Today’s nineteenth stage from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to La Toussuire – Les Sybelles starts off with a climb, the Category one climb of Col du Chaussy. For any riders really suffering, it could be a long day. If they’re dropped on this first climb, then they could struggle to make the time cut.
We can probably expect to see a large group trying to get away early on, which could include some of the King of the Mountains contenders. It’s a very exciting competition this year, and at this late stage of the race, there are still a number of riders who could win. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) leads but is on the same number of points as Romain Bardet (Ag2R), with Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Chris Froome (Team Sky) within touching distance.
In total, the riders will face four climbs, with the second climb of the day being the most difficult, the Col de la Croix de Fer.
Km 15.5 – Col du Chaussy (1 533 m) (D77-VC) 15.4 kilometre-long climb at 6.3% – category 1
Km 83.0 – Col de la Croix de Fer (2 067 m) 22.4 kilometre-long climb at 6.9% – category H
Km 103.0 – Col du Mollard (1 638 m) 5.7 kilometre-long climb at 6.8% – category 2
Km 138.0 – La Toussuire (1 705 m) 18 kilometre-long climb at 6.1% – category 1
Once again, the riders will have to take in a tricky descent, the Col du Mollard. The final climb of La Toussuire is where Pierre Rolland won a Tour de France stage in 2012, and it is also the day when Chris Froome was held back by his directeur sportif when Bradley Wiggins was struggling.
La Toussuire was also where Floyd Landis lost his yellow jersey in 2006 before his “miraculous” recovery the following day. So, it’s a climb that has produced drama in the past. Will it be as dramatic today?
