2023-10-27 07:13:00
The Tour de France is starting to soar, with the peloton spending a lot of time above the 2000 meter mark. But Eurosport expert Jens Voigt has a problem with one or two descents.
The 52-year-old, who won two Tour stages during his career, writes that he actually has a bit of nightmares at the idea of the professionals “sailing down the mountain” at 90 km/h and possibly a strong, gusty sea wind blowing in.
When it comes to tension planning, however, he gives the ASO tour organizers very good marks. The ex-professional believes that the standings could be shaken up again in the last three days.
With a total of 52,230 meters in altitude, the ASO left no doubt why people talk about the Tour of Suffering, writes Voigt in his column:
Hello dear cycling fans,
The route of the Tour de France 2024 is out, and what immediately catches my eye: There is no rhythm and no clearly defined periods with similar stage profiles. This means the team will be more important than ever. By this I mean the composition of the teams and the question of how balanced they are.
It’s about mastering the sprint and mountain stages equally well with the same eight riders, mastering the Mistral wind on the section to Nîmes as well as the gravel sections on the 9th stage around Troyes.
The teams have to face the eternal and painful rhythm changes in the Massif Central and climb the Col de la Bonette, the highest point in Tour history. It takes you up the highest asphalt road in France to 2,802 meters above sea level. This places enormous demands on every potential classification driver, but also on the seven competitors. No team can afford one or two failures due to falls in the first week.
The absolute highlight for me is the meeting of the three superstars – hopefully in top form and with the clear intention of winning the race.
What I think is good: There are finally two longer time trials again. Class riders like Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel also have to demonstrate this quality, even though the trio has had no problems in the fight against the clock in recent years. The time trials speak for the three stars and against the French, Italian or South American hopefuls for the overall ranking – because the professionals from these countries are more purely mountain riders and will always lose ground in the time trials.
The absolute highlight for me is the meeting of the three superstars or super talents – hopefully in top form and with the clear intention of winning the race. As of now, both Vingegaard and Pogacar as well as Evenepoel will choose the tour as the highlight of the season and we viewers will finally get the big question answered as to who is the best. If we throw Primoz Roglic and the Yates brothers into the ring, the stage is set for a spectacular Tour de France.
Showdown at the Tour de France 2023: Jonas Vingegaard (front) and Tadej Pogacar are in a hot duel for the yellow jersey
Fotocredit: Getty Images
Despite all the anticipation, there are things that I don’t like. I’m aiming for the 4th stage, where after crossing the Col du Galibier it’s almost 20 kilometers downhill to the finish. Why can this be a problem? The drivers will take full risk, they have to. The peloton is probably still fresh in its legs and motivated after the first serious mountain test. There will be a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the ranking aspirants and one or the other may have to take more risks than they want.
At Paris-Nice, speeds of over 80 km/h are regularly reached – and the time trial bikes pick up much more speed.
We all still remember the events during the Tour de Suisse this year when Gino Mäder had a fatal accident. I never want to see pictures like that again. I feel a similar unease when I think about the profile of the final time trial with the very, very fast descent from the Col de Eze to Nice. At Paris-Nice, speeds of over 80 km/h are regularly reached – and the time trial bikes pick up much more speed.
In addition, these bikes are more difficult to handle due to the aero position of the riders, the disc wheels and aerobars. I actually have a bit of nightmares when I imagine the professionals sailing down the mountain at 90 km/h and possibly a strong, gusty sea wind blowing in. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly.
In general, the tour will have a few constants next year. The prize money for overall victory is again 500,000 euros, with a total of 2.3 million euros being paid out. There remain 22 teams with eight drivers each, i.e. 176 starters.
With eight flat stages, seven mountain stages and four mountain finishes, the organizers are keeping within the usual framework, as well as the two rest days. What is new is the use of gravel roads instead of the passages that are driven at Paris-Roubaix. This means that the tour in this phase is more similar to the image we know from the Italian one-day race Strade Bianche. The women already got to know these gravel sections at the Tour de France Femmes this year.
This route poses a risk of falls and defects. It can quickly become nerve-wracking in the sun, wind and dryness or rain and the resulting mud fight. Honestly, I still don’t know what to think about it. So is this a good idea or a terrible idea?
The ASO has once again managed to create a difficult and exciting route and with an altitude of 52,230 meters there is no doubt as to why people talk about the Tour of Suffering.
What remains clear is that the ASO has once again built in a drama point or potential for surprises on almost every stage. Be it a small mountain that is more difficult than expected, be it gravel roads or a crosswind that has been taken into account. Fast descents, the hammer-tough finale with three very difficult stages – it’s going to get down to business.
Emotional words when honored: Vingegaard receives the coronation
The numbers alone show how tricky it will be in the end: on the 19th stage there are three mountains with a height of more than 2000 meters, all in just 145 kilometers. The day after, the peloton is faced with four mountain classifications over 133 km and a final climb of almost 16 km. On the final stage, the difficult time trial awaits from Monaco via La Turbie and the Col de Eze to Nice. In these three days the rankings can be shaken up again and it will remain incredibly exciting until the end.
You notice: There will be no final on the famous Champs-Élysées in Paris. The tour is being canceled because the capital will already be packed with the 2024 Olympic Games. But the setting is also right in Nice, the riders will rush to the finish line very close to the Promenade des Anglais.
My conclusion: The ASO has once again managed to create a difficult and exciting route and with an altitude of 52,230 meters there is no doubt as to why people talk about the Tour of Leiden. I can’t wait to see the riders at the start in Florence on June 29th.
About Jens Voigt:
Jens Voigt (52) is a former German professional cyclist and currently works as a co-commentator for Eurosport. During his career, Voigt won, among other things, two stages of the Tour de France (2001, 2006) and one at the Giro d’Italia (2008). He also triumphed twice on the Germany Tour (2006, 2007).
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