The third and last week stays in the Alps – that we already reached on Sunday, except for the last day which suddenly ‘jumps’ to Paris.

Standings after week 2

General Classification:

Unless he undergoes an accident, the race is already won for the Slovenian rider. The battle for podium is however still open, after the unfortunate withdrawal of Vingegaard🇩🇰. The top-10 didn’t change much, but it ‘stretched’, and Pidcock and Jegat entered it.

  1. Tadej Pogatchar 🇸🇮 UAE
  2. Remco Evenepoel 🇧🇪 Bora: +5′00″
  3. Isaac Del Toro 🇲🇽 UAE +5′58″
  4. Paul Seixas 🇫🇷 Decathlon: +6′23″
  5. Florian Lipowitz 🇩🇪 Bora: +6′48″
  6. Juan Ayuso 🇪🇸 Lidl-Trek: +7′28″
  7. Mattias Skjelmose 🇩🇰 Lidl-Trek: +9′38″
  8. Lenny Martinez 🇫🇷 Bahrain: +10′28″
  9. Thomas Pidcock 🇬🇧 Q36.5: +11′19″
  10. Jordan Jegat 🇫🇷 Total : +19′12″

5 other riders follow close to Jegat, at less than 25 minutes, and can thus hope to enter top-10: Voisard🇨🇭, Carapaz🇪🇨, Van Wilder🇧🇪, A. Yates🇬🇧, and Piganzoli🇮🇹 (Visma) who will have to make up for Vingegaard’s withdrawal. The rest is farther than 40 minutes.

Points classification (Green jersey):

Merlier🇧🇪, who was in 4th position, couldn’t finish the race in time on Sunday and withdrew. Philipsen did the best 2nd week.

  1. Mads Pedersen 🇩🇰 Lidl-Trek: 417 pts (+149)
  2. jasper Philipsen 🇧🇪 Alpecin: 191 (+195)
  3. Biniam Girmay 🇪🇷 NSN: 361 (+138)
  4. Max Kanter 🇩🇪 Astana: 271 (+99)
  5. Olav Kooij 🇳🇱 Decathlon 210 (+100)

Mountain (Polka Dots jersey)

Those who try to fight for points cannot seem to be able to beat Pogatchar who doesn’t, and other GC guys aren’t far either. Martinez didn’t go for points this week, and Baudin disappeared.

  1. Tadej Pogatchar 🇸🇮 UAE: 67 pts (+39)
  2. Valentin Paret-Peintre 🇫🇷 Soudal-QS: 45 (+33)
  3. Richard Carapaz 🇪🇨 EF: 39 (+38)
  4. Paul Seixas 🇫🇷 Decathlon: 34 (+22)
  5. Remco Evenepoel 🇧🇪 Bora: 31 (+26)
  6. Isaac Del Toro 🇲🇽 UAE: 30 (+20)

Stages

Stage 16, Tuesday 21

26 km, D+ 500 m, Individual Time Trial

This ITT presents an unusual profile, with an horrible 4,5% strongly uphill false-flat right from the start which lasts for 10 km (!), then a steeper descent and only finally a flat section.

Press to see the map

Stage 17, Wednesday 22

175 km D+ 2400 m

This stage will probably be disputed between a breakaway which could leave in the small/medium climbs of the first 60 km, and sprinter teams. Perhaps Pedersen will attempt to go into the breakaway.

Press to see the map and the finish profile

Stage 18, Thursday 23

186 km, D+ 3900 m

Many climbs, long and short, but never too steep. There is a finish on top, but it might still be good for breakaways if GC guys wait for the 2 harder stages which follow.

NB: the way the profile is drawn makes it look almost flat, but there is almost 4000 m of total elevation to climb, it is really a medium mountain stage.

Press to see the map

Stage 19, Friday 24

128 km, D+ 3600 m

The first Alpe d’Huez stage presents climbs in the beginning and in the end, with smaller and smoother hills in the centre part. It is short. A breakaway might succeed if Pogatchar doesn’t want the stage (who else would ride for it after the withdrawals of Vingegaard and Lipowitz?).

