Tour de France 2023 | With Jonas Vingegaard firmly in yellow, the roof of Tour is reached with Col de la Loze | Tour de France

After Tuesday’s time trial, we know how things are going: Jonas Vingegaard has no less than 1.48 minutes ahead of Tadej Pogacar. For classification men there are only two chances to really move up in the classification. Such an opportunity awaits today, as the 165.7-kilometer stage is perhaps the toughest stage of this Tour. It all starts with the first category Col des Saisies, a climb of 13.3 kilometers and an average of 5.3 percent. This is followed by the Cormet de Roselend (19.9 kilometers at 6 percent) and Côte de Longefoy (6.6 kilometers at 7.6 percent). As if that wasn’t enough, the hardest part is yet to come.

The Col de la Loze leads the riders to the roof of the Tour. In 2020, the Col de la Loze was also part of the Tour course, but then the Col de la Madeleine served as a ‘starter’ for the long climb. Compared to that edition, the climb is not quite the same, because the run-up to the steep second part is slightly different. Via Courchevel and Méribel, the tough part starts with gradients of up to 24 percent. Over 28.4 kilometers the road rises at an average of 6 percent. Ouch! At the top there are double KOM points, forty in total, for the first rider to pass. Mountain king Giulio Ciccone will especially hope that Jonas Vingegaard will not be the first to reach the top.

However, the finish line is not drawn at the top of the Col de la Loze, just like in 2020. There is still a dangerous descent of about six kilometers (special cushions have been placed to remove part of the danger) to the foot of the final kilometer. There at Courchevel airport, the final kilometer goes up with a maximum of 18 percent. After such a grueling ride, there could still be huge differences in this final kilometer. Who strikes?

The man to keep an eye on is of course Vingegaard. The Dane struck mercilessly hard and took 1.38 minutes on his great rival Pogacar. Jumbo-Visma can deal the final blow to the Slovenian on Wednesday, but the question is whether that is necessary. The Dutch team is in the luxurious situation to also be able to race defensively. The last chance for GC men is on Saturday, when the stage leads to Le Markstein. Who will win the queen stage?

• Ride type: mountain ride
• Distance: 165.7 kilometers
• Start: 12:30 in Saint-Gervais
• Finish: between 17.03 and 17.45 in Courchevel

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