Last year’s Bastille Day’s stage saw a finale on the Col du Portet. The eventual podium in Paris – Pogacar, Vingegard, Carapaz – crossed the line in the same order.
It has been five editions since Le Tour last visited Briançon. The race went to the Col d’Izoard, where Warren Barguil took the spoils with a solo of 8 kilometres on the finish climb.
The last Alpe d’Huez visit happened one year later. In 2018, Steven Kruijswijk almost brought a 70 kilometres solo home. The Dutchman was caught with 3.5 kilometres to go before Geraint Thomas outsprinted an elite group to win his second consecutive stage in the edition that would eventually bring him eternal glory. What’s it going to be this time?
The riders enter the Col du Galibier from the start. Or, actually, first the Col du Lautarat and then the Galibier. The two passes together add up to 23 kilometres of climbing at 5.1%.
The Col du Télégraphe appears halfway through the descent, which is merely a 4.5 kilometrs false flat on this side. Interestingly, the riders travelled these exact same road in stage 11, only in the opposite direction.
The riders reach Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne at kilometre 80.5 and that’s where the Col de la Croix de Fer begins. This is a giant of 29 kilometres long with an average gradient of 5.2%. The statistic is misleading though, as it’s an extremely irregular ascent. The first part features a number of double digit ramps, and downhills as well. The last 6 kilometres of the Croix de Fer are more steady with an average gradient of 7.6%.
A descent of almost 30 kilometres leads to Allemond and after 10 kilometres on the flat the Grande Finale presents itself. The climb to resort town Alpe d’Huez is 13.8 kilometres long, features 21 hairpins, and comes with an average gradient of 8.1%. The hardest ramp at 11.5% appears with almost 4 kilometres remaining.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 12 Tour de France.
Another interesting read: results 12th stage 2022 Tour de France.
Tour de France 2022 stage 12: routes, profiles, more
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