Stage 9: Saint-Léonard-De-Noblat > Puy De Dôme (July 9)

2023 TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE 9: Mountain Stage 3 (Summit finish)

SAINT-LÉONARD-DE-NOBLAT > PUY DE DÔME

184 km (114 mi) / 3506 m (11,503’)

See our 2023 Tour de France page for the best way to view, analyze and filter Tour de France stage routes and climbs.

KOM CORNER

Official post-race summary for Stage 9  (July 9):TBD    

STAGE 9 DETAILS AND STATISTICS

• Location: Massif Central, Central France.
• Distance: 184 kilometers / 114
• Altitude Gained: 3,506 meters / 11,503’
• Percentage Grade:

• 45.8% (85 kilometers / 53 miles) descent
• 42.7% (79 kilometers / 496 miles) 0-5%
• 9.5% (18 kilometers / 11 miles) 5-10%
• 1.6% (3 kilometers / 1.9 miles) 10-15%
• .4%% (.8 kilometers / .5 miles) 15-20%

• Steepest Segments (Puy De Dôme)

• 500 meters 8.9% / ¼ mile 9.2%
• 1 Kilometer 8.5% / 1 mile 8.3%

• Highest Point on the Route: 1,783 meters / 5,851
• Lowest Point on the Route: 377 meters / 1,238’

COMMENTS FROM RACE DIRECTOR CHRISTIAN PRUDHOMME - STAGE 9:

“There’s no doubt that the emotion of the return to the Puy de Dôme 35 years on from the last visit will stimulate the appetite of the most aggressive climbers. The rugged Auvergne terrain will have sapped the juice from the legs of the contenders long before they tackle this formidable and majestic summit. Over the final four kilometres, at the end of a day with 3,600 metres of vertical gain, the average gradient is close to 12%” (Tour de France Stage 9).

Letour.fr - Stage 9

Puy De Dôme has the steepest five kilometers of the 2023 TdF 11.3%

Puy De Dôme is located in central France.

It is the youngest volcano of the Chaîne des Puys (volcano chain)

PJAMM Cycling Profile Tool.

Summit finish on Puy De Dôme.

EXPLANATION OF KING OF MOUNTAIN, KOM POINTS AND BONUS POINTS

FOR THE 2023 TOUR DE FRANCE

Puy De Dôme is one of the most legendary climbs in the history of the Tour de France (see PJAMM Legendary Tour de France page).  Puy De Dôme has been featured in the Tour de France 14 times between 1952 and 2023 - always as a summit finish. Some of the famed riders to win a Puy De Dôme stage are:  

• 1952:  Fausto Coppi (TdF 2x; Giro 4) - Coppi was first to the top the first time Puy De Dôme was featured in the TdF
• 1959 Federico Bahamontes (TdF 1959)
• 1964 Julio Jimenez (TdF KOM 3x; Vuelta KOM 3x)
• 1967 Felice Gimondi (TdF 1965; Vuela 1968)
• 1971 & 1973:  Luis Ocaña (TdF 1973; Vuelta 1970)
• 1975: Lucien Van Impe (TdF 1976; 6x TdF KOM)
• 1976 & 1978: Joop Zoetemelk (TdF 1980; 2nd place TdF x6; Vuelta 1979; World Champion 1985)

Puy De Dôme debuted in the Tour the same year as the most famous climb in the world, Alpe d’Huez, both as summit finishes. Fausto Coppi won the inaugural Alpe d’Huez stage (Stage 10) and Puy De Dôme’s inaugural Stage 21 13 days later (there were 23 stages that year).

