Tour de France | Analysis

Stage 14

Stage 14 Breakdown:

Stage 14 takes the riders on a mountainous 155.3km journey from Mulhouse to Le Markstein. The Tour heads into the Vosges for one of the toughest stages of the race, with around 3800m of climbing packed into a relatively short distance. The repeated climbs and demanding finale make this another crucial day for the GC contenders.

The riders tackle the Grand Ballon and Ballon d’Alsace before the decisive finale over the Col du Haag, an 11.2km climb averaging 7.3% with several ramps above 9%. The summit comes just under 6 kilometres from the finish, but instead of a summit finish, the riders face rolling terrain to Le Markstein. This gives dropped riders a small chance to limit their losses, while rewarding those who still have the strength to attack over the top.

The GC teams are expected to control the race throughout the day, with the Col du Haag likely to be the launchpad for the decisive attacks. While a strong breakaway could survive if given enough freedom, this looks like another stage where the battle for the yellow jersey is expected to take center stage.

Favorites:
| +++ | Tadej Pogačar, Richard Carapaz, Remco Evenepoel
| ++ | Isaac del Toro, Thymen Arensman, Jonas Vingegaard
| + | Tobias H. Johannessen, Paul Seixas

Tune in for more stage by stage analysis, and predictions to come!