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EFE · Road Competition · 09/13/2020
Turned into a classic of recent years, the Grand Colombier opens this Sunday as the finish line of the Tour de France in an atypical stage of the Gallic round, with a succession of three passes in the last 80 kilometers with brutal slopes.
On the eve of the second rest day and the final fireworks in the Alps, the 174.5 kilometers that start from Lyon appear as an ideal terrain to “ blow up the race.
The day this Sunday offers terrain for more distant attacks, from a first climb to the Grand Colombier, on the less traditional side and without reaching its top, which begins at 98 kilometers and that for 11 kilometers offers an average slope of 8.1 %.
On that first ascent, cyclists will face ramps of up to 22%, the highest that can be found in France, according to the race’s sporting director, Thierry Gouvenou.
A second springboard begins as soon as the first one descends, with the ascent to La Biche and its 6.9 kilometers at an 8.9% slope, before it climbs to the top, this time, of the Grand Colombier on its slope. best known, that of Culoz.
“It’s a mix of the Ventoux and the Madeleine,” explains Arkea rider Maxime Bouet, who was born at his feet.
To reach its summit, which at more than 1,500 meters offers an impressive view from which you can see Mont Blanc, the roof of Europe, and Lake Annecy, you have to overcome its 17.4 kilometers at a 7.1% slope medium, a less explosive but more demanding climb.
Following the revelations that on Friday offered the climb to Puy Mary, the Great Colombier brought down many of the last doubts that persist among the suitors to the general.
Without counting on the prestige that will signify a stage that, for the first time, ends at this peak, already turned into a myth.
Discovered in 2012 by the Tour, the peloton has crossed it on two other occasions, in 2016, when it was climbed twice, and in 2017, without ever stopping on it.
In the memory of cycling is his ascent in 1978 in the Future TourWhen unaware of its toughness, all the participants had to put their foot down to win their summit.
Ten years later he was included in the tour of the Dolphin and in recent editions it has been a common stage of the Ain Tour.
The Slovenian cyclist Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), until now a solid leader of the Tour de France, defending the yellow jersey with 44 seconds of rent over his compatriot Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) and 59 over the Colombian Egan Bernal (Ineos). Also Colombian Rigoberto Urn (Education First) and Nairo Quintana (Arka-Samsic) are just over 1 minute from the yellow jersey.
The squad will leave Lyon on time at 12:25 p.m. (CEST) and its arrival at the top of the colossal Grand Colombier is scheduled for 5:25 p.m.
Stage 15 data
– Departure: Lyon / 12:25 pm (CEST).
– Arrival: Grand Colombier / 5:25 pm.
– Distance: 174.5 kilometers
– Scorable mountain elevations:
. Monte de la Selle de Fromentel / 1 Cat. At Km 111
. Col de la Biche / 1 Cat. At Km 129
. Grand Colombier / Cat. Special in Meta.
Route of stage 15
Stage 15 profile
Profiles of Monte de la Selle de Fromentel and Col de la Biche
Grand Colombier Profile
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