Van Aert, Van der Poel, Pidcock, Alaphilippe – those are the names that spring to mind. But to win they have to get into the breakaway. Which will not be easy, as no rider dreams of riding to the line with those four.
The route climbs from the start. The Col de la Moréno (4.8 kilometres at 4.7%) is an apt appetizer for what the day has in store. The riders cross the Col de Guéry (7.8 kilometres at 5%), Col de la Croix Saint-Robert (6 kilometres at 6.3%), Côte de Saint-Victor-la-Rivière (3 kilometres at 5.9%), Côte du Lac de Bourdouze (2.7 kilometres at 5.2%), Col de Chamoune (4 kilometres at 4%) and Côte de la Chapelle-Marcousse (6.5 kilometres at 5.6%) to arrive in Ronzières.
The last 900 metres before the village also go up at 5.2% and then it’s time to plunge down to the line in Issoire. The descent is 13.5 kilometres long, although only the first 5 kilometres are a proper downhill, the rest is more a false flat.
The 10th stage is way too hard for sprinters and GC riders have nothing to gain. So that leaves only one option open. It will be an attacker who will cross the line in Issoire in pure bliss.
We’ll update this article during the Tour.
Favourites 10th stage 2023 Tour de France
*** Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Matej Mohoric
** Julian Alaphilippe, Neilson Powless, Magnus Cort, Alberto Bettiol
* Lawson Craddock, Simon Clarke, Georg Zimmermann, Fred Wright, Mattias Skjelmose
Another interesting read: route 10th stage 2023 Tour de France.
Tour de France 2023 stage 10: route, profiles
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