And everyone considers he wants to win at La Loze as well, although he insists his main ambition is to keep the Maillot Jaune all the way to Paris for a historic fourth triumph.
As for Vingegaard, he says he’s ready to do everything he can to regain supremacy in the Tour. The sequence of HC climbs on stage 18 - with the Col du Glandon and Col de la Madeleine ahead of La Loze - gives him the perfect terrain to dance with the devil.
