The queen stage of this 112nd edition is this Thursday, July 24! On paper, difficult to challenge this symbolic title in the 18th stage of the Tour de Francewhich marks the entrance to the peloton for two days in the Alpes massif. The menu of this first opus promises to be particularly generous and indigestible, with no less than 5,500 meters of elevation through 171.5 km between Vif and Courchevel. A monstrous drop spread over only three passes … but what passes! All classified out of category, the Glandon (21.7 km at 5.1%), the Madeleine (19.2 km at 7.9%) and finally the endless Col de la sto (26.4 km at 6.5%, souvenir Henri Desgrange and the culmination of this Tour at 2304m), at the top of which will be judged the arrival, will form a formidable tryptic in high altitude.
VIDEO – Marc Madiot on the eve of the queen stage at the Col de la Loze
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The revenge of POGACAR on VINGEGAARD at LOZE? Lenny Martinez looking for peas and points
Borrowed twice in 2020 and 2023, the already legendary Col de la Loze is therefore returning but via an unprecedented slope by Courchevel a priori less violent than that of Méribel, even if it looks decisive again, as had been the case two years ago with the terrible failure of Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). As he has already done in Hautacam, the Slovenian will certainly want to take revenge on this climb but he will have to be wary of a Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | lease a bike) in net renewed form of form and confidence after the draw of Mont Ventoux on Tuesday. The two men are great favorites for this mythical step that they will certainly not want to let pass.
Among the rest of the outsiders, Florian Lipowitz, Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL), Kévin Vauquelin (ARKEA-B&B HOTELS), Felix Gall (Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale) and others will play big in their podium quest and and the best general classification possible. At Given the difficulties and the route, no doubt of the general's general runners and distant renowned climbers will want to go on the attack and try their luck in escape, to take a step ahead or even play the win if the yellow jersey team fails to master the race. We think in particular of a Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) who Joeura Gros for the polka dot jersey, the young Frenchman being equal points (60) with Pogacarwhile 80 points will be distributed Thursday (20 + 20 + 40 at LOZE)!
Another ranking which will be in the start at the start of the stage, that of the green jersey, with an intermediate sprint after 23 km. The team Lidl-Trek should therefore control for Jonathan Milan Until this passing point before quickly giving way to climbers on the glans to form the breakaway.
The 18th stage journey
– Thursday July 24 – STEP 18 : Live – Courchevel (Col de la Loze) / 171.5 km
