stage 16 tour de france 2023 preview

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Tour de France 2023 stage 16 preview - the one and only time trial

For those riders who excel at time trials, this is their only chance to gain some time on their rivals

Words: Stephen Puddicombe

Photos: Zac Williams/SWPix.com

Distance: 22.4km ITT Start location: Passy Finish location: Combloux  Start time: 13:05 CEST Finish time (approx): 17:36 CEST

From the town of Combloux, where the 22.4km individual time trial sets off from, you can enjoy spectacular clear, full views of Mont Blanc in all of its glory. It’s a sight to behold. A wonder of nature that prompted Victor Hugo to describe the town as ‘the pearl of the Alps’, but might be received from certain riders in the peloton as a mocking gesture from the ASO organisers who designed this year’s Tour de France route. From the perspective of time trial specialists, it’s a reminder of just how mountainous this race has been, at the expense of more stages like this that would have benefited their GC bids.

As has been much discussed, this is the only ‘race of truth’ in the whole edition, amounting to the least amount of individual time trial kilometres since 2015. It’s a decision that’s had big ramifications, with some of the peloton’s top stars opting to target the Giro instead, and others who usually skip the Tour making a rare appearance. For the time trial-favouring GC riders who have decided to ride the Tour anyway, it’s imperative to squeeze everything they can out of these 22.4 kilometres to maximise their gains, while time trial specialists will have battled their way through the first two weeks of racing all for this one shot of a stage win. 

Stage 16 profile sourced via ASO

Yet even now the organisers have to some extent denied the time trialists, as the route contains too much climbing to be one for the purists. Nestled within the Alps, it does not steer clear of climbing altogether, and after a flat opening two-thirds the final 6km are all uphill. First the riders will climb to the top of the 2.5km, 9.4%-averaging Côte de Domancy, the climb that was the centrepiece of the 1980 World Championships road race, and was hard enough to be used by Bernard Hinault as the basis for what was the only world title of his career. Then comes an uncategorised continued rise for the final 3.5km to the finish at Combloux.

It’s reminiscent of the final time trial of the 2016 Tour de France, which also travelled through Combloux via the Côte de Domancy. On that occasion the amount of climbing significantly mitigated the advantage of the specialists, producing no changes in the top six of the GC, none of whom (even noted time trial-averse Romain Bardet) lost more than 1-30 to stage winner and yellow jersey Chris Froome. This route isn’t quite so hilly, but enough to ensure that no lighter rider will lose too much. 

This is the only opportunity for those who specialise in racing against the clock, aftering enduring a gruelling two weeks battling through the challenging stages in the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and now the Alps. 

Only 10 seconds separate first and second place, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma), and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates). Both riders have shown exceptional strength in the mountains, but with this the first time trial of this year’s edition, it remains to be seen how they will perform against the clock. They have both proven themselves against the clock at the Tour; Pogačar twice a time trial stage winner while Vingegaard finished second to his team-mate Wout van Aert in last year's final TT. Like the mountains, the time trial could be an exceptionally close affair between the Tour's top two rivals.

Although Groupama-FDJ are yet to win a stage at this year’s Tour, Stefan Küng may change that for the French team. He is a strong time trialist and recently won the ITT in this year’s Tour de Suisse. However, the climb at the end of the stage might hinder his chances. As someone who has never won a stage at the Tour, Küng will be eager to use his expertise to secure a victory for himself and his team. 

French national time trial champion Rémi Cavagna (Soudal-Quick-Step) is a rider to keep an eye on as he seeks a stage win in his home country. He displayed good form at the Critérium du Dauphiné last month, finishing third behind Vingegaard and Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates). Bjerg will certainly be a contender for stage 16, having claimed first place at the Dauphiné. However, his weaker climbing abilities might put him at a disadvantage compared to some of his rivals. 

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) is a formidable time trialist who also excels on uphill terrain, as is Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious). Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) and Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) could also be strong contenders for the stage.

Prediction 

We think Jonas Vingegaard will take the stage. Not only is he an excellent time trialist and climber, but he will want to put a bit of distance between himself and Tadej Pogačar before they head back into the mountains for the final week. 

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Tour de France Stage 16 Preview: Bring On the Crucial Time Trial

A 22.4-kilometer time trial after a rest day could prove to be decisive in the epic GC battle.

Stage 16 - Passy to Combloux (22.4km Individual Time Trial) - Tuesday, July 18

After another rest day, the race resumes on Tuesday with the Tour’s only individual time trial, a 22.4km race against the clock from Passy to Combloux that–thanks to a Category 2 climb near the end of the course–should favor the Tour’s GC contenders over the Tour’s time trial specialists.

The stage begins in Passy, which isn’t far from the base of the climb to Saint-Gervais, which hosted the summit finish to Stage 15. From the start the riders will race north toward the day’s first obstacle: the uncategorized Côte de la Cascade de Cœur, which they’ll summit after just 4.1km.

Once over the summit they’ll race down toward the first time check, 7.1km into the stage, and then on to Sallanches. This is the fastest section of the course as the riders speed downhill from the top of the Côte de la Cascade de Cœur and toward the town that hosted the world road championships in 1964 and 1980, the latter of which was won by French legend Bernard Hinault.

After looping through Sallanches, the riders head south toward Domancy on a long, straight false flat that ends with the day’s second time check, 16.1km into the stage. This is the power portion of the course, where riders will need to push a big gear at a high cadence, while still saving their legs for the sting in this course’s tail: the Category 2 Côte de Domancy (2.5km at 9.4%).

The road goes up immediately after the second time check and the riders will have to adjust from pushing a big gear on the road from Sallanches to spinning a lighter gear on the climb’s steep slopes. Managing that shift–and pacing their efforts so as to have something left for the climb itself–will determine which riders set the fastest times.

The riders “summit” the Côte de Domancy 3.5km from the finish line, but that’s a bit deceiving as the road–despite easing out for a kilometer after the KOM banner and the day’s final time check–continues to climb all the way to the finish line in Combloux.

Riders to watch

This stage should favor the Tour’s top-2 riders, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who also happen to be two of the race’s best time trialists. Both can push big gears on the stage’s flat and downhill sections and up their cadences–and their wattage outputs–on the final climb to the finish line. Vingegaard has a slight mental edge given the fact that–as the race leader–he’ll start after Pogačar and therefore have the benefit of knowing all of the Slovenian’s times as he passes through the course’s three checks. But at the end of the day, we won’t be surprised if the gaps between the two of them aren’t enormous.

If one of these two doesn’t win the stage, our money’s on Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma). Desperate for a stage victory, he came close to winning Stage 15 on Sunday and is one of the world’s best when it comes to racing against the clock. His team will let him go all-out–his splits will help them plan Vingegaard’s own effort–and he can probably hold his own on the final climb.

We’re also keeping an eye on Spain’s Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS-Grenadiers) who currently sits third overall. The 22-year-old’s not a bad time trialist, and a good ride Tuesday will go a long way toward giving him the gap he needs to hold-off Great Britain’s Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) and Australia’s Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe) for the Tour’s final podium spot.

When to Watch

Beginning around 7:00 a.m. EDT, the riders will start the stage in reverse order of the Tour’s GC standings, with the majority of the racers hitting the course at 1-minute intervals. A second group will start at 90-second intervals, and the Tour’s best riders will start the stage at 2-minute intervals. The fastest riders should cover the course in about 32 minutes.

The list of starting times hadn’t been finalized by the time we went to press, but we’ll probably tune-in around 10:30 a.m. EDT to watch the final hour of the stage. We know that Rodríguez begins at 10:56 a.m. EDT, Pogačar begins at 10:58 a.m. EDT, and Vingegaard, the last rider to hit the course, rolls down the start ramp at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

Since getting hooked on pro cycling while watching Lance Armstrong win the 1993 U.S. Pro Championship in Philadelphia, longtime Bicycling contributor Whit Yost has raced on Belgian cobbles, helped build a European pro team, and piloted that team from Malaysia to Mont Ventoux as an assistant director sportif. These days, he lives with his wife and son in Pennsylvania, spending his days serving as an assistant middle school principal and his nights playing Dungeons & Dragons.

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Tour de France

Tour de france stage 16 preview analysis: the time trial that could decide the winner, we look at the 22.3-kilometer time trial that could decide the tour de france between jonas vingegaard and tadej pogačar.

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Only 10 seconds separate the top two riders in the battle for the yellow jersey at this year’s Tour de France . Jonas Vingegaard leads Tadej Pogačar after 15 stages, and up next is an unorthodox individual time trial from Passy to Combloux. The Stage 16 time trial is 22.3km long with 647m of elevation gain, but most of the climbing comes in the final 6km, which averages 6.9%. 

In my opinion, a bike swap is unlikely for the GC contenders because there are only 1.2 steep kilometers of climbing that average over 10%. The rest of the climbing is 5-8% on average, with flatter sections where the riders will gain significant speed. Modern-day time trial bikes are super lightweight and the world’s best will be going around 20kph for a couple of minutes on the slowest section of the time trial. 

In this preview, we’re going to take a closer look at the time trial performances of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar and predict what could happen in Stage 16 of the Tour de France. 

First, let’s break down the time trial into three different parts: opening 4km with the Côte de la Cascade de Coeur, the downhill and flat section to Domancy, and the final climb to Combloux. 

