Tour de France 2024 – Stage 13 Preview
Agen to Pau.
Start time 13:50.
Watch from 16:15, before the hills.
We are in for another sprint tomorrow afternoon. I guess you could argue the breakaway has a better chance tomorrow as there are some climbing in the last third of the stage.
Route
A flat stage with three kickers in the finale. It is filled with short ramps and very few long sections of flat.
The riders head south once more, now approaching the foot of the Pyrenees.
The three kickers
It kicks off with 40 kilometers left. The gradients speak for themselves, however I do want to mentioned the width of the roads are wide and I wouldn’t say the run-in for these climbs are difficult or require a bunch sprint to the climbs. Of course, most sprinters want to be near the front, so they gradually can drop back as they do the climb.
It ends roughly 17 kilometers later with 23 kilometers left of the stage.
Finale
It wouldn’t be the Tour de France if they didn’t start the finale with a right hand bend in a roundabout. This is followed by a larger roundabout 4400m out. Afterwards, there are a few road chicanes before the road narrows with 4000m left.
As they ride through Pau, the road bends from left to right and back again a few times and the twisty roads are accompanied with more road furniture. Uncertainty is a good word to use on how they approach the 2500m narrowing, I would assume barriers will squeeze the peloton through a narrowing before a roundabout 2300m from the line. A large one, and there only seems to be the left way around it.
Road furniture and a left turn is more or less what will happen until the 1000m mark, and this is where you must move up before the sprint. The left hand turn under La Flamme Rouge is a key point, as the first ones through there will be the first ones through the roundabout 800m out.
This is followed by the last turn of the day, a left hand turn that isn’t very sharp. They will carry great speed through here. Then it is just full gas to the line.
Weather
A windy stage but I doubt we will see echelons. And the wind isn’t perfect for attacking the hills.
Contenders
Biniam Girmay – three stage wins. I’m getting more and more impressed. He looked out of position but still found his way to the front just at the right time, he is gifted when it comes to that. The hills will be good news, he is a versatile sprinter.
Jasper Philipsen – a tough day for the team with SKA and Rickaert abandoning their sprinter. In theory, they still have a strong enough team to dominate the sprints, they just can’t do it this year. They’ve lost their fourth and third man in the train, not something easily replaced overnight. It will leave MvdP and Jasper as a duo, perhaps with the sweeper-function for Mathieu.
Pascal Ackermann – consistent, as you would expect from a German. Another top-5 tomorrow.
Arnaud de Lie – another very consistent performer. I’d say his chances tomorrow are good, as the climbs are something that will only enhance his chances. I therefore think another top-5 tomorrow is a good shout.
Alexander Kristoff – they look good the UNO-X but Kristoff doesn’t pack the speed to win anymore.
Phil Bauhaus – Another top-10.
Wout van Aert – he will likely contest for a top-5 again tomorrow. The hills are good news for him, and Laporte will be able to bring him very close the front. Hopefully, there is a gap open for him tomorrow, it has been a reoccurring theme this year, as he likes going close to the barriers.
Fernando Gaviria – he missed the sprint today, sometimes you are just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. A tricky finale should suit him, he should be back up there tomorrow.
Who will win?
I’m feeling bold tonight. A stage win for Wout van Aert. It could get tougher than we think.
