Tour de France Femmes 2024 Route stage 7: Champagnole

Tour de France Femmes 2024 Route stage 7: Champagnole - Grand-Bornand

Saturday 17 August - The longest stage of the Tour de France for women totals 167 kilometres. The riders are to tackle four intermediate climbs before finishing on the ascent to Le Grand-Bornand, the ski station of Le Chinaillon. The route features over 3,000 metres of climbing.

It’s the first time that the Tour de France Femmes traverses the Alps, although forerunner La Course did finish in Le Grand-Bornand. Back in 2018, we witnessed a memorable finale in which Anna van der Breggen dropped her rivals Annemiek van Vleuten and Ashleigh Moolman in the final kilometre of the last climb, the Col de la Colombière. Van Vleuten kept on chasing on descent. All the time, she lagged 5 to 10 seconds behind, but when Van der Breggen faltered on a false flat section in the last few hundred metres she reeled in the bait.

While La Course finished downhill, the finale of the penultimate stage of the Tour for women ends uphill in Le Grand-Bornand.

The route climbs from the start, albeit at shallow gradients Following a rolling section and a long descent the first proper climb appears after roughly 42 kilometres. The Col de la Croix de la Serra is 12 kilometres long and averages 5.1%.

Another long descent takes the riders to Valserhône, at the base of the Côte de Bois d’Arlod. Which is a 2.4 kilometres climb at 4.6%, before it continues as a false flat. Same recipe 20 kilometres later on the climb to Cercier. This is an inclination of 4 kilometres with an average gradient of 4.9% and after moving through the village an 8 kilometrs long false flat laeads to Allonzier-la-Caille. Still 48 kilometres to go at this point.

The riders fly down to Argonay before a short climb leads onto a flat section towards Thônes. Moments later the finish climb kicks in. The first part goes to Saint-Jean-de Six – 5.4 kilometres at 5,1% – and following a minor downhill the route continues to climb 7 kilometres at an average gradient of 5.1%. The finish line is situated in Le Grand-Bornand, shortly after passing through Le Chinaillon.

When the riders would continue straight ahead after Le Grand-Bornand, they would enter Col de la Colombière. That’s the side where Van der Breggen and Van Vleuten came down in the vivacious La Course finale of 2018. Let’s hope for a similar scenario to unfold in 2024.