We’re in Nice! But not quite... The Tour de France will finish in the South French city on Sunday, but there’s also a stage starting on Saturday. A tough, short stage, mind you, that will give the peloton 4,600 meters of elevation gain over just over 130 kilometers. Who can make a final move here? IDLProCycling.com will guide you through it.
Route stage 20 Tour de France 2024
A large part of the peloton is familiar with these climbs. During the final weekend of Paris-Nice, they come up more than once, and many riders based in Monaco also use them for training. However, it doesn’t really make a difference because with a stage featuring 4,600 meters of elevation gain, it’s ultimately the legs that count at the end.
Anyway, from Nice, we head straight into the mountainous hinterland. We do this via the Col de Braus, a climb where Matteo Jorgenson wanted to attempt a KOM (King of the Mountains) right before the Tour. In the end, Jorgenson’s coach decided not to let him go full throttle on the ten-kilometer climb at a 6.6 percent gradient.
From the Braus, we descend into Sospel, where we will immediately tackle the next obstacle: the more than twenty-kilometer-long Col de Turini. It has an average gradient of 5.7 percent, but with a clear focus of difficulty in the second half of the French mountain.
The descent is somewhat steeper and takes the riders down to La Bollène-Vésubie, where they will face a section of false flat before starting the Col de la Colmiane (7.5 kilometers at 7.1 percent). At the top of this climb, there are still about forty kilometers to ride, with at least half of that being downhill.
We will then conclude with the Col de la Couillole, a brutal climb at the end of such a day, with its 15.7 kilometers at 7.1 percent. It is a regular feature, as we saw last year in Paris-Nice. There, it came down to a duel between... Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. The Slovenian won, with David Gaudu finishing in second place.
Climbs
24.7 km: COL DE BRAUS (10.0 km at 6.6%)
59.8 km: COL DE TURINI (20.7 km at 5.7%)
95.9 km: COL DE LA COLMIANE (7.5 km at 7.1%)
132.8 km: COL DE LA COUILLOLE (15.7 km at 7.1%)
Times
Start: 1:55 p.m.
Finish: around 5:30 p.m.
Weather stage 20 Tour de France 2024
The weather is nice in Nice. In the South French city, temperatures are above 30 degrees Celsius, though they drop slightly higher up near the finish. The wind is at the riders' backs all day, making it conducive for attacks.
Favorites stage 20 Tour de France 2024
After winning the stage to Isola 2000, the voracious Tadej Pogačar made an open call to the breakaway riders. "It's a big gap, so on Saturday I have all the time to just enjoy. We'll let the breakaway go and just enjoy riding on roads where I often train. And hopefully, nothing unusual will happen," said the Slovenian.
Now we face a mountain stage deep in the third week of a Grand Tour, where few surprises are likely. Matteo Jorgenson of Visma | Lease a Bike made an attempt on Friday, so UAE-Team Emirates might want to respond. We’re thinking of Adam Yates and/or João Almeida, both of whom are over fifteen minutes behind.
Should they wish to attack, you then consider the remaining top ten contenders: Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step), Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS), Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), and also Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious, eleventh). Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) are quite a bit ahead, so for them, the stage seems like a long shot.
Beyond that, you have the known attackers. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) has already won a stage and now seems focused on securing the polka dot jersey, while the well-performing Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) is still looking for that stage win. Enric Mas (Movistar), Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike), Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL), and Laurens De Plus (INEOS) also climbed well on Friday, which, like Saturday, was a fair stage. Or can Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R) wash away his off day?
Favorites stage 20 Tour de France 2024, according to IDLProCycling.com
Top favorites: Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) and Adam Yates (UAE-Team Emirates)
Outsiders: Tadej Pogacar, Joao Almeida (UAE-Team Emirates), Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)
Long shots: Remco Evenepoel, Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step), Wilco Kelderman, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike), Enric Mas (Movistar), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) and Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech)
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