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After the time trial saw a demonstration of power from Jonas Vingegaard, today’s stage is back to ordinary business, i.e. racing. The course of the race starts in Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc and finishes 166 kilometres and four climbs of the first, second and highest category in Courchevel at an altitude of 2003 metres above sea level.
It will be another stern test for the riders and there will be plenty of action to be seen.
Stage 17 Preview
The climbs today come in well-measured distances: the first climb is the Col des Saisies, which comes after 18 kilometres and climbs up to 1650 metres over 13,4 kilometres and 5,1%. It is part of the circus for the 13th time, already and the last man to reach the top was Wout Poels in 2021.
With a descent of roughly 20 kilometres, the riders can relax and prepare for the only intermediate sprint at kilometre 46 in Beaufort. This provides only a short breathing space as there will be two passes to be climbed, the first the Col du Méraillet at 1615m is not categorized this year but is only on the road towards the 1968m high Cormet de Roselend which is another category one climb. This is a long climb of almost 20 kilometres at an average gradient of 6%. This is also the 13th time for the Tour here, today.
A long descent follows – 30 kilometres of descent before the next climb, the category 2 Côte de Longefoy which is in the programme for the first time. It goes up to 1174m over a distance of 6,6 kilometres with 7,1%.
The final climb is the Col de la Loze, a HC climb which climbs up to 2304m and is the longest ascent with 18,1 kilometres at 6% average gradient. After that, it is pretty much plain sailing downhill over the remaining 6 kilometres towards the finish line in Courchevel.
The Contenders
Yesterday, Pogačar suffered a big blow but he remains confident to hit back at his rival and to have another go at the yellow jersey. The stage seems to fit and it is a question on whether he has the legs to go on the attack. He lacked the fluidity that is his trademark riding style while Jonas Vingegaard appears to have had a very good day at the office.
All Jonas Vingegaard needs to do is fend off any attacks early on and for that, he has his teammates who will protect and guide him through this stage.
There will be a breakaway – as usual and one of the riders who has had a bad Tour de France so far is Egan Bernal. He may fancy his chances to record a stage win this year and indicate that he is not out of shape at all. Carlos Rodriguez will try to get back on the podium and thus we may see an attack by him on Adam Yates.
The General Classification after Stage 16
1) J. Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 63h06’53’’
2) T. Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +01’48’’
3) A. Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +08’52’’
4) C. Rodriguez Cano (Ineos Grenadiers) +08’57’’
5) J. Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +11’15’’
6) S. Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) +12’56’’
7) P. Bilbao Lopez (Bahrain Victorious) +13’06’’
8) S. Yates (Jayco Alula) +13’46’
9) D. Gaudu (Groupama-FJJ) +17’38’’
10) F. Gall (AG2R Citroen Team) +18’19’’
The final day in the Alps will be packed with climbs and provide mountain riders with a good chance to shine. Tadej Pogačar will try to get some seconds back and may revert to his tactic of late jumps to slice off the time of Jonas Vingegaard’s lead. These two riders are in their own sphere. Today’s stage will be decided on the final climb where we may see someone whom we have not seen in a while at the front of the peloton.
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