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Opening 4km of the TT

After a flat start, the riders will ascend the Côte de la Cascade de Coeur, which is 1.5km at 8.5%, with pitches exceeding 10%. This could be an advantage for Pogačar, who has a sharper kick than Vingegaard, especially when both riders are fresh. 

Descent and flat section

PREVIEW | Tour de France 2023 stage 16 - Decisive time-trial could turn the tide for yellow jersey battle between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar

Preview . The Alps have so far created very little differences between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar . Stage 16 of the Tour de France will be the race's only time-trial and could be decisive.

The first day of the final week of the Tour de France and one which everyone has talked about. The only individual time-trial of the 2023 Tour de France, featuring only 22 kilometers in distance. Early on in the effort the riders will climb the Côte des Soudans (1.3Km; 8.8%) and descend back into the valley. The intermediate point will be at 6.5 kilometers, the descent will be fast and not really technical, high speeds will be reached.

Estimated start and finish times for Tour de France stage 16: 13:05-17:35CET

Start Times and Order Tour de France 2023 stage 16 Time-Trial

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This will be a day for the GC riders once again, and the differences will be important. The riders will climb the Côte de Domancy (2.7Km; 8.9%) that finishes with only 3.5 kilometers away from the finish, and continue on an uphill drag into Combloux where they will meet the finish line. The climb in reality is 6.3 kilometers at 6.6%, the TT will suit the climbers and GC riders, with intermediate points at the base and top of Domancy.

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The Weather

Some wind from the west, which will see headwind in a slightly long false-flat downhill sector. However it'll stay same throughout the afternoon so it won't change anything. There is a chance of rain, which increases throughout the afternoon. This could prove important in the fight for the stage win, but simultaneously there is no technical descent where there would be big differences.

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The Favourites

Tadej Pogacar - Pogacar doesn't have a single meaningful time-trial reference this year and he got his wrist injury which could on paper affect him, but let's be real. The injury didn't hamper his form at all, he reaches top form right away, don't expect anything but the best Pogacar against the clock. Here there is no wheel following, but still to take 10 seconds on Vingegaard it already be a very difficult task.

Jonas Vingegaard - Vingegaard is holding his own in the Alps, so far winning 1 second. Now against the clock, as was the case in these last two stages, I can't say one is more favoured than the other. I expect another completely balanced battle, perhaps only decided really by the pacing tactics, here yes they will not be easy and can make a difference.

Top10 fight - If the weather doesn't play out the fight for win is there, don't hope having other GC riders surprise. In that fight Carlos Rodríguez could be in trouble to keep his podium spot as Adam Yates has put on strong time-trials this year, 19 seconds may not be enough, the tide may change. No other spot should change or have any meaningful development.

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This is the Tour de France however. The list of time-trial specialists, despite the route which features no suited TT, is very big. Take Wout van Aert for example, he is climbing very well and he's yet to take the stage win he seeks. He will with no doubt aim for a win, he leads the list of riders too who could profit from the weather, since early departures could be favoured.

Stefan Küng , Rémi Cavagna and Mikkel Bjerg on their best day could try to hit hard, who knows they may succeed. Mattias Skjelmose showed on the Tour de Suisse that he's got the speed on the flat terrain, whilst of course he depends on his climbing legs to go for a strong result. Other outsiders would include Nelson Oliveira, Fred Wright, Kasper Asgreen, Pierre Latour, Ben O'Connor and Soren Waerenskjold .

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Prediction Tour de France 2023 stage 16:

*** Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard ** Wout van Aert * Adam Yates, Stefan Küng, Rémi Cavagna, Mattias Skjelmose

Pick : Jonas Vingegaard

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Preview: Tour de France 2023 stage 16

Everything you need to know about stage 16 of the 2023 Tour de France.

Stage 16: Passy to Combloux individual time trial – 22 km

Date:  July 18, 2023

Stage type:  Individual time trial

What to watch for:  Rest days do odd things to some riders. Will any favorites suffer rest-day legs?

Stage summary:  A category 2 climb defines this short but crucial time trial.

The Tour marks the “top” of the climb in Domancy, just 2.5 kilometers from the bottom. Those early kilometers are indeed the steepest, averaging 9.4%, but the climb doesn’t stop there. It keeps going for another 4 km. The total climb is 6.3 km at 6.6% average.

Three GC stages remain. This time trial, then two more days in the mountains. A bad day is not an option.

Dane Cash’s picks:  This late in the race and with a tough climb on the profile, the two favorites for the TT are the two favorites for yellow at the Tour de France. Personally, I see Tadej Pogačar having a slight edge, both in TTs generally (albeit very slightly) and particularly in a TT with a short but very steep climb thrown in. In any case, it should be close. Wout van Aert is the other big contender here.

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Tour de France 2023 stage 16 preview: Route map and profile of 22km time trial from Passy to Combloux

The final week of the 2023 Tour de France begins with a 22.4km individual time trial from the small town of Passy up to the Alpine ski resort of Combloux. Dubbed ‘the race of truth’, there is no hiding place in an ITT, and we will see Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard ride alone without their teammates or even each other for company.

Typically a time trial might be a big opportunity for two-time winner Pogacar to take time out of the reigning champion Vingegaard, who currently wears the yellow jersey with a slender lead of only 10 seconds after their battles in the high Alps.

Pogacar beat Vingegaard by eight seconds over 13.2km in a wet Copenhagen on last year’s Tour time trial, and by 27 seconds over 16.9km in Laval the year before, winning the stage in the process. But they were flat routes compared to this more demanding ITT, which includes an initial uncategorised climb before a category two drag towards the finish: the steep but short Cote de Domancy (2.5km at 9.4%).

That may be enough to slow down time trial specialists like Belgium ’s Victor Campenaerts – once the owner of the hour record – and Swiss rider Stefan Kung, And it will certainly suit Vingegaard, where a flatter run would have played into Pogacar’s hands.

Then again, even with the climbing involved, Pogacar is still the slight favourite to win the stage. It could well come down to a just handful of seconds between the pair – Pogacar will be going all out to earn the 11 he needs to take the maillot jaune .

The weather could be a factor here. Pogacar does not particularly like racing in hot weather so the European heatwave could hurt him, although he has been working hard on heat adaptation training this year. It is also forecast to rain during the afternoon, and a slick surface will increase the jeopardy on a stage where the two giants of this race have everything on the line.

Stage 16 route map and profile

The stage is set to begin at 12.05pm BST and Jonas Vingegaard will go off last at 4pm, with Pogacar begining two minutes earlier BST.

Pogacar and Vingegaard have so much more riding on every second than the rest, so I expect them to fill the top two spots here. In what order? Pogacar is naturally the favourite, but Vingegaard did look strong on stage 15 and I’m tipping him to win this time trial, by just a few seconds.

Caveat: if the weather scuppers the late starters, then how about Pogacar’s UAE Emirates teammate Mikkel Bjerg, a good time triallist who sets off three and a half hours earlier when the road may still be dry.

2023 Tour de France Stage 16 Preview

Passy > Combloux 22.3km ITT

A relatively short TT for the Tour de France, the only one in the whole race, but it’s still going to be a very hard effort for all the riders. 22km in length, with 647m of climbing, this is far too hard for the big TT specialists, it’s another stage for the GC riders, and Wout. Sunday’s stage has left us wanting more, Vingegaard and Pogačar are still only separated by 10 seconds, in what is becoming the closest Tour de France in many years. 

Weather  

Sunny, hot, and a risk of showers throughout the afternoon. There’s not much wind, but it will be headwind up the final climb. 

Route  

The route has two climbs, 1.55km at 8.6% and 6km at 6.9%. It’s the climb to the finish which makes this a day for the GC riders, non-climbers will lose bucket loads of time here. There’s only around 4km of descending in the whole route, hardly any time for riders to go easy and recover. Pacing is very important, energy must be saved for the final climb, those that start too hot could die a million deaths in the final 5km. 

The categorised section of the final climb is 2.5km at 9.2%, the rest of it is much easier, but it’s still going to be hard. Teams will have to decide if they want to switch onto road bikes at the foot of the climb, I think quite a few will make that choice. The start of the climb is very steep, being on a road bike will gain enough time to make the switch worthwhile. 

Tadej Pogačar  – in what has been an ever-changing fight for the yellow jersey, the momentum after the weekend has swung a little to his rival, but that could all change after the TT. Pogačar is normally incredibly strong in this discipline, especially in the Tour de France. He won a relatively flat TT back in 2021, and despite being down and out, he was 3 rd  in the final TT last year. He can produce incredible watts on the flat, but this stage will be decided by the final climb. As he and Vingegaard have been hard to separate in the last week, I think the winner of this stage could be decided by a very small margin. UAE have good equipment, their TT performances this year have been much better than previous seasons. Tadej will start in the white jersey skinsuit, it’s not as fast as his own, but Vingegaard is in the same boat, it’s all to do with who’s got the best legs on the day. 

Jonas Vingegaard  – his response to the attack on Sunday was huge, especially his own move past Pogačar in the final corner, and the subsequent look. Vingegaard’s last TT was in the Dauphiné, where he surprisingly lost to Mikkel Bjerg, it wasn’t his best day in this discipline. His track record isn’t as strong as Pogačar, but a TT at this point in the Tour de France is totally different to anything else in the season. Last year, he could have won the final TT, but went a little easy to “gift” the win to Van Aert. Jumbo-Visma spend a lot of time looking at TTs, spending time and money on the correct feeding strategy for the day, and how to pace this effort. Jonas will start in the yellow skinsuit, but as I’ve already said, it’s the same as Pogačar, so no advantage/disadvantage for either of them. Vingegaard would love to win the stage and put more time into Pogačar, but I think he’ll also be happy if he ends the day still in the yellow jersey. 

