Tour de France Stages 16 to 21 Route Preview: Tadej Pogačar goes into the third week of the 2024 Tour de France with a lead of 3:09 over Jonas Vingegaard and 5:19 on Remco Evenepoel, so is that the Tour over? No, it’s not done till the last finish line on Avenue Jean Médecin in Nice. Vingegaard has said he is hoping for the Slovenian to have a bad day, like in the past and Evenepoel is banking on the final time trial, well, he is TT World champion. Until that Brobdingnagian sings, it’s not over. Here we look at the road from Gruissan to Nice:
Second week highlights – Tour de France 2024
Stage 16, the day after the last rest day is fairly flat and should be for the sprinters, but they might as well go home that evening because there is nothing for them in the final five days. Wednesday’s stage to Superdévoluy isn’t super hard, but has a three classified climbs in the last 30 kilometres and a summit finish. Stage 18 from Gap to Barcelonnette is all up and down with five Cat.3 climbs, but the last one is 40 kilometres before the finish, but no sprinters will be left at the front by then. Friday and Saturday are killers. The GC men will have to do their stuff. The Col de Vars (HC), the Cime de la Bonette (HC) and the summit finish in Isola 2000, which is a Cat.1 climb to 2,024 metres altitude. Saturday has one Cat.2 and three Cat.1 climbs in its short 138 kilometres. And of course a summit finish on the Col de la Couillole. No rest for the final time trial. The TT is 34 kilometres long with a Cat.2 climb after 11 kilometres and a flat finish. It could be a decider for the 2024 Tour de France, but, at the moment, it looks more like a solo final procession to Nice.
Tadej Pogačar’s final procession to Nice?
2024 Tour de France Week 3 Stages:
15/07 – Rest day in Narbonne
16/07 – Stage 16: Gruissan – Nîmes (187km)
17/07 – Stage 17: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux – Super-Dévoluy (178km)
18/07 – Stage 18: Gap – Barcelonnette (179km)
19/07 – Stage 19: Embrun – Isola 2000 (145km)
20/07 – Stage 20: Nice – Col de la Couillole (132km)
21/07 – Stage 21: Monaco – Nice (35.2km, ITT).
2024 Tour de France map
Tuesday July 16, Stage 16: Gruissan – Nimes (187km)
The tough final week of the Tour de France opens in stage sixteen with a flat stage from Gruissan to Nîmes. In 187 kilometres the riders race from the Pyrenees to the Alps without visiting the mountain ranges. The remaining sprinters must seize their very last chance here, because this year there will be no sprint on the final day in Paris. The entire ride is flat to rolling, with the only obstacle being halfway along the course. The riders then have to cross the Côte de Mas Cordon. The 7 kilometre climb at 3.4% is the most difficult climb of the day. A sprint therefore seems the most likely scenario in Nîmes, but one never knows whether the Mistral has other plans.
Last chance for the sprinters – No Champs-Élysées in 2024
Wednesday July 17, Stage 17: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux – Superdévoluy (178km)
The stage starts with a run-up of 130 kilometres that climbs 800 metres. The stage then passes the start ton of stage 18, Gap, but today this is when the action will get going. After a short descent, there are three monsters to climb in the last 40 kilometres.
Stage 17 profile
The Col Bayard (6.8km at 7.3%) should sort out who is going to be in the front group. Next is the Col du Noyer (7.5km at 8.4%), which is the longest and steepest climb of the day. Whom so ever is left either in a break or with the GC favourites will have to have their best climbing legs. The summit finish on the Côte de Superdévoluy (3.9km at 5.9%) could decide the Tour. This tough new climb has a final 4 kilometres at an average gradient of 5.9%.
A hard finale to Superdévoluy
Thursday July 18, Stage 18: Gap – Barcelonnette (179km)
Stage 18 from Gap to Barcelonnette is 179 kilometres long and includes six various climbs. After 15 kilometres there is the Col du Festre (13.8km at 4.3%). A break can make the use of this climb to make their escape. A descent takes the riders to the Côte de Corps (3.3km at 4.5%) followed by the Côte de Costes (2.6km at 6%).
