ROUTE RECCE
The 65km Pyrenean stage in the Tour de France’s final week will be a game changer. The Col Collective’s Mike Cotty rides the route at a less frantic pace than he expects come July…
Like a blaring siren, stage 17, from the spa town of Bagnères-de-Luchon in the Pyrenees to the summit of the Col de Portet, was heard by all who saw the race’s route announcement in Paris last October.
Impossible to ignore, it packs three long mountain passes into a little over 40 miles, including a race-first up the Col de Portet for the highest-ever finish in the Pyrenees. It’s the shortest non-time trial mountain stage to feature in the race since 1996, but even that Bjarne Riis-won stage was curtailed from its original length at the eleventh hour because of snow. With its late race position known well in advance, it’s an unusual length for professional bike racers full stop and offers the potential to produce a major shakedown come July 25.
Roll back to 2011 on the final mountain stage of the Tour de France, a 109km stage that saw Frenchman Pierre Rolland give the host nation its first victory atop Alpe d’Huez since Bernard Hinault 25 years previous, winning ahead of an electric Alberto Contador. One of the shortest stages in recent history at the time produced some of the most thrilling racing. Still, it was close to double the length of this year’s shortest stage.
Last year, on Bastille Day, there was another short mountain stage to Foix and Contador was at it again. It was another Frenchman, Warren Barguil, who bested him this time but again the stage was a street fight from the moment the flag dropped. It was edge-of-your-seat racing with unexpected outcomes, royal entertainment for the spectators with the constant threat of real damage meted to the General Classification.
A day earlier, the Queen stage – so called as it’s the one generally deemed the hardest of the race – featured no less than six Pyrenean climbs over a 215km parcours, and was more like the fare usually served up by the modern Tour de France, the route’s severity causing the peloton to race conservatively. Sure, there was high
drama at the last as Chris Froome shipped precious seconds in being unseated by a sustained Fabio Aru attack in the closing metres, but the hours leading up to that point were controlled and calculated. Honestly, if I’d errands to run or some chores I could easily have the stage running in the background and just tune in for the closing moments, getting my dose of Tour fever for the day without missing anything.
TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN’
With his background in journalism there’s little doubt that race director Christian Prudhomme has been following the trends, spotting the patterns and looking for an opportunity to put his stamp on the race. A handful of years ago the prospect of a 65km road stage would have been given short shrift in the Tour de France, the ultimate test of longevity and survival. Prudhomme knows that if you keep the formula the same the outcome will likely be the same, so his creativity adds some spice.
Riders with nothing to lose could see this as an opportunity to explode into action from the gun in a bid to take a late stage win, likewise we may see a level of aggression within the GC contenders that we’ve not seen before. However the day pans out, if a rider is not on good form from the very beginning this short stage could see them tumble down the standings.
We live in a time-crunched world of instant gratification and Prudhomme is moving with the demands of modern cycling and the modern era as a whole, further servicing the fans, the media and the sponsors by creating an exciting showcase for the world’s biggest bike race. We’re all hungry for action and, in recent years, given the domination of Team Sky and US Postal before it, the Tour has been dubbed by many as boring and predictable. You can’t fault Prudhomme for a lack of effort. He’s given the riders the materials to make a silk purse. If they come back with a sow’s ear, don’t blame him.
DEEPER INTO DETAIL
The peloton is barely warm after 65km on any normal day but on stage 17 they’ll be heading to the showers. With over 3000m of altitude gain this is a new breed of Tour stage, and the fact that the final climb up to the summit of the Col de Portet has never been seen before in the race only adds to its mystique.
Dubbed the new Col du Tourmalet by some, it’s not only 100m higher, climbing up to 2215m elevation, but also steeper. On paper its average gradient of 8.7 per cent over 16km could well make it the hardest climb
With over !"""m of altitude gain this is a new breed of Tour stage
the Tour peloton has ever faced. This stage also comes at the tail end of a three-week period where riders have had to survive the winds and coastal roads of northern France, Roubaix cobbles, gravel roads in the Alps and 20 per cent gradients of the Basque Country.