Puy De Dôme became ever-famous and is etched in the memories of all Tour de France historians in 1964 on Stage 20.  It was on this 245 km (152 mi) stage that one of the greatest battles of the TdF occurred on the ascent.  Beloved Raymond Poulidor battled it out shoulder to shoulder with rival and nemesis Jacques Anquetil.  This was the year Anquetil would win his fifth and last TdF and one in which the popular Poulidor battled valiantly to win, but ultimately placed second.  Poulidor started Stage 20 56 seconds behind Anquetil and made a fierce run up Puy De Dôme, in which he was right alongside Anquetil until the final kilometer, when he dropped him and shaved the TdF lead to 14 seconds. Poulidor ended up third in the 1964 Tour, 21 seconds behind winner Anquetil.

Anquetil and Poulidor battle it out on Puy De Dôme

Photograph: Robert Krieger/AP

KOM DEFINED:  Climb-related points are accumulated during the race and the rider with the most accumulated points at the beginning of the stage wears the red polka dot jersey that day and the rider with the most points at the end of the race is crowned that year’s Tour de France King of the Mountains.

“Category”:  When the mountain classification (King of the Mountains) was introduced in 1933, there were points given to the first 10 riders over the summit (10 for first, 1 for 10th).  In 1947, the Tour introduced two climb “categories” with a certain amount of points for the second category and twice as many as for the first category.  Over the years “categories” were added, in addition to an “Above” category (Hors or HC) and since 1979 there have been an HC (hardest), Category 1 (second hardest) on down to Category 4 (least difficult climb).

The category of the climb is significant for two reasons:

• The points awarded for the TdF KOM for each climb is based upon the category of climb - thus, “category” is the basis for the points that are used to determine each year’s King of the Mountains.
• Most cycling fans, particularly Grand Tour fans, are very interested in the climb “category” because that tells them how hard each climb on a stage is and where the riders will struggle more and the point in a stage where that day, or even the entire tour, will be won or lost.

KOM HISTORY:  King of the Mountains -- Mountain Classification victories (first recognized in 1933; jersey introduced 1975)

• TdF:

• Richard Virenque: 7 - 1994-1997, 1999, 2003, 2004 (best tour finish #2 1997)
• Frederico Bahamontes (six: 1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964; nine in Grand Tours)  

• Triples (none ever in the same year):  Frederico Bahamontes and Louis Herrera.
• Doubles same year (TdF+Giro):  Fausto Coppi, Charly Gaul, Lucien Van Impe, Claudio Chaippucci

POINTS:  KOM points are awarded in two ways on the Tour de France:

•  To riders first over the summit of categorized climbs (in descending order HC, 1-4).  

• The higher the category the more riders receive points (HC points are awarded to 8 riders while CAT 4 points are awarded to only 1 rider).

• Bonus point (see below).

TDF POINTS FORMULA:

Wikipedia has the best summary and graph we’ve seen for TdF KOM points distribution:

he points gained by consecutive riders reaching a mountain top are distributed according to the following classification:

Wikipedia - Mountains Classification - Tour de France

BONUS POINTS:  These points go towards the King of the Mountain designation and are awarded to the first (8 points), second (5) and third (2) riders reaching designated summits in the race.  

• There are no KOM bonuses in the 2022 Tour de France.

MONEY PRIZES FOR KING OF THE MOUNTAINS

• Prize for first to eighth place:

• Winner = €25,000
• 2nd = €15,000
• 3rd = €10,000
• 4th = €4,000
• 5th = €3,500
• 6th = €3,000
• 7th = €2,500
• 8th = €2,000

• Daily prize for wearing the Polka Dot jersey = €6,000
• Per category climb:

• HC

• 1st = €800
• 2nd = €450
• 3rd = €300

• Cat 1

• 1st = €650
• 2nd = €400
• 3rd = €150

• Cat 2

• 1st = €500
• 2nd = €250

• Cat 3

• 1st = €300

• Cat 4

• 1st = €200

• Sourvenir Henri Desgrange €5000 first to Col du Galibier pass Stage 11.

The maximum amount the KOM winner could earn if he won every stage and wore the jersey from Stage 2 to the finish is $60,300 Euros (62,773 USD)

Summary of Stage 9’s Climb Profile.