Stage 18 profile
After 20 flat kilometres. the riders start the Col de Manse (6.3km at 3.7%) at the half-way point in the stage. Next up is the most difficult climb of the day: The Côte à Saint-Apollinaire (7.9km at 5.2%), this should cause the final selection amongst the GC contenders, anyone in trouble here is done. The Côte de Demoiselles Coiffées (6.4km at 3.8%) is the last categorised ascent of the day. From the top the riders still have 40 kilometres to go. A descent and a short climb of 2 kilometres brings the riders to a false flat. The last 8 kilometres are flat.
Friday July 19, Stage 19: Embrun – Isola 2000 (145km)
Stage 19 starts in Embrun then crosses two Alpine giants to finish on the climb to Isola 2000. This short stage of 145 kilometres has 4,500 metres of elevation. From Embrun, the road is undulating to the base of the Col de Vars (18.8km at 5.7%). A descent takes the race to the Cime de la Bonette (22.9km at 6.9%), the top of the Tour. The Cime de la Bonette is an extension of the Col de la Bonette. It is a circular route from the col, that takes you to the height of 2,802 metres.
Stage 19 to Isola 2000
They claim this is the highest altitudes via asphalted roads in Europe. A total of 24 hairpin bends bring you to the summit, but there is still the road to Isola 2000 come. From the top of the Cime de la Bonette, there is a descent of 40 kilometres to the start of the final climb. The Isola 2000 (16.1km at 7.1%) rises at an average of just over 7%. In the first 8 kilometres, the gradient is above 8% most of the time. The climb then levels off to around 6%. The finish ramps up again to 8.5%.
Hopefully no snow on July
Saturday July 20, Stage 20: Nice – Col de la Couillole (133km)
From Place Masséna, in the heart of Nice, stage 20 goes in-land for 4,700 metres of climbing. After fifteen kilometres there is the Col de Braus (10km at 6.6%). This is just a warm-up for the rest of the stage. A descent of 10 kilometres brings the riders to the start of the very hard Col de Turini (20.7km at 5.7%).
Stage 20 profile
A fast descent leads to Roquebillière and the next climb; the Col de La Colmiane (7.5km at 7.1%). The climb actually starts from Roquebillière and is more like 20 kilometres at 5%, but ASO does think the first 13 kilometres are steep enough to be counted. After this climb, the riders still have one last climb. A descent of 20 kilometres to Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée takes the route to the final climb. The Col de la Couillole (15.7km at 7.1%) is long, although not too steep, but it never flattens out. The last summit finish of the 2024 Tour could be decisive, or will the GC men be thinking of the final TT?
What will we see on the final summit finish?
Sunday July 21, Stage 21: Monaco – Nice (34km, ITT)
The Tour winner with champagne, the top team and the jersey winners all posing for photos and then the final sprint on the Champs-Élysées, not this year in the Tour de France. In 2024 a time trial will close the French behemoth on the road between Monaco and Nice, all because the Olympic Games start a few days later in Paris.
Who will be in yellow for the final time trial and will he keep it?
There are two climbs on the final day time trial of 34 Kilometres. The first comes after 4 flat kilometres through the streets of Monaco. The riders climb to La Turbie (8.1km at 5.6%) on the D53. The climb is stead and not technical. From the top there is a short descent to the start of the Col d’Éze (1.6km at 8.1%), which is short and steep and the final climb of the 2024 Tour de France. From the summit, the route descends to the Promenade des Anglais in Nice and the finish next to the Mediterranean. The route goes past the finish towards the airport for a U-turn that brings them back to the city centre. The finish line is on Avenue Jean Médecin on Place Masséna.
Will Tadej be dancing in Nice on Sunday evening?
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