For those that make it this far, race day morning in Bagnères-de-Luchon will likely see scenes resembling that of a time trial stage, with riders lined up on turbo trainers outside team buses to warm their legs. There’ll be no time to do that on the road, as it tilts skywards up the Col de Peyresourde the moment the flag drops. This is a climb that’s almost as old as the race itself (its first appearance in 1910 was the first time the race had ever been to the Pyrenees). After the shortest of descents, the race makes a detour up to the Peyragudes ski station at 1645m, without the innovative air strip ascent that nearly brought Froome to a standstill last summer.
After a descent into Loudenviele comes the climb of the Col de Val Louron-Azet, its short 7.4km masking a tough average gradient of 8.3 per cent and tougher early ramps of 12 per cent. Linking the Louron valley in the east to the western Aure valley, reaching the summit of the Azet at 1580m puts you in a unique position, with the Peyresourde and Peyragudes at your back while in front the road to Pla d’Adet carves its way into the side of the mountain.
It’s not often that you can see exactly where you’ve come from and where you’re heading so clearly, and for the Tour there will be no hiding and zero time for sight-seeing. This middle ascent of the Azet can’t be overlooked, it’s short, steep and will quickly drain valuable energy if riders are pushing into the red. Despite the length of the stage an element of pacing is still going to be important. The second descent is very different to the first, with no crash barriers in the early kilometres. As the road narrows to little more than a single lane it becomes increasingly technical as you pass through the tiny village of Azet. A momentary lapse of concentration here could be costly.
IT’S SHOWTIME
A race semi-regular since 1974, when Frenchman Raymond Poulidor won the stage, the climb up to Pla d’Adet has earned notoriety, for good reason. Last seen in 2014 – also on stage 17, but on the 124.5km Queen stage – it’s a road that clings to the edge of the rock
Tactics aside, what would truly make this stage go down in history would be to see the top GC riders leaving everything out on the road
face and is completely exposed, so in the height of summer it often feels like a furnace. With few corners and places to hide it makes it difficult to attack and quickly get out of sight. To make matters worse the gradient rarely dips below double figures, often making it feel like you’re riding in quicksand. This year Pla d’Adet is only half the story as 3km from the summit riders veer right for the Portet, a climb within a climb and one that nobody is going to be able to overlook.
With just 7km to go this is where the fireworks are going to start, as the Tour begins to make history. While the gradient eases back a notch to between 7 and 8 per cent the cumulative fatigue of such an explosive stage, one with absolutely no flat and the altitude tipping over 2000m, a toll will be taken.
At the time of writing in March, the Portet has six sections of rough gravel, although sources indicate that it’ll be re-paved in time for July so the road surface won’t be a concern. With teams down to just eight riders this year after the winter decision to cut the size from nine, in theory it could mean that it’s going to be harder to control the race. The reality is that this is likely to have little impact. By stage 17, casualties will be more keenly felt than ever before and, in this scenario, the teams with better numbers will have turned the screws from the outset.
Tactics aside, what would truly make this stage go down in history would be to see the top GC riders leaving everything out on the road in a headto-head showdown, risking their high placing for something greater. It only takes one rider to go into the day with a no-holds-barred attitude and we could witness something special.
With Rolland taking the honours at Alpe d’Huez in 2011, and Barguil victorious in Foix last year, might the French stamp their authority on these shorter stages once more? Neither was in the GC mix at the time, so if it was Romain Bardet this year – second and third overall in 2016 and 2017 respectively – it would make for an even more thrilling spectacle, were he still to be in overall contention. He’s a rider with fond memories of the Pyrenees, having won atop Peyragudes last year, and if the stars align this could well be a stage made for him. Sadly, we’ll have no Alberto Contador, so often the catalyst in these short stages, who took his career bow at the end of last season.
The spectacular backdrop of the Portet isn’t going to disappoint, so let’s hope the racing lives up to expectations and this is the first step towards even more engaging and exciting stages.
This is the Tour de France so there’s no question the race still needs longer days to maintain its pedigree and heritage. The 181km battle in the cruel Jura mountains last year produced exciting racing of a different sort. Three weeks, however, is a long time and there’s definitely room for both. So why not? Chapeau to Christian Prudhomme and his team for creating such a route, one that in my opinion is one of the most dynamic and eagerly awaited Tours in recent memory.