MADRID, 28 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The mountain will star in a Tour de France that promises excitement from the first stage in Florence (Italy) to the final time trial in Nice, in which the French race could be decided after 21 stages in which mythical ports such as the Col du will be ascended. Galibier, the Tourmalet, Saint Lary Soulan or Plateau de Beille.
The route presents mountainous difficulties almost from the first day, when Rimini will end a 206-kilometre day in Italian territory, but with up to seven mountain passes. On the second day, the cyclists will have to be very careful on the 199 kilometres between Cesenatico and Bologna, a ‘leg-breaking’ terrain that can cause suffering for those cyclists who have not arrived at the Tour in optimal condition, such as the Dane Jonas Vingegaard.
The third stage will be the last to be held entirely on Italian soil, starting in Plaisance and ending in Turin, before the first real mountain day, with the climbs to Sestrières, Col de Montgenèvre and the fearsome Col du Galibier in its route, before ending in Valloire.
This last pass, crowned with 20 kilometers to go, will be the first major test for the big favorites, who could show their weaknesses or strengths in the more than 23 kilometers of ascent at a 5.1% average slope.
After two days of transition, designed to decide the sprint on the way to Saint-Vulbas and Dijon, the seventh stage will force the favorites to show their faces in the first individual time trial between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin, a stage of 25 .3 kilometers with a winding route that culminates with a climb of 1.6 kilometers at 6.1%.
The first week of the race will be completed with two flat stages and after the rest day in Orléans, the Tour will resume with another completely flat day on the way to Saint Amand Montrond. The next one will be a medium mountain route ending in Le Lioran, 211 kilometers long and with six climbs along the way, one of them Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol, 5.4 kilometers at 8%. The next two stages will also be flat and with hardly any difficulties along the way, a prelude to a mountainous and exciting weekend.
The fourteenth day, between Pau-Saint Lary and Soulan Pla d’Adet, and with the Tourmalet on its route, is planned as one of the ‘queen’ stages of this edition of the Tour. The Tourmalet will be crowned with more than 60 kilometers to go, after 19 kilometers of climbing at 7.4%. The final climb, also in a special category, will culminate a key day in the race, with 10.6 kilometers at a 7.9% average slope.
The following day, coinciding with the French national holiday, the peloton will face another very tough day almost from the start. Loudenville will be the start of a stage that will climb the Peyresourde at kilometre 7, a climb of 6.9 kilometres at an average gradient of 7.8%. With little time to recover, the riders will climb the demanding Col de Menté, 9.3 kilometres long at 9.1%.
They will then follow up with the climb to Portet d’Aspet, just 4.3 kilometres long, but with an average gradient of 9.6%. The Col d’Agnes, 10 kilometres long at 8.4%, will once again be a challenge before the final climb to Plateau de Beille, 15.8 kilometres long at 7.9%. A day that will mark the end of the second week and which could already decide the general classification.
The toughest part of the final week will be concentrated in the last three stages, although with some tricks like stage 17. After the flat stage between Gruissan and Nimes, the peloton will face a medium mountain stage between Saint Paul Trois Châteaux and Superdévoluny, with three mountain passes along the route, and ending in a third category climb, after having passed the Col du Noyer of 7.5 kilometres at 8.1%.
The eighteenth stage between Gap and Barcelonette, presents a winding terrain of 179.5 kilometers with five climbs in its third category route, which is considered ideal for a breakaway, the last opportunity to win in this Tour before the last three days , two high mountain races, and the final time trial.
The 144.6 kilometres between Embrun and Isola 2000 will kick off the final weekend of the French race. In this nineteenth stage, the riders will have to climb the Cols de Vars, 18.8 kilometres long at an average gradient of 5.7%, and the colossal Cime Bonette, 22.5 kilometres long at an average gradient of 6.9%, which is returning to the French race after 16 years of absence. The steep slopes of Isola 2000, 16.1 kilometres long at an average gradient of 7.1%, will culminate a very difficult day for the riders.
The penultimate day of the race will also be extremely complicated for the runners, who will face four climbs, three of the first category, culminating in the Col de la Couillole, 15.7 kilometers at 7.1% average, after having crowned the Col de Turini, 20.7 kilometers at 5.7%, and the 7.5-kilometer Col de Colmiane at 7.1%.
The final stage will not be the traditional stroll along the Champs Elysees in Paris, as the city is immersed in the Olympic Games, nor will it be a formality, as it will be a 33.7-kilometre individual time trial, with the demanding climb to La Turbie (8.1 kilometres at 5.6%), which could decide the winner and the final podium.
2024-06-28 15:45:36
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