Wout Van Aert  – the only non-GC rider who has a chance of taking the win, but I don’t think he will. He’s climbing incredibly well, but as the TT is mainly about the final climb, he’ll lose too much to the proper climbers in the race. He could still finish in the top 3, but I think the win isn’t a realistic ambition. 

Carlos Rodríguez  – the young Spaniard is climbing incredibly well, but he’s got Adam Yates breathing down his neck. The good news is that he’s an excellent TT rider. In last year’s flat TT at the Vuelta, he was 4 th , which was an incredible result. Given how he’s performed this weekend, he’ll be hoping to consolidate his 3 rd  place on GC. He’ll also benefit from wearing his own skinsuit. 

Adam Yates  – he’s ridden a brilliant race, the final podium is a realistic ambition, even though the main focus is helping Pogačar win yellow. Ever since he moved to Ineos in 2021, his performance in this discipline has significantly improved. This year he continued that upward trajectory by finishing 3 rd  in the Romandie TT and 8 th  in the Dauphiné, but can he put time into Rodríguez and move into 3 rd  place on GC?  

Simon Yates  – he started to creak at the weekend, hopefully the rest day has allowed him to recover for the final week. He’s another with a good record in this discipline, but at this point in the Tour de France it’s very hard to turn things around once you have problems in the mountains. 

Pello Bilbao  – after a brilliant race, the Basque climber sits 7 th  on GC, with his sights set on the top 5. Bilbao has long been a good TT rider, nothing more, nothing less. I expect him to put in a solid time, top 10 on the stage, and potentially move closer to the top 5. 

Jai Hindley  – he’s another who’s starting to slip and slide, at least he’s got the excuse of crashing on Saturday. Hindley looked secure in 3 rd  place, but he’s now 5 th  and looking over his shoulder. This year he’s put in some decent TT rides, the best in his career, but he’s still far off the very best. Hopefully the rest day has allowed him to recover from his injury and he can start looking forward instead of behind. 

Prediction Time  

The top 2 will blow everyone else away, but who’ll get the win? 

I’ll go with  Jonas Vingegaard . 

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• Spring Classics

Tour de France - Stage 16

Tour de France's sole time trial ready to expose weaknesses and rearrange GC

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• Dates 18 Jul
• Race Length 22 kms
• Start Passy
• Finish Combloux
• Race Category Elite Men

After a well-deserved rest day the Tour de France springs back into action with stage 16’s individual time trial. This will be a vitally important stage in this year’s race with the 22.4km test between Passy and Combloux providing the only time trial in this year’s edition. This is a prime opportunity for the more accomplished time trialists to put the pure climbers to the sword. The Tour has never visited either Passy or Combloux, so this will be a special day for both locations, and while the majority of the peloton will treat this almost as a second rest day, the precious seconds that separate the GC riders will be fought over tooth and nail. After departing Passy, which is situated in the foothills of Mont Blanc, the riders will cross the Arve river at Sallanches, where Bernard Hinault famously won the men’s World Championships in 1980, at roughly the half-way point. From there the course meanders towards the Côte de Domancy, which was used in the 1980s Worlds and during both the 2016 and 2021 Tour de France. In 2016 the climb was part of Chris Froome’s mountain time trial win to Megéve, while five years later Pierre Latour led the Tour over the climb. The ascent is just 2.5km in length but has an average gradient of 9.4%, meaning that riders will have to time their efforts to perfection to ensure that they don’t burn all their matches before the final climb. In truth the gaps between the GC riders should not be too dramatic but this stage could be a key indication of who is about to have a successful final week and who is starting to run on fumes. And definitely expect the leading GC riders to change onto road bikes for the climb.

You can watch live and on-demand coverage of stage 16 of the Tour de France on GCN+ via the GCN app, website and connected devices. Plus, tune into The Breakaway for expert pre- and post-stage analysis from Orla Chennaoui, Dan Lloyd, Adam Blythe and Robbie McEwen. As always, territory restrictions will apply.

Latest News

1 Watch: Tour de France stage 16 highlights

2 Tour de France stage 16: Jonas Vingegaard decimates time trial

3 Tadej Pogačar: The Tour de France is definitely not over

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2023 tour de france route: stage profiles, previews, start, finish times.

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A stage-by-stage look at the 2023 Tour de France route with profiles, previews and estimated start and finish times (all times Eastern) ...

Stage 1/July 1: Bilbao-Bilbao (113 miles) Hilly Neutralized Start: 6:30 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:15 a.m. Quick Preview: The Grant Départ is held in the Basque Country as the Tour’s first three stages start in Spain. There are five categorized climbs, though none of the highest difficulty, with 21 King of the Mountain points available and 50 green jersey points. An uphill finish could neutralize the top sprinters.

TOUR DE FRANCE: Broadcast Schedule

Stage 2/July 2: Vitoria-Gasteiz-San Sebastián (130 miles) Hilly Neutralized Start: 6:15 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:04 a.m. Quick Preview: Five more climbs with the toughest coming near the end of the longest stage of the Tour. If no breakaways are successful, the sprinters will be rewarded with a flat finish.

Stage 3/July 3: Amorebieta-Etxano-Bayonne (120 miles) Flat Neutralized Start: 7 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:27 a.m. Quick Preview: The first flat stage brings the Tour into France along the Bay of Biscay coastline. Could be Mark Cavendish’s first prime opportunity to break the Tour stage wins record he shares with Eddy Merckx.

Stage 4/July 4: Dax-Nogaro (114 miles) Flat Neutralized Start: 7:10 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:12 a.m. Quick Preview: Another flat stage, this one finishing at France’s first purpose-built motor racing venue, the Circuit Paul Armagnac, with the final 1.9 miles taking place on the track.

Stage 5/July 5: Pau-Laruns (103 miles) Mountain Neutralized Start: 7:05 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:21 a.m. Quick Preview: The first of eight mountain stages that will collectively visit France’s five biggest mountain ranges. This one is in the Pyrenees with three summits in the second half of the day followed by a flat run-in to the finish. Expect the overall standings to shake up.

Stage 6/July 6: Tarbes-Cauterets (90 miles) Mountain Neutralized Start: 7:10 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:08 a.m. Quick Preview: The first of four summit finishes of this year’s Tour. Summit finishes are usually where the real yellow jersey contenders separate from the pack. Could be the first duel between 2022 Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard and 2020 and 2021 Tour winner Tadej Pogacar.

Stage 7/July 7: Mont-de-Marsan-Bordeaux (110 miles) Flat Neutralized Start: 7:15 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:07 a.m. Quick Preview: Flattest stage of the Tour with a single fourth-category climb. Cavendish won the last time a Tour stage finished in Bordeaux in 2010.

Stage 8/July 8: Libourne-Limoges (125 miles) Hilly Neutralized Start: 6:30 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:07 a.m. Quick Preview: A transition day as the Tour heads to the Massif Central. A 5% uphill in the last 700 meters might mean this is not a sprinters’ day.

Stage 9/July 9: Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat-Puy de Dôme (114 miles) Mountain Neutralized Start: 7:30 a.m. Estimated Finish: 12:05 p.m. Quick Preview: A summit finish -- to a dormant volcano -- before a rest day is sure to shake up the overall standings. Puy de Dôme returns to the Tour after a 35-year absence.

Stage 10/July 11: Vulcania-Issoire (104 miles) Hilly Neutralized Start: 7:05 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:19 a.m. Quick Preview: The hilliest day of the Tour. Begins at a volcano-themed amusement park.

Stage 11/July 12: Clermont-Ferrand-Moulins (110 miles) Flat Neutralized Start: 7:05 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:19 a.m. Quick Preview: The last flat stage until the 19th stage. If Cavendish hasn’t gotten a stage win yet, the pressure will start to mount.

Stage 12/July 13: Roanne-Belleville-en-Beaujolais (103 miles) Hilly Neutralized Start: 7:05 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:21 a.m. Quick Preview: Even with three late climbs, don’t expect a yellow jersey battle with back-to-back-to-back mountain stages after this.

Stage 13/July 14: Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne-Grand Colombier (86 miles) Mountain Neutralized Start: 7:45 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:12 a.m. Quick Preview: On Bastille Day, the second and final beyond-category summit finish of this year’s Tour. The French have incentive to break away on their national holiday, but this is a climb for the yellow jersey contenders. A young Pogacar won here in 2020.

Stage 14/July 15: Annemasse-Morzine (94 miles) Mountain Neutralized Start: 7:05 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:18 a.m. Quick Preview: Another selective day in the Alps, with each climb seemingly tougher than the last. The downhill into the finish could neutralize attacks from the last ascent.

Stage 15/July 16: Les Gets-Saint-Gervais-les-Bains (110 miles) Mountain Neutralized Start: 7:05 a.m. Estimated Finish: 12 p.m. Quick Preview: The last of three consecutive mountain stages features the last summit finish of the Tour. The eventual Tour winner could emerge here given the next stage’s time trial is only 14 miles.

