Tour de France stage 18 preview: expect a GC battle royale on the highest stage of the race

Stage 18: Vif > Col de la Loze

• Date: 24 July
• Distance: 171.5km
• Elevation gain: 5,450m
• Stage type: Mountain

Route profile

Route map

Once more with feeling – the Tour returns to the mountains for a final time with the first of two Alpine stages.

Col de la Loze was a new mountain in the 2020 race (and was used again in 2023). In reality, it was the climb to the Méribel resort, followed by a new path closed to traffic that connected Méribel with Courchevel.

This year, the race takes the road up to the high-end ski resort of Courchevel, where Ineos Grenadiers owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a chalet, followed by the passage up the Loze.

The trickiest sections come first in the altiport, followed by another steep ramp as the road merges into the bike path in the final 4km.

“The stats don’t lie – this is the most demanding stage of the 2025 Tour, with 5,500 metres of vertical gain,” says race director Christian Prudhomme.

“Much of this total will come on the climbs to the Col du Glandon and then the Col de la Madeleine, where the riders will reach 2,000 metres for the first time today.

“Then, they’ll hit the heights again above Courchevel to reach the Col de la Loze, tackling the pass for the first time from this flank.

“After passing through the altiport, the final four kilometres are on a cycle track where the gradient is just as irregular and almost as hard on the legs as the route taken in 2020 and 2023.”