The last Tour de France stage finish in Morzine happened seven editions ago. Back then, the riders descended the Col de Joux Plane in rainy conditions. Jarlinson Pantano, Vincenzo Nibali and Ion Izagirre crested the climb in first position – all three good descenders -, while Izagirre best navigated the conditions to celebrate in Morzine, 19 seconds ahead of Pantano with Nibali another 23 seconds further in arrears.
Let’s hope for better conditions this year. The finale is a carbon copy of seven years ago. In fact, the last 65 kilometres are the same.
The 14th stage features five KOM climbs and the unclassified drag up the Col de Jambaz. The Col de Saxel (4.2 kilometres at 4.6%), Col de Cou (7 kilometres at 7.4%) and Col du Feu (5.8 kilometres at 7.8%) are included in the first half of the race before the Jambaz adds 6.8 kilometres at 3.8% to the mix.
The riders then continue on the 2016 parcours with the Col de la Ramaz. This is a 13.9 kilometres climb at 7.1% and following the downhill and 10 kilometres in the valley the Joux Plane appears. The 11.6 kilometres climb at 8.5% peaks out at 1,691 metres. Moreover, the first three riders at the summit gain time bonuses of 8, 5 and 2 seconds.
After a few more kilometres at altitude the riders enter a technical descent into Morzine. The last few hundred metres are a false flat uphill to the line.
It will be the 16th time that the Tour de France finishes in Morzine. The winner not only succeeds Izagirre, but also Pantani (1997), Virenque (2000, 2003) and Sastre (2006).
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the first three on the Joux Plane get 8, 5 and 2 seconds.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 14 2023 Tour de France.
Another interesting read: results 14th stage 2023 Tour de France.
Tour de France 2023 stage 14: routes, profiles, more
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Very nice