Anthony Tan and Nicola Rutzou
Anthony Tan tells us what you need to know before the 112th edition of Le Tour gets going on July 5.
Is this a traditional Tour de France?
Well, yes, in the sense that this year’s edition will be held entirely en France.
It’s also a bit of a throwback to when current Tour director Christian Prudhomme’s predecessor, Jean-Marie Leblanc, was in charge of La Grande Boucle, from 1989 to 2007.
Leblanc, a former professional cyclist (1966-71) and then journalist at L’Équipe, whose owners also run the Tour, didn’t like anything too mountainous in the opening week.
A number of the Tours he presided over began with an individual time trial under 10 kilometres, followed by a handful of stages for the sprinters, and sometimes a team time trial in between. When the mountains came, though, midway through the second and throughout the third week, they came in abundance, often with three or four such stages back-to-back.
In fact, the first Tour he was general director is still considered one of the best. Heading into the 24.5km final stage ITT in Paris, American Greg LeMond overturned a 50-second deficit to Laurent Fignon to triumph over the Frenchman by eight seconds – still the smallest winning margin in men’s history. There is much more to these characters and this edition than space here will allow, but suffice to say it was a humdinger.
Like those which Leblanc presided over, this year’s Tour favours the fast men in the first nine days. Four out of the seven probable sprint finishes come in this initial salvo, beginning with the opener around Lille in the north, a stone’s throw to the Belgian border.
In 2025 there will be an ITT but not till Stage 5.
The first mountain leg arrives on none other than Bastille Day, July 14, but if we’re talking rarefied air you’ll have to wait another three days till Stage 12, when the peloton enters the Pyrenees and tackles the beast that is Hautacam.
A mountain time trial to Peyragudes follows the very next day, followed by another mountain stage, creating three distinct opportunities for a reordering of the classement général. Yet, Stage 14 to Luchon-Superbagnères is only the second of five summit finishes in this year’s route, which reaffirms the notion that the third week is invariably the hardest.
Must-see Stages
Stage 2: Lauwin-Planque – Boulogne-sur-Mer, 212km
If the opening stage was for the sprinters, the next will be for the puncheurs and will almost certainly result in a change of leadership.
None of the four categorised climbs top out at more than 200m altitude and the longest is 1.1km – yet the terrain is such that, by day’s end, the peloton will have climbed more than 2,100m. Three of the côtés (small hills) come in the final 30km and the final kilometre, while uncategorised, rises 5% to the line.
Stage 10: Ennezat – Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, 163km
Other than the Stage 5 individual time trial, this is the most significant test so far for those vying for a high place in Paris.
There are seven categorised climbs but to be frank, such is the saw-toothed profile of the tenth stage, organisers could easily have called it ten. It’s up and down from the get-go and respite will come only at the resort finish in Mont-Dore: “The 3.5km (Puy de Sancy) climb averaging 8% will bring the total vertical gain for the day to 4,400 metres!” exclaims Tour director Christian Prudhomme.
Stage 12: Auch – Hautacam, 181km
If a Pyrenean mountain has a derivation of the word haute (meaning high) in its name, it must be there for a reason.
The three climbs of the Col du Soulor (11.9 kilometres at 7.3%), the Col des Bordères (3.1 kilometres at 7.6%) and Hautacam (13.6 kilometres at 7.8%) come within the last 60km. Relatively speaking, though, it’s not quite as tough as Stage 18 of the 2022 Tour, the last time the race visited this ski resort in the Hautes-Pyrénées, when the Col d’Aubisque and Col de Spandelles preceded Hautacam.
Stage 16: Montpellier – Mont Ventoux, 172km
To date, the peloton has tackled two weeks of racing that included three mountain stages and two individual time trials, including an 11km ITT to Peyragudes, as well as two rest days.
Mont Ventoux, also known as Le Géant de Provence (The Beast of Provence), is divided into two parts: the first 10km through the forest to Chalet Reynard, and the final 5.7km to the observatory that overlooks the finish line.
Stage 18: Vif – Courchevel Col de la Loze, 171km
For the GC riders it’s the penultimate test, but if the Tour hasn’t yet been decided it will by day’s end.
Boasting more than 5,500 metres’ climbing and traversing three massive mountains it’s either up, up, up or down, down, down.
At this point, cumulative fatigue suggests a long-range attack by any of the protagonists for the Paris podium is unlikely; the seemingly interminable 26.2km final climb of the Col de la Loze makes it more so. It has been used as recently as the 2020 and 2023 editions of Le Tour (albeit from a different side), and between the top dogs, time gaps were significant.
Podium Pick
Let’s be honest: It’s hard to look past last year’s podium. What order they’ll finish is a little harder. I’ll say Pogačar, Evenepoel, Vingegaard.
Aussie Watch
Ben O’Connor will be gunning for the podium. It highlights the significance of the race for O’Connor and his team Jayco AlUla. Sure, they have other objectives with sprinter Dylan Groenewegen, who nabbed a stage last year in Dijon, but the primary focus is to get Big Ben to finish as high on GC as his 1.88 metre frame will allow.
With a breakthrough 2024 season, the 29-year-old from Subiaco, Perth, has proven his fourth place at the 2021 Tour was no fluke, finishing fourth and second overall at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, respectively. Over the next few years, the only thing left to discover is how high he can fly at the Tour.
He’ll be well supported – arguably better than he was in his four years at Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. Irish climber Eddie Dunbar will be his right hand man in the mountains.
In light of who he’s up against, a podium in Paris would be as good as a win – but he’ll need Lady Luck and the form of his life to make it.
There are 10 Australian riders in the big race:
Ben O’Connor Team Jayco AlUla
Luke Plapp Team Jayco AlUla
Luke Durbridge Team Jayco AlUla
Jarrad Drizners Lotto
Kaden Groves Alpecin – Deceuninck
Robert Stannard Bahrain – Victorious
Jack Haig Bahrain – Victorious
Harry Sweeny EF Education – EasyPost
Michael Storer Tudor Pro Cycling Team
Callum Scotson Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
A big thanks to Quick-Step, our media partner for the Tour de France. Quick-Step Floor Designers is a key sponsor of the Soudal Quick-Step team being led by Remco Evenepoel.