Stage 16/July 18: Passy-Combloux (14 miles) Individual Time Trial First Start: 7:05 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:36 a.m. Quick Preview: After a rest day, the Tour’s lone, short time trial will be punctuated by a late climb. Only twice in the last 50 years has there been just one time trial (including team time trials and prologues).

Stage 17/July 19: Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Courchevel (103 miles) Mountain Neutralized Start: 6:20 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:03 a.m. Quick Preview: The first of two mountain stages in the last week of the Tour. It’s the most difficult of the eight total mountain stages with more than 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) of elevation gain, capped by the beyond category Col de la Loze just before the descent to the finish.

Stage 18/July 20: Moûtiers-Bourg-en-Bresse (116 miles) Hilly Neutralized Start: 7:05 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:31 a.m. Quick Preview: About as flat of a “hilly” stage as one gets. Should still be a day for the sprinters who made it through the mountains.

Stage 19/July 21: Moirans-en-Montagne-Poligny (107 miles) Flat Neutralized Start: 7:15 a.m. Estimated Finish: 11:11 a.m. Quick Preview: An undulating stage with a relieving descent toward the end. The last kilometer goes up a 2.6% incline, which could take the sting out of some sprinters.

Stage 20/July 22: Belfort-Le Markstein (83 miles) Mountain Neutralized Start: 7:30 a.m. Estimated Finish: 10:54 a.m. Quick Preview: The last competitive day for the yellow jersey is highlighted by two late category-one climbs that could determine the overall champion should it be close going into the day.

Stage 21/July 23: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines-Paris (71 miles) Flat Neutralized Start: 10:30 a.m. Estimated Finish: 1:28 p.m. Quick Preview: The ceremonial ride into Paris, almost always a day for the sprinters. Should be the final Tour stage for Cavendish and Peter Sagan, who both plan to retire from road cycling after this season.

2023 Tour de France route

From the Basque Country to Paris and all the stages in between

The 2023 Tour de France got underway on July 1st in Bilbao, Spain with another demanding route that includes only a single 22km hilly time trial in the Alps and mountain stages in all five of France’s mountain ranges. From the Grand Départ in the Basque Country to the finish in Paris, Cyclingnews has all the route details.

The very limited amount of time trialling and preponderance of mountains no doubt suits French riders  Thibaut Pinot , David Gaudu and Romain Bardet. As a result, Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglič and Geraint Thomas targeted the Giro d’Italia, which had three times the amount of time trialling and fewer mountains.

Official information from race organiser ASO claimed the 3,404km route includes eight flat stages for the sprinters, four hilly stages suited to breakaways and eight mountain stages. Four of these include summit finishes: in the Pyrenees at Cauterets-Cambasque, on the legendary Puy de Dôme volcano in the Massif Central, on the Grand Colombier in the Jura and at Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc in the Alps.

Tour de France 2023 route revealed Tour de France stage-by-stage previews 2023 Tour de France to start in the Basque Country 2023 Tour de France set to return to Puy de Dome mountain finish

The other mountain stages are also extremely difficult, even if some are short and extra intense.

Stage 14 to Morzine includes 4,200m of climbing, alongside the mighty Col de Joux Plane and its testing descent to the finish. Stage 15 ends with the 11% ‘wall’ of Côte des Amerands and then the 7km 7.7% climb up to Saint-Gervais in view of Mont-Blanc.       

Stage 17 to Courchevel is arguably the queen stage, climbing the 2,304m-high Col de la Loze and then descends to finish on the altiport runway. Stage 20 is a final brutal multi-mountain stage in the Vosges between Belfort and Le Markstein ski resort.

The only time trial is on stage 16 in the Arve Valley near Sallanches after the second rest day, but the 22km route between Passy and Combloux will test riders' bike handling skills and climbing as much as their time trialling. The stage includes the Côte de Domancy, where Bernard Hinault forged his 1980 Worlds victory, and which also featured as part of the final week time trial in the 2016 Tour.

2022 Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard was arguably the best climber of the last two editions of the Tour and he appears to have plenty of opportunities to go on the attack on the steep ascents in 2023.

Two-time winner  Tadej Pogačar  will no doubt relish the route on offer for next July’s challenge against Vingegaard, Jumbo-Visma, Ineos Grenadiers and anyone else.

For an in-depth analysis of this year's major contenders, check our regularly updated guide to the favourites of the 2023 Tour de France .

For a detailed description of each stage, click on the link in the table below.

Stage 1: Bilbao-Bilbao, 182 km - Hilly

Stage 2: vitoria-gasteiz to san sebastián, 208.9km - hilly, stage 3: amorebieta-etxano to bayonne, 193.5km - flat, stage 4: dax to nogaro, 181.8km - flat, stage 5: pau to laruns, 162.7km - mountain, stage 6: tarbes to cauterets-cambasque, 144.9km - mountain, stage 7: mont-de-marsan to bordeaux, 169.9km - flat, stage 8: libourne to limoges, 200.7km - hilly, stage 9: saint-léonard- de-noblat to puy de dôme, 182.4km - mountain, stage 10: vulcania to issoire, 167.2km - hilly, stage 11: clermont-ferrand to moulins, 179.8km - flat, stage 12: roanne to belleville-en-beaujolais, 168.8km - hilly, stage 13: châtillon-sur-chalaronne to grand colombier, 137.8km - mountain, stage 14: annemasse to morzine les portes du soleil, 151.8km - mountain, stage 15: les gets les portes du soleil to saint-gervais mont blanc, 179km - mountain, stage 16: passy to combloux, 22.4km - itt, stage 17: saint-gervais mont blanc à courchevel, 184.9km - mountain, stage 18: moûtiers to bourg-en-bresse, 184.9km - hilly, stage 19: moirans-en-montagne to poligny, 172.8km - flat, stage 20: belfort to le markstein fellering, 133.5km - mountain, stage 21: saint-quentin-en-yvelines to paris champs-élysées, 115.1km - flat.

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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura's specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.

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Tour de France 2023 preview: Full schedule and how to watch live

Another thrilling battle at the 2023 Tour de France is in sight as Tadej Pogacer will try to take back the Tour de France crown that he lost to Jonas Vingegaard last year. Here is all you need to about this year’s race which begins on 1 July in Bilbao, Spain.

The Tour de France 2023 has all the makings of another road cycling thriller.

Will the world’s most prestigious race be the third act in the epic battle between defending champion Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and 2021 champion Tadej Pogacar ?

Soon we will have all the answers with the 110 th edition of the French Grand Tour starting on Saturday (1 July) in Bilbao, the largest city in the Basque Country, Spain.

Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) is hoping to be crowned champion again, after he won last year’s race as just the second Dane in history ahead of Slovenia’s two-time Tour de France winner, Tadej Pogacar

It is the 110 th edition of the French Grand Tour that will feature Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Richard Carapaz , silver medallist Wout van Aert and bronze medallist Pogacar.

La Grande Boucle will cover 3,404 km over the 21 stages, with the final stage taking place at the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 23 July. There are eight flat stages, four hilly stages, one time trial and eight mountain stages. Four of these have summit finishes, including the stage to the mythical Puy de Dôme.

176 riders will be on the start line at the Guggenheim Museum, one of Bilbao’s major tourist attractions, with eight riders for each of the 22 teams.

Below you will find everything you need to know about this year’s Tour de France.

How to qualify for road cycling at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained

Tour de france 2023 general classification riders to watch.

In 2022, we witnessed a breathtaking duel between Vingegaard and Pogacar , and they are coming into this year’s race as the two big favourites.

The 26-year-old Dane has participated in four stage races this season, having won three of them in dominant fashion - O Gran Camiño, Itzulia Basque Country, and most recently the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Pogacar and Vingegaard last faced each other at the Paris-Nice in March, where the 24-year-old Slovenian claimed victory ahead of David Gaudu and Vingegaard .

UAE Tean Emirates captain Pogacar has claimed no less than 14 victories this season including Paris-Nice, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, before he crashed and broke his wrist at the Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The two-time Il Lombardia winner made his comeback last week, claiming both the Slovenian national time trial and road race championship.

2022 Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley is going to be the leader on a strong BORA - Hansgrohe team. At the Critérium du Dauphiné, 27-year-old Hindley finished fourth behind Adam Yates of the UAE Team Emirates and his compatriot Ben O'Connor of AG2R Citroën Team.

With his win at last year’s Giro, the Australian has shown that he has the endurance needed to compete in a three-week Grand Tour.

22-year-old Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark) stunned the world of cycling by winning the Tour de Suisse earlier this month ahead of the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso .

He continued his impressive run and was crowned Danish road race champion on Sunday (25 June), after a spectacular solo effort in the final kilometres.

The Trek-Segafredo rider has participated in one Grand Tour previously as he rode the Giro d’Italia last year finishing just 40 th . This year’s Tour de France will be a test of his stamina.

And dont count out Enric Mas. The 28-year-old Spaniard has finished second in the general classification at the Vuelta a España three times and is hoping to make the podium at the Tour.

The Movistar rider came in top six overall in three stage races this season.

Other key riders at the Tour de France 2023

Green jersey.

Last year's points competition winner Wout van Aert has already announced that the green jersey will not be a target for him as he aims to win stages and prepare for the UCI Cycling World Championships that takes place just two weeks after the finish in Paris.

