COL DU GALIBIER
2017 ASCENT/ LENGTH AND GRADIENT :17.7 KM AT 6.9% ALTITUDE :2,642 M/ START: VALLOIRE
In 2011, Andy Schleck won on top of the Col du Galibier with a 50km attack from the Izoard, two climbs earlier. That summit finish on the Galibier remains the highest in Tour history. The race comes from the Télégraphe side this year
“It was my idea to go big that day with the summit finish on the Col du Galibier. I presented the idea in the team meeting on the bus but nobody agreed with it. Well, Stuart O’Grady did, but my sports director, Kim Andersen, thought it was a bad idea to attack so early. But he said, ‘If that’s your gut feeling let’s try it.’ “I knew I had to make a difference to the group of chasers on the Izoard and Lautaret because the Galibier is so steep at the top that it’s hard to make up time. It’s just a grind with whatever you have left in the tank. I knew if I could go 430, 440 watts on the Lautaret it’s only the leaders themselves who would be able to push the same watts as me. I knew the gap was growing on the Lautaret [which leads to the foot of the Galibier] and they panicked. For me, it was a really epic stage.”