Stage 20: Nice > Col de la Couillole

TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE 20: Mountain

133 km (83 miles) / 4,619 m (15,154’)

NICE>COL DE LA COUILLOLE - July 20

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Stage Preview (from letour.fr):letour.fr Stage 20 

The Paris-Nice regulars will be racing over familiar terrain, but that won’t make things any easier if the contest for the Yellow Jersey is still raging, particularly over such a short distance. Battle could commence as early as the climb to the Col de Braus. There will then be no respite on the climbs of the Cols de Turini, de la Colmiane and finally de la Couillole, the final ascent extending for 15.7km at an average gradient of 7.1%. We’ll all be holding our breath!

KOM Corner

Official post-race summary for Stage 20 (from letour.fr)

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) was unstoppable again on the Col de la Couillole as he took his fifth stage win of the 2024 Tour de France with a powerful finish. Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) picked off the remainder of a depleted breakaway over the final kilometers, leaving Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) behind them on the way up the Couillole, before the man in the Yellow Jersey accelerated in the final meters to beat his Danish rival to the line by 7”. Having confirmed his triumph in the Mountain classification Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) finished the stage third at +23” in his polka dot jersey and Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) crossed the line fourth, 53” off the winner Pogacar. Going into Sunday’s final Monaco to Nice time trial stage Pogacar leads by 5’14” overall from Vingegaard, with TT specialist Evenepoel in third, now 8'04” from the leader.

A trio take the lead on the Col de Braus
The peloton gathered in Nice with 141 riders at the start line for the penultimate stage of the 2024 Tour. In the opening kilometers, as is often the case, it was the Uno-X and EF Education Easypost teams who took the initiative. However, a breakaway group which included several members of the GC top 10 formed on the approach to the first climb of the Col de Braus, provoking an immediate reaction from the top three in the general classification. A big Yellow Jersey group therefore counter attacked from the peloton and brought things back together at the front, with the polka dot jersey Richard Carapaz (EF Education Easypost) not wanting to miss out on the party. Then, Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-AG2R) and Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease a Bike) escaped from the regrouped collective of leading riders, this time without provoking any reaction. They were quickly joined by Enric Mas (Movistar), with the Maillot Jaune group then following them calmly, soon 55” adrift.

Two counter attacks expand the breakaway
It was Mas who went over the Col de Braus first and on the descent a chasing group of Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike), Marc Soler (UAE Emirates), Richard Carapaz (EF Education First), Clement Champoussin (Arkea-B&B) and Romain Bardet (dsm -Firmenich) went after the trio at the front, while spirits relaxed within the group of favorites. The three leading men set off to attack the Col de Turini (Cat. 1, km 59.8) with a 35” lead over their closest pursuers and 2’00” over the peloton which had returned to a more traditional size for the start of a mountain stage. Although Champoussin was left behind, his previous companions from the cashing group caught the three in the lead 9 km from the summit. Subsequently, three more chasers Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ), Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X) and Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) increased the breakaway to 10 riders in total, 1 km from top of the Col de Turini. In the KOM jersey Carapaz was the first to reach the Turini summit, almost guaranteeing his triumph in that competition.

Intermediate sprint and more climbing
Stuyven was first at the Saint-Martin-Vesubie intermediate sprint (km 87.8), followed by Johannessen, Kelderman and Bardet, with the peloton arriving 3’50” after them, before the riders took on the Col de la Colmiane climb (Cat. 1, km 95.9). 7.5 km of ascending at an average gradient of 7.1% awaited, with Carapaz once again making it to the top first, demonstrating his climbing prowess and virtually sealing his victory in the KOM ranking, provided he simply finishes Sunday’s Stage 21 time trial. The peloton topped the penultimate climb of the stage 2'45” later.  

Onto the Col de la Couillole
As the breakaway riders started the final Col de la Couillole climb (Cat. 1, km 132.8) they still had that 2’45” lead, but the group was soon decimated. Mas and Carapaz attacked 11.4 km from the finish and only Bardet was able to follow them briefly, before the two went clear at the front. With just over 5km to go Vingegaard attacked from a depleted GC group and Pogacar responded by sticking tightly to his wheel, whilst Evenepoel dropped behind. Pogacar and Vingegaard caught Carapaz and Mas 2.5 kilometers from the finish line and only Carapaz could follow the GC favorites, with Mas unable to take the pace. In the final kilometer it was only Pogacar and Vingegaard left to fight for the win, with the Slovenian proving strongest once again.

STAGE 20 DETAILS AND STATISTICS

• Location:           Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, France
• Distance: 133 kilometers / 83 miles
• Altitude Gained: 4,619 meters / 15,154’
• Percentage Grade:

• 38% (50 kilometers / 31 miles) descent
• 27% (37 kilometers / 23 miles) 0-5%
• 30% (40 kilometers / 25 miles) 5-10%
• 4% (5 kilometers / 3 miles) 10-15%

• Steepest::

• 500 meters 15% / ¼ mile 16.9%
• 1 Kilometer 10.7% / 1 mile 9.2%

• Highest Point on the Route: 1,676 meters / 5,498’
• Lowest Point on the Route: 55 meters / 180’

COMMENTS FROM RACE DIRECTOR CHRISTIAN PRUDHOMME - STAGE 20:

“The Paris-Nice regulars will be racing over familiar terrain, but that won’t make things any easier if the contest for the Yellow Jersey is still raging, particularly over such a short distance. Battle could commence as early as the climb to the Col de Braus. There will then be no respite on the climbs of the Cols de Turini, de la Colmiane and finally de la Couillole, the final ascent extending for 15.7km at an average gradient of 7.1%. We’ll all be holding our breath!” (Tour de France Stage 20).

letour.fr - Stage 20