That leaves Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck as the favourite to take the crown. The Belgian clinched two stages last season - including the most prestigious sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées - and he has already six race wins this season. His versatile teammate Mathieu van der Poel seems to be in the shape of his life, and if the Paris-Roubaix winner gets the freedom to chase the green jersey, watch out for the Dutchman.

The biggest threat might come from Soudal-Quick Step that always target stage wins with their sprinter. Fabio Jakobsen will be their trusted sprinter, like last year. The Dutchman is supported by a strong sprint cast with the most experienced lead-out man in the peloton, Michael Mørkøv, to set him up. 

Sprinter’s teams like Team Jayco Alula with Dylan Groenewegen and Lotto Dstny with Caleb Ewan will also chase stage wins and are contenders for the green jersey.

Denmark’s Mads Pedersen and Biniam Girmay of Eritrea are not only great sprinters but also good climbers. That ability can secure points for the green jersey classification on the more hilly stages. Pedersen took his first Tour de France stage win in last year’s edition and claimed the green jersey in the Vuelta a España, but like van Aert he has announced his focus is to arrive in top shape at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow.

Polka dot jersey

In the last three editions of the Tour de France, the winner of the king of the mountains classification has also been the overall winner of the Tour de France. Therefore, Pogacar and Vingegaard are the top contenders this year.

For the French riders it will be a special achievement to be on the podium in Paris wearing the polka dot jersey. Thibaut Pinot , who was king of the mountains classification at the Giro d’Italia in May is keen on challenging the two top guns as is 2019 polka dot jersey winner Romain Bardet .

Tour de France 2023 route and important stages

The 2023 Tour de France begins with a hilly stage containing some 3,400 metres of climbing. Contenders for the overall win will have to be ready from the start on the hills around Bilbao. The stage suits classics specialist like Mathieu van der Poel , Wout van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe who all want to be the first rider to wear the yellow jersey at this year’s Tour de France.

After another hilly stage in the Basque Country to San Sebastian on stage two, the peloton will cross the French border and resume the race with flat stages on day three and four. 

Stage five will take the peloton on the first mountain stage in the Pyrenees which includes Col du Soudet and Col de Marie Blanque. The following day, the riders will tackle the mythical mountain Col du Tourmalet before finishing the stage on the category 1 climb Cauterets-Cambasque. Week one concludes with an eagerly anticipated summit finish to the volcano Puy de Dôme that returns to the Tour after a 35-year absence.

On stage 13 in week two, the teams face a gruelling finish to Col du Grand Colombier in the Jura mountains. The two following days will also test the riders’ climbing skills with stage 15 featuring a summit finish to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc in the Alps to end week two.

The final week kicks off with stage 16, the only individual time trial in the race. It is just 22 kilometres long but contains a fair amount of climbing, especially in the second part of the route. After the time trial, the queen stage of the Tour de France with more than 5000 metres of climbing is sure to generate plenty of drama. Colo de la Loze, the highest point of the race at 2304m, is the biggest obstacle on this stage being 28 kilometres long, with an average gradient of six percent.

Two flatter stages follow ahead of a short but mountainous penultimate stage in the Vosges on stage 20. It will be the last chance for the general classification contenders to gain time before the celebrations in Paris.

Day-by-day route of the 2023 Tour de France

Saturday 1 July: Stage 1 - Bilbao-Bilbao (182km)

Sunday 2 July: Stage 2 - Vitoria-Gasteiz - Saint-Sebastian (208.9km)

Monday 3 July: Stage 3 - Amorebieta - Etxano-Bayonne (187.4 km)

Tuesday 4 July: Stage 4 - Dax - Nogaro (181.8 km)

Wednesday 5 July: Stage 5 - Pau - Laruns (162.7 km)

Thursday 6 July: Stage 6 - Tarbes - Cauterets-Cambasque (144.9 km)

Friday 7 July: Stage 7 - Mont-de-Marsan - Bordeaux          (169.9 km)

Saturday 8 July: Stage 8 - Libourne - Limoges (200.7 km)

Sunday 9 July: Stage 9 - Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat - Puy de Dôme (182.4 km)

Monday 10 July: Rest Day

Tuesday 11 July: Stage 10 - Vulcania - Issoire (167.2 km)

Wednesday 12 July: Stage 11 - Clermont-Ferrand - Moulins (179.8 km)

Thursday 13 July: Stage 12 - Roanne - Belleville-en-Beaujolais (168.8 km)

Friday 14 July: Stage 13 - Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne - Grand Colombier (137.8 km)

Saturday 15 July: Stage 14 - Annemasse - Morzine Les Portes du Soleil       (151.8 km)

Sunday 16 July Stage 15 - Les Gets les portes du soleil - Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc (179 km)

Monday 17 July: Rest Day

Tuesday 18 July: Stage 16 - Passy - Combloux (22.4 km individual time trial)

Wednesday 19 July: Stage 17 - Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc - Courchevel (165.7 km)

Thursday 20 July: Stage 18 - Moûtiers - Bourg-en-Bresse (184.9 km)

Friday July 21: Stage 19  - Moirans-en-Montagne - Poligny (172.8 km)

Saturday July 22: Stage 20 - Belfort - Le Markstein Fellering (133.5 km)

Sunday July 23: Stage 21 - Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines - Paris Champs-Élysées (115.1 km)

How to watch the 2023 Tour de France live

The Tour de France will be shown live in 190 countries. Here is a list of the official broadcast partners across different territories.

Basque Country - EiTB

Belgium - RTBF and VRT

Czech Republic - Česká Televize

Denmark - TV2

Europe - Eurosport Eurosport

France - France TV Sport France TV Sport and Eurosport France

Germany - Discovery+ and ARD

Ireland - TG4

Italy - Discovery+ and RAI Sport

Luxemburg - RTL

Netherlands - Discovery+ and NOS

Norway - TV2

Portugal - RTP

Scandinavia - Discovery+

Slovakia - RTVS

Slovenia - RTV SLO

Spain - RTVE

Switzerland - SRG-SSR

United Kingdom - Discovery+ and ITV

Wales - S4C

Canada - FloBikes

Colombia - CaracolTV

Latin America & Caribbean: ESPN

South America - TV5 Monde

United States - NBC Sports and TV5 Monde

Asia Pacific

Australia - SBS

China - CCTV and Zhibo TV

Japan - J Sports

New Zealand - Sky Sport

South-East Asia - Global Cycling Network and Eurosport

Middle East and Africa

The Middle East and North Africa - BeIN Sports and TV5 Monde

Subsaharan Africa - Supersport and TV5 Monde

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Tour de France Stage 16 Preview

Did you spend the rest day staring at tea leaves to see if you could spot a likeness of Tadej Pogačar or Jonas Vingegaard or staring at clouds to see their shape might give us a clue? Today the pair are forcibly separated by regulation with this short, sharp time trial.

The Route : just 22.4km but 640m of vertical gain. After a flat start there’s a left turn onto the first climb which is 1.6km at an average of 8% but with a soft start and finish it’s much steeper in the middle and with some very tight hairpins which if taken aggressively – crowds permitting – can save time, although at the cost of effort of course, it’s a tougher climb than the profile suggests.

Then comes the descent back down to Sallanches, it’s very fast and riders can save time knowing the course or having radio tips, which corner might need a dab of the brakes, which line to take as there are some sunken inspection covers and off camber bends. Small details but you can take seconds this way too.

There’s a flat section around Sallanches to the foot of the Domancy climb, it’s chance for heavier riders to take time but they’ll know what’s coming.

Next is the Domancy climb, 2.9km long – aka the “Route Bernard Hinault” as the road has been renamed in tribute to “The Badger” and his 1980 World Championships road race. If this section is 8.9% on average it’s often 10-12% with irregular ramps and hairpins with steep apexes, a light rider can attack them.

Atop the Domancy climb is the left turn onto the main road to Combloux. It’s a steady drag, the slope varies but gradually and is typically 5% for most of the way. This is a chance for the powerful riders to up the pace, get into a tuck and use aerodynamics.

Will anyone do a bike change? The Domancy section is steep enough to make a rider long for their lightest bike but the section after can still suit a TT bike. It feels like its a TT course but Pogačar was spotted doing a bike change during yesterday’s rest day ride.

The Contenders : Pogačar or Vingegaard ? Pogačar’s taken a flat time trial before, Vingegaard was on course to win the TT last year but sat up to gift it to his team mate Wout van Aert so both can beat the TT specialists at their own game, and here’s a hard to course that suits them with two sharp climbs. In 1989 it was hard to pick between Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon but in the words of LeMond “ anything is possible, if he has bad day and I have good day… ” so it could come down to who gets out of bed on the right side, metaphorically at least. One detail though was the way Vingegaard closed down Pogačar on the climb to Le Bettex on Sunday, he was onto him right away and comfortably so.

As for the others, Van Aert is likely to find this course too hilly, he’d need more roads in the valley rather than the climbs to build up a lead. Carlos Rodrigue z (Ineos) is going well but how to beat the top two? Mathias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) had a great Tour de Suisse but his form’s been more inconsistent of late with back issues and he’s not been saving himself for today either.

Weather : warm and sunny, 33°C.

TV : the first rider is off soon after 1.00pm and the last rider is due in at 5.30pm CEST .

