Today's uphill time trial could be the big one, with definitive gaps in the GC opening up.
It may only be 10.9km long, with 8km of that climbing, but this race against the clock has the potential to open up the splits between race favourites Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.
Gaps could also emerge between those who are in peak form and those who lack the punch at this stage in the race to make their mark.
Stage 13: Loudenvielle > Peyragudes
- Date: 18 July
- Distance: 10.9km
- Elevation gain: 650m
- Stage type: Individual time trial
Route profile
Route map
There was a time when the mountain time trial was a regular rendezvous at the Tour de France, but it fell out of favour because of the decisive time gaps it could open up in an often tight race.
The dizzying success, however, of the solo mountain test at La Planche des Belle Filles in 2020, where Tadej Pogačar put compatriot Primož Roglic to the sword, has revived the format.
All the technology and know-how available for riders to control their effort means time gaps between the best riders will be measured in seconds rather than minutes.
The ITT in Nice that closed last year’s race was also pretty hilly, but this stage is a true mountain time trial, to the Peyragudes ski station via the Col de Peyresourde.
The climb itself is 8km at 7.9%, with the worst section coming at the very end, to the now traditional finale on the resort’s altiport.
“The Peyragudes climb has developed quite a reputation, particularly the final few hundred metres, where the Tour favourites have been scattered as they make their very last effort up to the line,” says race director Christian Prudhomme.
“Always formidable, there won’t be the slightest opportunity for any respite up this steep ascent.
“The riders will have barely two kilometres to gain momentum before they’re onto the climb of the Peyresourde.”
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What's on the stage
It's another stage to a ski resort, in this case one that's larger than Hautacam, because Peyragudes is the third largest ski station in the Pyrenees, with 18 lifts and 51 pistes. It's large enough to boast its own airstrip, the altiport, which forms the final drag to the line and also served as the shoot location for the pre-title sequence for the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.
The altiport was also the finish of the final climbing stage of the 2012 Tour de France. The stage was won by Alejandro Valverde, with Chris Froome second and Bradley Wiggins third, on his way to winning the Tour overall. Froome repeatedly waited for Wiggins on the climb, potentially missing out on the stage win. Did he realise he might never have the chance to win the Tour again, Froome was asked at the finish.
One to watch: Tadej Pogačar
Tadej Pogačar has form in mountain time trials, and has established himself as the dominant rider at this year's Tour, so he looks like the nailed-on favourite for this stage. Don't discount Jonas Vingegaard, though, who will be smarting after stage 12.
