After a sprinter-friendly stage 13, in which, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceunick) won out on the linge, Stage 14 of the 2024 Tour de France will feature a challenging mountain stage in the Pyrenees. The stage runs from Pau to Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d'Adet, covering 151.9 km, with the first half is relatively flat, with major climbing challenges concentrated in the second half, showing a total of 4,000 meters of overall elevation gain on the day.
Pla d'Adet is a ski resort situated above the village of Saint-Lary-Soulan, at an altitude of 1,680 meters featuring 55 ski slopes and 30 lifts. The climb to Pla d'Adet is frequently used as a stage finish in the Tour de France, starting at Vignec, on the outskirts of Saint-Lary-Soulan. Pla d'Adet has been featured as a stage finish in the Tour de France on 10 occasions since 1974, most recently in 2014. It is the third most frequent summit finish in Tour history, behind only Alpe d'Huez and Puy de Dôme.
In 1974, Raymond Poulidor's legendary attack on this climb is commemorated with a plaque at the first hairpin. In 1981, Phil Anderson became the first non-European cyclist to wear the yellow jersey after a stage finishing at Pla d'Adet.
Key Climbs on the day include the Col du Tourmalet, lasting a grueling 19 km with a 7.4% average gradient, the Hourquette d'Ancizan covering 8.2 km at a 5.1% average gradient, and the finish at the summit of the Pla d'Adet starting 10.6 km from the line and maintaining an average gradient of 7.9%. The finish at Pla d'Adet marks the 50th anniversary of its first inclusion in the Tour de France. In 1974, Raymond Poulidor won on this climb.
This stage is likely to be crucial for general classification contenders, with multiple challenging climbs providing opportunities for attacks and time gaps. The steepest sections of the final climb to Pla d'Adet occur in the first three kilometers, which could be decisive for stage victory and battles for the general classification.
This stage represents the first major mountain challenge in the Pyrenees for the 2024 Tour de France and should provide exciting racing among climbers and the front of the general classification. Current Maillot Jaune holder Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) will look to retain his jersey, which he has held for nearly every stage thus far. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), second in the general classification, and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike), third overall and winner of Stage 11, will certainly be supported by the teams heavily on the day and will be eyeing this as the stage where they can overtake Pogačar nearing the final week of the 2024 Tour. Primož Roglič (Bora-Hangrohe-Red Bull), who suffered an unfortunate crash nearing the finish on Stage 12 which caused him to lose meaningful time in the general classification standings, will also likely target the day as one in which he can take the day and move up in the overall standings.
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