99 thoughts on “Tour de France Stage 16 Preview”

Pogacar definitely flags in the heat. The last forecast that I looked at said 50% humidity so that could be in his favour. His time trialling muscles have probably had a lot of conditioning during wrist recovery. He really needs to take 11 seconds but even with the foregoing I have no idea how he will perform on the day.

Which day this tour has he shown any signs of struggling with the heat? Maybe he spent the weeks injured heat training in a sauna because I haven’t seen any evidence of previous issues compared to Vingegaard.

It’s only an impression of course but the last two days in the mountains he was dowsing himself with water a lot and he was unable to shake Vingegaard.

It’s happened before in longer stages, eg the Granon. Today’s so short he should be able to start cold and if he heats up, still not go too far.

I keep wanting to do a blog post on cooling as it’s become a big issue for teams and riders and something that didn’t happen a few years ago much, ice was nice but now it’s as standard as water and there are all sorts of other things at work too.

On the recent Rich Roll podcast Cam Wurf said that heat acclimation is one of the biggest changes in endurance sport in the last few years. He puts part of it down to the Tokyo Olympics and the prep some athletes did for that.

Teams and riders worrying about “climate change”?

And to think how many of us, me included, felt this tour was going to turn into a slightly disappointing procession, less than two weeks ago. It’s been brilliant. I imagine that whatever the result today, this yellow jersey battle will continue to dazzle until Saturday evening.

“I’m so very excited for the Stage 16 ITT!”, said everyone, everywhere, for the first time in recorded human history.

Chapeau to Prudhomme, Gouvenou, and ASO for producing what has so far been an electrifying edition of this race. Let’s hope the third and final act doesn’t disappoint.

So well said! I can’t believe I can’t wait to watch the ITT.

TTs are great, and at any rate, an indispensable part of the show. I’m generally always excited about them, because they always shake the GC. And I’ll say it again: they were more fun and unpredictable when riders didn’t have cyclocomputers and data to inform their pacing, and that organisers should try, as in track pursuit racing, to have them banned at least once for one TT, and see what happens. I’ll also say that long TTs are also more unpredictable, and that the gaps they create tend to stimulate bigger attacks on the mountains.

I honestly have no clue who to pick between the top two. Vingegaard has been great at pacing his effort and not going in the red. Pogacar is so explosive and could really blast up the Dormancy. Good luck to both.

I know this is not going to be a popular viewpoint but I am finding the whole race dull. There is no excitement you can easily predict what is going to happen every day, two very closely matched riders are riding to their maximum not able to drop the other. Scraping for the odd bonus second does not equate to great racing. The sense of unpredictability that goes with great sporting occasions is missing. Sterile excellence might be fascinating from a technical viewpoint but does not make for great viewing, there needs to be an element of human fallibility for that. For what it is worth I think Jonas Vingegaard will win by the odd second

Perhaps the only downside to a tight race is it makes a rider too careful… Vingegaard looked totally untroubled by Pogacar’s accelerations Sunday yet he chose not to try a serious dig himself. It all becomes a bit of a chess stalemate. (Maybe if Pogacar was in yellow and Vingegaard had to take a few risks it’d be a 5-star race).

I find the close battle for yellow absolutely tantalizing. I feel both riders are in danger of losing the tour at any point, so there is a constant sense of uncertainty that’s keeping me on the edge of my seat. They’ve been dropping each other, clawing back the distance, fighting for bonus seconds, trying different team tactics and so on, so I wouldn’t say there have not been any fireworks yet.

Maybe it’s going to be close until it suddently isn’t. But so far it’s been really interesting and exciting to watch for me.

I also love the way both riders are carrying themselves.

+1 for this viewpoint – much more exciting to watch than the Sky dominance of the Froome years, the two principles’ teams are closely matched with the strength added by UAE over last year and the decreased influence (down to the course or form?) of WVA. I think its most likely neither Pog or Vin lands a knockout blow today, but that will make the remaining two mountain stages must sees… Final thought – props to the course design this year for keeping it exciting, most mountain stages have seen good battles for the win on the day and GC.

You would imagine that after today there is going to be a bigger gap between them. If it’s under a min then it really sets up the last week for some all out attacking racing.

The Loze descent is potentialy a pretty big caveat. If it’ll be raced, we are probably in for some hair-rising moments.

Yeah I’m surprised that they haven’t removed the descent after the Mader tragedy.

Pogacar even said after today’s TT that if it rains tomorrow, he’ll make the race interesting. Which sounds… bold. He probably just tries to summon the spirit of his mythical power from the past, but the Roselend descent is not slow and then there are the hairpins + Loze.

“his mythical power from the past” This folks her get so ridiculous every Tour de Fr*ck, it’s unbelievable. Amstel, P-N, Fleche, Vlaanderen winner is now all of a sudden man from the past cause he might lose one race to Danish Froome?

I’m puzzled by this… it seems cycling fans are hard to please! What would make for an exciting GC race if not this? On stages 5 and 6 we did see big attacks, not just for bonus seconds, resulting in relatively big time gaps (and made more interesting and unusual because of the see-sawing, ie JV lands a huge blow one day, TP strikes back the next). Usually if one rider lands such a huge blow then it can effectively end the GC fight (eg Froome 2013? Probably better examples than this), and then we have loads of comments saying “the tour is already over, how boring!”.

Grand Tours almost always throw up surprises and this Tour is so delicately poised that I’m really excited to see how it unfolds. Today and tomorrow should be huge

I’m pretty puzzled by this too. We’ve got 2 great riders going toe to toe and they’re pretty much inseparable. They’re having to squabble over everything and still might have to when the mountains have finished! All sports are reliant on there being a contest and here we have one. To see how dull this race could’ve been you only have to take one of the big two off the leaderboard. The one left would be miles ahead and this would’ve been over as a contest long ago. You could say there’d be more action in the break and more variety of big name riders contesting stage wins if there was a big gap at the top but that would be secondary almost fake action. I’ll take this over watching Adam Yates and David Gaudu winning consolation stages.

Anyway I’ll go for WVA to finally get his stage today.

3+++ 100×100 agree

Froome 2015?

Your viewpoint is as valid as anyone else’s, but I feel you are in a minority.

Each to their own, it’s a matter of taste.

Sunday’s finish in Le Bettex was more neutral but prior to that the pair have been trading big attacks. Vingegaard’s move on the Marie Blanque and again the next day on the Tourmalet, Pogačar’s response on Cambasque. For me it’s different to, say, last year’s Giro when Hindley, Carapaz and Landa hardly made moves until the final mountain stage for fear of being countered.

1989 would be my reference, that was so good because the lead changed often but all with a third rider getting closer and closer, so ideally the yellow jersey would be going back and forth but never out of reach going into Saturday’s stage in the Vosges. Back then by the end of the race when the race had left the Alps the consensus was Fignon had won, a bit like Roglič before La Planche in 2020, the twist on the Champs Elysées at the end was icing on the cake. But there’s still plenty to come this week, we’ll see.

So far there has not been a stage that sticks in the mind, the stage to the Granon last year was far more memorable and interesting even if didnt get “a stage for the ages” rating. For all the hype there has been nothing remotely like Stage 9 in 2017 which Rigobert Uran won a photo finish from a sprint despite having a broken mech https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2017/jul/09/tour-de-france-2017-stage-nine-live . It was emotionally draining just to watch never mind ride. There is a tendency in contemporary sport to hype up supposed “excellence” but this is most often confected media excitement eg Formula 1 and much football. The best sporting moments (triumph & tragedy) are not created by administrators but by interaction between (often flawed) competitors. To reference the stage mentioned before can anyone imagine the bionic riders, whose emotions are as restricted as their diets, in the current race collapsing in tears of emotional exhaustion like Warren Barguil did after losing out to Rigobert Uran?

Interesting discussion. I sort of see your point, but it’s a matter of interpretation. (As anything is.) So far, I am inclined to call the race the most rhrilling I have ever seen, frankly, but it can lead to oversaturation.

Perhaps you are a bit tired of the P-V rivalry, like you could have been when Barcelona with Messi and Madrid with the dull bodybuilder traded blows ten times a year, the clash of footballing creme de la creme superpowers bringing boredom and irrelevance of matches supposed to mean a thing, but overhyped to empty fatuity.

Still, there is an interesting dynamic to this year’s race; or the Pogacar – Vingegaard rivalry as a whole, I’d say. Pogacar entered the scene as a little cannibal, devouring many parcours, many types of races by different approaches. Vingegaard seemed to be a one-trick pony, a new Froome, losing time on descents etc. (Ventoux stage.) But Vingegaard works on himself and his progress is pretty fascinating. I’d say nowadays he is the better descender and probably tt-ist and he clearly works on his finishing skills.

Interesting. Both Froome and Jonas managed to became a better defender.

That said, the Ventoux decent was more down to the chasers had more fire power.

Yes, Froome also worked on his weaknesses; but Vingegaard is imho clearly the better descender now and after today’s stage there is little doubt he is a top notch time-trialist. He also grows mentally.

Yes, but probably not until one of them has definitely lost. Why would they cry now?!

Last year’s Granon stage WASN’T a stage for the ages ?!

Yes I haven’t followed every stage but I’m not aware of any meaningful crosswind ambushes, rain-soaked treacherous descents, or hell-of-the-north-style carnage.

