Tour de France 2024 Favourites stage 15: GC riders in the Pyrenees

foto: Cor VosOn their way from Loudenveille to Plateau de Beille in the 15th Tour stage, the riders face a whopping 4,500 meters of elevation gain. That's spread across four Category 1 climbs and a real kicker of a HC climb. Now that's some serious mountain grub! (Slideshow route/profile)

Right from the start, the riders are thrown onto the Col de Peyresourde, a climb of 6.9 kilometres at 7.8%. No doubt, breakaway hopefuls will go all out to force a successful attack, but it remains to be seen if those early moves will pay off. Don’t be surprised if the breakaway doesn’t solidify until at least the Col de Menté.

The Menté is a beast of a climb, 9.3 kilometres at 9.1%, with its summit 50 kilometres into the race. If it’s still not settled then, the Col de Portet-d’Aspet will sort it out. Coming right after the Menté, that’s another monster, albeit a shorter one: 4.3 kilometres at 9.7%.

After the Portet-d’Aspet, the riders cruise for dozens of kilometres on virtually flat roads before tackling the Col d’Agnes. The Agnes spans 10 kilometres at an average gradient of 8.2%. Immediately following, the Port de Lers adds another 4.4 kilometres at 5% to the mix. There’s still over 50 kilometres to go from the summit of Lers.

Following the descent, the route winds through the valley for 25 kilometres before the final climb looms. Plateau de Beille spans 15.8 kilometres and the average gradient sits at 7.9%. There’s no respite for the riders anywhere on this climb – it’s a constant slog at a steady gradient.

Given the tough start, the breakaway will likely consist of strong climbers. The best among them have a good shot at surviving and battling for victory on the final climb. However, whether the GC contenders will permit them that opportunity remains uncertain. Given the challenging and iconic nature of this stage, it’s unlikely they’ll relinquish an opportunity for their own moment of glory. Therefore, we anticipate a showdown among the yellow jersey contenders.

Favourites 15th stage 2024 Tour de France

*** Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard
** Remco Evenepoel, Carlos Rodriguez, Giulio Ciccone, Adam Yates
* Romain Bardet, Richard Carapaz, Simon Yates, Felix Gall, Wout Poels

Another interesting read: route 15th stage 2024 Tour de France.