Grenoble > Méribel Col de la Loze
170km Wednesday, 16 September Start 11:30 Finish 16:21
The Tour’s search for ever-steeper ramps has yielded a new summit finish that promises to deliver a spectacle on the road to match the stunning views all around it.
■ Terrain
Rising for 7km above Méribel, the Col de la Loze is extremely steep, to the extent that the race organisers abandoned their initial plan to also include the Grand Cucheron today. The climb to Brides les Bains, the gateway to Méribel and, high above the ski station, the Col de la Loze is no picnic. It extends to 21.5km, averaging 7.8 per cent. The first 16km are steady enough, rarely surpassing that average. The sting comes at the end, the final 5km a bike-only route that was only paved in 2018. They average a touch above 10 per cent, but sections up to twice as steep to arrive at the 2,304m finish.
■ Gameplan
As on the Grand Colombier stage, most of the GC teams will want at least one rider and ideally two or three to find their way into the break. Ineos, though, have tended to eschew this tactic, preferring to keep their domestiques with their leaders in order to set the pace, provide them with shelter from the wind and keep them as fresh as possible. This strategy works well when you can be sure you’ve got the strongest line-up, but the British team wasn’t as consistently potent last year, when Groupama FDJ and Jumbo-visma both demonstrated that they have the firepower to take control of the pace-making, isolating Ineos’s leaders in the process.
■ Players
Add high altitude to steep ramps and several names emerge, led by Nairo Quintana, the solo winner at the Col de Portet’s 2,200m finish in 2018. Dan Martin chased the Colombian for almost the length of that climb, eventually finishing second, and is another to watch for. Primož Roglič also went well on those ramps. Defending champion Egan Bernal’s performance at altitude in the final days of last year’s race that led to him taking the yellow jersey suggests he’ll be a strong contender too. Thibaut Pinot also showed last year that he can cope with tests of this nature. Looking beyond these renowned names, UAE’S Tadej Pogačar could also be in the frame. He won at three summit finishes on his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta last year.
■ Tour Fact
Two-time Tour winner Bernard Thévenet won the only previous stage to Méribel in 1973, when the race ended at the ski station of Les Allues.