The penultimate stage of Le Tour has written Paris-Nice written all over it. Not only does the race start in Nice, laos three of the four mountains served as finishes in recente editions of the Race to the Sun.
In 2018 it was Simon Yates who won the Paris-Nice stage to the Col de la Colmaine. Primoz Roglic and Daniel Felipe Martínez turned out on top on Col de Turini, respectively in 2022 and 2019. And in Tadej Pogacar showcased his skills on the Col de la Couillole. By the way, all climbs – with the exception of the Couilolle – were tackled from another side than will be the case on the Tour.
So the Tour goes ‘Paris-Nice’ and it does so in stile. The race kicks into gear at the Place Masséna in Nice. The riders rolll out in northerly direction and enter the first climbs after 15 kilometres. The Col de Braus is a 10 kilometres effort at 6.6%.
Straight after the descent the road goes back up again. The Col de Turini is the longest – 20.7 kilometres – climb of the day and it leads to the highest point at 1,608 metres above sea level. The average gradient on the Turini sits at 5.7%.
The riders fly through the midway marker on descent and back in the valley, in Roquebillière, the next climb begins at shallow gradients. This part of the Col de la Colmaine is not classified as a climb, but it does go up. Only the last 7.5 kilometres – at 7.1% – are KOM classified, but if you count from bottom to top the Colmaine is roughly 20 kilometres long and averaging almost 5%.
Following the downhill to Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée the finish climb kicks in. The Col de la Couillole is a 15.7 kilometres long ascent with an average gradient of 7.1%. The section some 6 kilometres before the finish was important in the 2023 edition of Paris-Nice. Following an intitial move by Chris Harper the big three of that race took the reins. Tadej Pogacar, David Gaudu and Jonas Vingegaard distanced the field before Pogacar sprinted to victory in the fast few hundred metres.
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Tour de France 2024 stage 20: route, profiles, videos
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