Press to see the map and the profiles of Noyer Pass and Alpe d'Huez.

Stage 20, Saturday 25

171 km, D+ 5600 m

Another finish at the Alpe d’Huez after 3 Hors-Catégorie climbs for the main and last mountain stage. As the stage also starts from the bottom of the Alpe d’Huez, I fear about the crowd being too important, as it will also be compacted on this reduced version of the climb, and those risks come on top of the race staying 2 days in the same place and this stage being on a week-end.

Stage 21 (final), Sunday 26

133 km, D+ 1600 m

Last year’s experiment is renewed: 4 laps of Champs-Élysées only (7 km) and then 3 longer (16 km) laps including the climb to Montmartre and its somewhat scary downhill. The finish is located a bit farther from the last top: 11 km instead of 6, which may cause more regrouping and favour punchers a little bit less.

Special regulations: if the streets are deemed slippery, times shall be taken on the 1st crossing of the finish line, or any later crossing of the line. Riders must complete the full distance in any case. Only one car per team is allowed on the circuits.

  • Deschanel2032OPM
    1·
    5 hours ago

    A confirmation of previous tendencies:

    • Seixas (🇫🇷 Decathlon) gets a tiny bit weaker every day. Too bad he never pushed his advantage when he was a bit stronger than several of his opponents. That’s AG2R’s tradition 🙂
    • Ayuso (🇪🇸 Lidl-Trek) gets weaker much, much faster. According to stage results, after his breakaway, Q. Simmons🇺🇸 had to babysit him up the final climb, once gain.
    • Conversely, Evenepoel (🇧🇪 Bora) and Del Toro (🇲🇽 UAE) appear slightly better now.
    • L. Martinez (🇫🇷 Bahrain) is a pain in the ass and he fails to understand that riding like he does may be fine when he and the other guy(s) with hum detached from the rest of the riders because they were the strongest in the race; but it is absolutely not fine, when you are a breakaway of weaker climbers than the GC leader(s) coming fast behind you. Even more so when you also play a GC position.
    • Carapaz (🇪🇨 EF) is damn, strong in this 3rd week. Same as last year’s 3rd week when he was on fire. And, again, he isn’t afraid of playing with others’ nerves once he has already secured a victory. Another confirmation is that he cannot outsprint V. Paret-Peintre (🇫🇷 Soudal-QS) but he lasts longer.

    Non-Pogatchar GC leaders only climbed faster than Carapaz🇪🇨/Martinez🇫🇷 by about 1 minute, in a 14 km climb! And it’s not like those two climbed in an optimal way…

    L. Martinez🇫🇷 takes over both Lidl-Trek riders in GC (not only the declining Ayuso🇪🇸 but also Skjelmose🇩🇰 for a handful of seconds). In a way, it is thanks to the Lidl-Trek riders in the breakaway; however Lidl-Trek pulling the breakaway a bit unnecessarily may have been the result of a deal between Lidl-Trek/Pedersen🇩🇰 and EF/Carapaz🇪🇨. I previously noted that Pedersen🇩🇰 could ride for others in recognition of another team/rider’s attitude.

    Jegat (🇫🇷 Total) blew up early, and loses a position in GC to Carapaz🇪🇨 and his good finish.

    Carapaz🇪🇨 will wear the Polka Dots jersey tomorrow. For real, but only 1 point ahead of Pogatchar🇸🇮. Vingegaard🇩🇰 then V. Paret-Peintre🇫🇷 wore it for many days (since after stage #6 (Tourmalet)), but Pogatchar🇸🇮 was the actual leader of the classification. Carapaz🇪🇨 was losing only 2 points to V. Paret-Peintre🇫🇷 each time the latter was passing a summit just in front of him, and scored points for 1st and 3rd places in the last two climbs.

    Only 2 stages are left to avoid the very rare humiliation of a Tour de France without a French victory (only occurrences: 1999 after the Festina case, and 1926 the longest Tour with 1,500 miles more than the current edition and Belgians all over).