As Tour de France enters the Alps, here are the climbs that will separate the winners from the also-rans
- From the imposing Col du Galibier to the brutal challenge of the Alpe d’Huez, stages 10 through 12 will be gruelling affairs
- Mountain stages were first introduced in 1910, seven years after the first race
It’s the second week of this year’s Tour de France and the mountain climbs the race is famous for are about to separate those who aspire to win the yellow jersey and the rest.
Luxembourg’s Bob Jungels won the first Alpine finish of this year’s race on Sunday, cruising across the finish line 22 seconds clear on the mountainous 193km (120-mile) stage nine route from Aigle in Switzerland to the ski resort of Châtel les Portes du Soleil.
A rest day on Monday will be followed by three consecutive Alpine mountain top finishes as the riders desperately jostle for position in the overall standings on climbs such as the gruelling Alpe d’Huez.
Stage 10 runs from Morzine to Megeve, stage 11 Albertville to Col du Granon and stage 12 from Briancon to Alpe d’huez.
Defending champion Tadej Pogacar said the third of the three looked toughest but all of them were hard.
“Galibier is so long but Alpe d’huez is so steep and so long, it’s the hardest stage,” he said of the Queen stage, which is on the French national holiday on July 14.
Mountain stages were first introduced in 1910, seven years after the first race, and riders braved the unpaved roads of the Pyrenees on single speed roadster bikes, which was when the now-standard grading system of climbs was conceived, based on the gear needed by the cars following to scale the mountains.
The Alps were added in 1911, and each year the route and the climbs used in the Tour vary, and while some of the big names of the past are missing, this year’s challenge is no less fearsome.