I thought the first week was really exciting, with Vingegaard dropping Pogacar on Marie-Blanque and Pogacar hitting back the next day. If anything, I would have predicted those days to be the other way around. Since Puy-de-Dome they have been more evenly matched, with Pogacar taking a few seconds with his uphill sprints. But it was again a little differenct on Joux-Plane, where Vingegaard caught up with him after a 2 km chase. The only thing missing in the second week was a hard Vingegaard counterpunch, he hasn’t yet dared to try that. Hopefully we get something this week. But so far, I have found it very entertaining.

Oh yeah, you miss the times when some juiced dude got 8 minutes on weekend one and we all were excited if someone manged to get 2 minutes back until Paris?

As far as these two are concerned, the bounce seconds at the top of mountains really discourages aggressive racing. Pog is definitely waiting for those seconds while Joan’s weary about them least Pog takes the sprint.

I can’t really agree, JC. The battle for yellow has been close and exciting – and still is, while the rest struggling for the 3 – 10 positions in the wake of Vingegaard and Pogacar has been unpredictable too with riders looking strong one day (Pidcock, S Yates, Hindley, Bilbao…) then losing time the next, while others (Gaudu, Martin …) have been fighting back in after poor stages.

Could Kuss be a surprise third today when free to ride for himself?

It’s a vintage edition for this fan.

Kuss will be needed tomorrow, he’ll take it very gently today.

I started the rest day as I always do — forgetting it was a rest day until I re-read your preview of the day before, realising the grim void of a day opening up before me …

Thanks so much for all your work!

Given van Aert called his rest day recce of today’s TT course “worst ride of my life” on Strava he might not be a great pick! Could be bluffing of course.

The tour has been fascinating. Easy watching harder being a competitor. Still more to play out. TTs are good for going to watch as you see all the riders, less of a TV spectacle though. What are people views on the coverage? I feel that with all the latest technology they could present more data telling the viewer every riders relative position. I know this is not easy put you could caveat this info if for whatever reason the riders position is a non confirmed.

If you look at the way MTB is covered it’s chalk and cheese. They only have a couple of fixed timing points but they show real time gaps between the riders throughout the lap. I don’t know what technology they use but surely it could be also be used in a TT, especially one so short.

racecenter.letour.fr shows the real-time positions of all groups and/or your selected riders on the road. I keep it open on my phone while watching on tv. I keep wondering why the commentators do not seem to use it, it gives lots of info not seen on tv pictures.

Not very helpful if you are watching on catch-up though!

The commentators in Bulgaria absolutely have it open, listen to the audio tour, and have a bunch of tabs with stats from old races, records and so on on hand as well. Usually it’s a journalist and an ex-rider team. The journalist is responsible for stats and all kinds of info, and the ex-pro is commenting on the tactics and telling stories from behind the scenes and helps read the race. They also answer viewer questions from the show’s Facebook page. It’s coverage dense with info and insight, but also friendly to newbie viewers. When I try to switch to English language coverage, it inevitably feels boring and shallow in terms of analysis. I constantly rave about the Bulgarian coverage.

I’m guessing it’s in Bulgarian though?

Actually looking forward to this TT, on tv at least. I for one miss an opening prologue so feel ready for a bit of chrono.

Apparently Vingegaard has been questioned about the increasing speeds on the big climbs.

His reply was interesting:

“I fully understand all the questions we get about it, the only thing I can say is I am not taking anything. To be honest, I am happy there is a bit of scepticism about it. We are going faster, quicker than back then, maybe. And also the food, material, training, everything is different.”

Let’s hope we are not going into old territory, because the race is enthralling, the best that I can remember, and I go back a long way.

New generation. Better training. More meticulous about their equipment (riders in the past were so blase). Better sleep. Better pillows. Better mattresses. They drink pineapple juice – wait, sorry, they’ve stopped drinking pineapple juice. They just want it more.

I would love someone other than TP or JV win today’s stage.

Is Ion Izagirre too much of a curveball? He was mighty impressive on stage 12 and has won a few TTs in his time.

If this was the Vuelta Asturias or something else, why not but at the Tour one stage win for him is plenty, it’s hard to see how he gets ahead. But as an outside pick, he’s a decent one. Kwiatkowski’s in form but we don’t know if he’ll do the course at 100%. Simon Yates has to go all out and can win TTs too, I think he’ll be close as well… but probably beaten for the win.

Also, and just for general info, not trying to pour more cold water, it seems we won’t get one of those weather-change TTs where some early starters get helpful weather before things turn nasty.

A friend of mine sees Küng taking it. We have not seen him since the start. Is he saving energy for today? Or just no legs?

I would have tipped wva if he had not been so active in the last days.

Küng has told a Swiss newspaper it’s not for him, the course is too hilly. He can climb well on a good day though and could get a workout / test here as he builds up for the Worlds.

Interesting analysis of the TT from @xavierdisley on Twitter. Sorry I can’t post a link.

Thread Here ford those who don’t want to give Musk any clicks

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1680908089237577728.html

For those who don’t find this years edition exicting (i am so far) i’d be curious to know which recent editions they did and why?

For me the Froome Giro race overall wasn’t that exciting but then he did something spectacular. Some of the recent Veultas where Tom D was knocking on the door i found gripping because i wasn’t sure if he could pull off the result and the course didn’t suit.

The TT reversal of Rog by Pog in TDF shocking but not a vintage edition, Tao in the Giro quite exicting but again perhaps because he was an underdog. I’m enjoying the Jumbo UAE battle because they are so closely matched that there isn’t a clear favourite.

There can’t be many things as futile in professional sport, or indeed life, as watching back markers/domestiques half heartedly tiptoeing round a time trial course as slowly as they can possibly get away with. I would propose restricting time trials to the top 15-20 on GC and anyone else who feels like they might want to try and win. The rest can take the time of the slowest rider and go off for a coffee ride.

And they could spice things up by letting any uninterested riders (who’d be given the time of the slowest rider) attempt the course on non-UCI sanctioned bikes: recumbents, tandems, quads, with fairing etc? Maybe less advantageous on a hilly course but it’d be fun to see what a fully-faired tandem or quad could achieve : )

The time cut is 33% today too so plenty can spin up without going too deep but they’ve got to complete the course.

But the easiest thing to do is tune in for the action later on 😉

The results currently showing on Pro Cycling Stats have the slowest rider, Alexis Renard, at 10.46 down and the time cut as 10.45 so does that mean Renard is out even though he’s not marked as OTL?

Renard crashed on the first corner and seems to have some leniency, for this missing (fraction of a) second.

He’s not out of the race going via the race jury bulletin this evening for the time cut, the commissaires seem to have kept him in… but his team have said he’s out following his crash injuries.

Maybe if they knew he was out anyway they didn’t want to look mean by kicking him out by 1 second!

I think the rest of the race will be much more interesting if Pog goes in to yellow today (than if he doesn’t)

I think Pogacar is going to attack and attack and attack and attack… I can’t wait to see the next few stages.

… or drinks duties in support of Yates.

Well, what a ride.

Wow – what a stage…. ok, so how does this stand up – who had the better season:

Rider 1 – TdF Yellow Jersey*, 2 smaller Stage Races (Criterium, Basque) Rider 2 – TdF 2nd GC*, Flanders, Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallone, Paris-Nice

I actually had to do a double take of a pic from today, I could have sworn they’d mistakenly posted a photo of Froome.

Perhaps we should ask another question – if JV is the dominant GC rider of his generation, we should be pretty glad there is an all-rounder capable of challenging him and keeping the distance at less than two minutes rather than less then ten.

Wow. That feels decisive but it will still be fun to see what UAE / Pog attempt to get back in contention as JV will now go into lockdown train mode. Pogacar is amazing yet it seems the lack of proper prep is catching up with him.

Not sure Pog can be blamed here: he put 1m 10s in to 3rd place / WVA over just 30 mins of TT.

If you go back to when Pog took the win off of Roglic, he took 90 secs out of WVA – but over 55 mins. And 1m 10s out of Dumoulin.

So his difference vs the closest others on today’s stage is greater.

Hence this is simply a monster ride from JV. I think some people will raise eyebrows.

Agreed, also, I wonder if Pogacar is being penalised for having 2 peaks so far this season. He peaked for Flanders, and was he able to fully peak again for the Tour? Only he and his team knows the answer to this.

Agreed Greasy Wheel, except Vinnegaard was 8% quicker than 3rd place! That’s proportionately a bigger gap than say 60mins for 1st and 65mins for 3rd. One commentator rightly said, “on another planet”.

Pog looked a little flat to me and the bike change proved worthless sadly.

Why Jumbo didn’t try to make it look a little more credible? ^___^ Now it’s not as much fun.

What are you not saying Gabriele?

I wholeheartedly agree with this comment. I can’t *not* read this blog every morning during the Tour because it’s so good, but I’ll no longer be following the race. Sometimes one can’t just suspend disbelief any longer…

+1. This blog doesn’t deserve such negativity in the comments but when the reality is so absurd, its where we are.

Proper old school time gaps in both the TT and the GC. Almost like there was a flat 50km TT today. I’d wager there won’t be a TT at all next year..!

No remco then.

I was expecting Vingegaard to put time into Pogacar but not by nearly that much. I’m not usually sceptical about cycling performances but seeing Vingegaard put over a minute and a half into Pogacar, who in turn put nearly a minute and a quarter into the rest of the field, did have me raising my eyebrows.

