Montmartre and the Champs-Élysées have to be earned. To do so, riders will have to conquer L'Alpe d’Huez… and not just once, but twice! The first of the two finishes at this legendary Tour de France venue (the first to host a summit finish, in 1952, and an essential climb in modern history) will come at the end of a stage marked by four categorised climbs, accounting for a large part of the 3,500-metre elevation gain. The Col du Bayard, the first Alpine summit in the history of the Tour de France in 1905, will kick off the action straight away, followed by the Noyer and Ornon climbs, and then the final 13.8-kilometre ascent at an average gradient of 8.1 per cent.
The top two riders in the general classification, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), have won the two stages featuring a hors catégorie climb this year: the Slovenian made his move on the Col du Tourmalet before winning at Gavarnie-Gèdre (stage 6), whilst the Belgian raised his arms in victory on the Plateau de Solaison (Stage 15). Who will take Alpe d’Huez, a victory that is still missing on their honours list? The Maillot Jaune holder has a lead to manage, whilst Remco has second place to defend against Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates XRG). The signs of weakness shown by the Emirati team – Brandon McNulty ill and out of the race, Adam Yates and Tim Wellens struggling – could work in the Belgian’s favour, as well as that of Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), who is 20 seconds behind the Mexican and his white jersey.
The early climbs are ideal for a breakaway of strong riders, keen to turn their daring into victory, as was the case at Orcières-Merlette. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) has the chance to double his tally. Netcompany Ineos are counting on riders such as Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal, who have already claimed victories at high altitude, to get their first win of this year’s race. The same objective is being pursued by the Pinarello-Q36.5 team featuring Tom Pidcock, winner at L'Alpe d’Huez in 2022. Without Jonas Vingegaard, the Visma-Lease a Bike team has given its riders free rein. Matteo Jorgenson tried to make his mark in Orcières-Merlette; will it be the turn of Sepp Kuss or Davide Piganzoli at L'Alpe d'Huez?
