Saint-Gaudens to Peyragudes

Stage 17 / Wednesday, July 20th

At only 129.7 km, Stage 17 is the shortest mountain stage at the tour. That said, the GC battle should heat up over four challenging categorized climbs that all come after the first 50 km of flat riding. The first test will be the Cat 1 Col d'Aspin, which spans 12 km at an average grade of 9.5%. From there, a short 8km descent takes the riders to the beginning of the Cat 2 Hourquette d'Ancizan. Following the summit of the climb, riders will descend 10 km before the course flattens out for 5 km then they start of the Cat 1 Col de Val Louron-Azet. The gradients on the climb average 6.8% but the latter half of the climb is all over 7.1%. After a final 7 km of descending, the remaining riders hunting for the Stage win or GC battle will face a 5 km flat section before the final climb to the summit finish on the Peyragudes. The most challenging climb of the day comes last as the Cat 1 Peyragudes features an average grade of 7.8% but kicks up on the last km, which has an average of 13% with a steep section of 16% where riders will surely crack.

Weather Forecast

Finally, it appears the temperatures will start to subside a bit at the tour. Forecasts are calling for temps in the mid-20s celsius. The wind will be a predominant crosswind early as the course travels west, but at only 6 km/h it should not play much of a factor in any breaks. As the course turns south towards the mountains, the wind will be at the backs of the riders.

Stage Analysis

A short stage with four high categorized climbs in the final 75 km of the race will be a showcase for the GC battle. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) has continued to attack the yellow jersey at every chance. Still, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) has not flinched and is responding to every move. It is clear that Jonas Vingegaard and Pogačar are the best riders at this year's tour. Despite losing two crucial teammates, Vingegaard has not shown any signs of cracking. Tactics played out on Stage 16 to limit any losses and keep all the GC riders together, but the small attacks by Pogačar could just be small tests to set up a big attack on the final climb of Stage 17 up the Peyragudes. On the steep gradients, time can slip away extremely quickly, but with only a few stages left in the tour, this may be Pogačar's best chance before the final TIme Trail. Break-a-ways have ruled the middle of the tour and expect more teams to try to place riders in a break over the early climbs to snatch another stage win. The GC teams have also sent riders in the break to help usher the GC battle as the race comes together later in the stage.