Was the rest of the field that strong, though? Pogacar was probably expected to distance the likes of Yates and Bilbao. And it’s not surprising to see a flying Vingegaard beating clearly struggling Pogacar quite emphaticaly. Vingegaard was stronger at the weekend, Pogacar is perhaps feeling the effects of problematic preparation.

I don’t see a reason for such innuendo towards Vingegaard yet.

I’d be hugely impressed if I hadn’t seen it so many times before…

I think we need to relax on questioning Vingegaard’s form – he just beat the current Flanders’ champion. Pogacar is not invincible, and which other 2023 Monument winners are flying right now at the Tour?

Remco isn’t here M VdP is here but definitely not on top form WVA just got destroyed by in the TT

Pogacar also is recovering from broken bone, and has had flying form since April… clearly something has to give. I hope next year he targets the TdF, and then World’s plus the Race of the Falling Leaves.

I think this is a fair point. Of course, we’ll never know for sure (short of a report of a positive drug test for JV), but Pogacar definitely has more race miles in his legs at this point, and he’s STILL faster than all but one of the racers at the TdF.

People made the exact same argument when Pog first crushed Roglic. Like yeah dude, it’s cycling, and more than that, it’s all high-level professional sport. If you think elite athletes aren’t taking whatever they think they can get away with – in addition, tbc, to their absurd natural talent, extreme dedication, etc – you’re deluding yourself. That’s in general, not just Vingegaard and/or Pogacar.

Personally I strongly believe PEDs should just be legal for adults (and conversely make the penalties for providing them to minors extremely harsh – doping is generally rampant in youth sports bc testing is more lenient/nonexistent). Take it out of the shadows, make sure everyone is doing it under the supervision of medical professionals w/regular bloodwork being done.

But until that blessed day arrives, we’ll be stuck with the endless guessing about who’s doing what and amateur sleuths dissecting power numbers and the like. Personally, I just enjoy it all for what it is, great performances created by talent, training, discipline, and almost certainly, chemistry.

I don’t think that argument stands up, nobody will legalise the use of drugs that are known to have serious side effects and many products that aren’t normally available to people unless critically ill.

Plus if people want to cheat they will not take the approved dose of a banned substance, they will take much more only by then we won’t be able to test for it because the doper will say “it’s legal” if they test positive.

We saw this when the UCI tried to bring in a haematocrit limit because it couldn’t test for EPO, riders would dope up to 50% but would go well beyond, knowing they could dilute values in time for the test, the whole thing was gamed to the max.

More at http://inrng.com/2013/02/should-performance-enhancing-drugs-be-legalised/

The second coming is here… and Denmark finally has another Mr. 60% LOL. And the other guy is not far behind in the same boat IMHO. Anyway great battle of the doctors this year. Would be so much better if the first two weren’t though though.

And Mr/Ms INRG, many thanks for your truly excellent blog, I come here religiously every day as it’s just about the best thing on the web.

The 4.4 second gap per kilometre is the largest recorded apparently. Bigger gap than Armstrong etc achieved. I understand the Colnago TT bike is not much cop comparatively though. An incredible ride, not sure I can quite believe it but…

Crazy stage. Is that one of the greatest time trials in history? Assume Boardman’s fastest speed prologue is up there, Anquetil, Lemond… Pogacar in 2020… but wow that was something special.

Admittedly though like many here this was the first time I’ve seriously had to do a double take and mull over drugs in a long long time (call me naive but I felt and have believed the change since 2010 and biopassport / growth of anti doping movement with sponsors and garmin team etc).

Great analysis of the TT on Dutch TV. Team JV just really did their homework here. Look at the lines Vingegaard takes – apparently this was all checked in March already, including decisions such as not to swap bikes. Vingegaard rides an unpainted bike (-150 g), performance coaches have checked road conditions on the day behind earlier riders, and my favorite detail – to reduce drag behind the rider they have a team car fully loaded with bikes behind Vingegaard. Not so for UAE. Finally, Pogi has a cold sore. May be nothing but may be his immune system is working just a tad harder leaving him slightly more fatigued. You can still ride a great TT (Evenepoel won the Giro TT with Covid) but maybe not your greatest. Anyway, he threatened fireworks for tomorrow’s stage so we’re in for another rollercoaster! Fantastic TdF!

How sad and predictable that the old grumps on here would turn to doping innuendo. How do you even enjoy the sport? Or is that the point, to have something to grumble over in your old age. Too much whinging and not enough riding from this crew. JV says out loud that he was surprised by the watts he saw on his computer during the TT. Not something a doper would ever say. Get a grip people.

Exactly…. and how do any of us have any evidence to say he was doping? The average speed was 38kph, who knows if that is a dopers’ speed or not?

Oh, he crushed Pogacar you say… well, Pogacar broke a bone two months ago and won Flanders 3 months ago… so it is virtually impossible to be at his best form. Oh, he crushed WVA you say? Well, JV weighs 132 lbs and WVA weighs 172 and this is a climbing stage….

Nothing that anyone can say right now proves they were doping or not…. And being honest, who cares right now, just enjoy this battle for what it is. And, we all know Pogacar is going to fight and attack and do anything he can to get this back and i can’t wait for the rest of this race.

Thank you Inrng for all of your patience with us, and your amazing writing to start all of our days.

Also Ciccone won the polka dot points. Ok, he took the rest of the stage piano, but at least he kind of shows Vingegaard’s ride was human.

Does anyone know where the times can be found for each rider for the KOM during the TT?

Here: https://inrng.tumblr.com/post/723343154274762752

Jonas put about 22s into Van Aert, and 11s into Kung on the intermediate section – the downhill and *flat*. The skinny GC climber, who couldn’t TT a few years ago, crushing TT power houses even on the flats.

And this is the 2nd time this year this team has had GC contenders put in amazing times in TTs. Roglic looked nothing special against Geraint Thomas in the Giro in the mountain stages before the TT, and even weak on one of them. Then absolutely crushes everyone on the (uphill) TT – including a clearly very on form Geraint (who himself put in an amazing performance).

I’m sorry, but questions really need to be asked now.

Especially of a team where most of the DS staff have history (and all of the main DS staff; Maassen the only one you could money on having avoided that history and having a chance of not losing your money).

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Tour de France 2022 stage 16 preview: Expect the winner to come from a decisive breakaway

All you need to know about the route, timings, and what to expect from stage 16

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Stage 16 of the Tour de France 2022 starts in Carcassonne and finishes in Foix.

The Tour enters its endgame with the arrival of the Pyrenees but they’re mostly saved for the back half of this 179km test where we’ll discover whose legs bounced back best from the rest day

When is stage 16 of the Tour de France taking place?

The Tour de France stage 16 takes place on Tuesday, July 19 starting at 11:40 BST with an anticipated finish time of 16:11 BST. 

How long is stage 16 of the Tour de France?

The Tour de France stage 16 will be 178.5 km long.

Tour de France stage 16: expected timings

Tour de france stage 16 route.

The climbs begin after 113km with the Port de Lers, which extends for 11.4km and averages 7%, but with sections fluctuating considerably either side of that in typical Pyrenean fashion. The riders will descend from this pass to Massat, then begin to climb steadily again on the road that eventually leads to the Col de Port. However, after half a dozen kilometres, a left turn will take them onto something wholly different in the shape of the Mur de Péguère. A touch more than 3km long, it averages 12% as it rises through dense forest to the Col de Péguère – the opening kilometre is the toughest at 14%. From the top, there’s a long and sometimes quite technical descent into the finish at Foix.

Useful Tour de France 2022 resources

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Tour de France stage 16: what to expect 

Unlike the 2019 stage won by Simon Yates that went up the Mur de Péguère and finished above Foix at Prat d’Albis and produced a captivating battle between the GC favourites, this stage with its finish in the valley is less challenging and should see the break go all the way to the finish. There’ll be a huge and probably drawn-out fight to get into it. Once it forms, the best climbers will have a significant advantage, especially on the Mur.

Tour de France stage 16: riders to watch

With the winner almost certain to come from the break, keep your eye out for a good climber who is also a fast and maybe slightly madcap descender. Matej Mohorič (Team Bahrain Victorious) and his dropper post perhaps?

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Peter Cossins has been writing about professional cycling since 1993, with his reporting appearing in numerous publications and websites including Cycling Weekly ,  Cycle Sport  and  Procycling - which he edited from 2006 to 2009. Peter is the author of several books on cycling - The Monuments , his history of cycling's five greatest one-day Classic races, was published in 2014, followed in 2015 by  Alpe d’Huez , an appraisal of cycling’s greatest climb. Yellow Jersey - his celebration of the iconic Tour de France winner's jersey won the 2020 Telegraph Sports Book Awards Cycling Book of the Year Award.

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Rest Gruissan

Stage 16 gruissan > nimes.

Length 187 km

Stage 17 Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux > Superdévoluy

Length 178 km

Type Mountain

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Kom sprint (2) côte de domancy (18.9 km), youth day classification, team day classification, race information.

• Date: 18 July 2023
• Start time: 13:05
• Avg. speed winner: 41.227 km/h
• Race category: ME - Men Elite
• Distance: 22.4 km
• Points scale: GT.A.Stage
• UCI scale: UCI.WR.GT.A.Stage
• Parcours type:
• ProfileScore: 109
• Vert. meters: 636
• Departure: Passy
• Arrival: Combloux
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• Avg. temperature: 31 °C

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