The peloton will not have a rest. The day after a difficult stage with three passes including the legendary Tourmalet, the riders continue their route in the Pyrenees, during the 15th stage between Loudenvielle and the Plateau de Beille, Sunday July 14. With four first category passes in addition to the Pyrenean site on the final climb, the favorites will want to widen the gaps.
Tadej Pogacar to deliver the final blow?
And what if this stage definitively sealed the fate of this 2024 Tour de France? Tadej Pogacar struck hard on Saturday by winning solo at Pla d’Adet to relegate Jonas Vingegaard to 1’57” and Remco Evenepoel to 2’22” in the general classification. If there are still mountain stages and a final time trial, the Slovenian could well widen a decisive gap in the event of a new show of strength.
Gaudu and Bardet dream of a fanfare-filled July 14th
It has now been seven years since a Frenchman won the July 14 stage. In 2017, Warren Barguil won a stage, wearing the polka dot jersey, on Bastille Day. Before him, big names in French cycling such as Jacques Anquetil and Richard Virenque also crossed the finish line first on this special day in France. Will a Frenchman achieve this feat this year at the top of the Plateau de Beille? We can think of Romain Bardet, already a stage winner this year, far behind in the general classification, but freed since he announced that this would be his last Grande Boucle, or David Gaudu, at the front on Saturday.
The Beille plateau, a legendary pass of the Tour
Absent since 2015, the Plateau de Beille returns for the seventh time to the Tour. 15.8 km long, it is often the scene of great battles between the best climbers. Legends like Marco Pantani in 1998 or Alberto Contador in 2007 have already made their mark on the history of this pass classified as hors catégorie.