PREVIEW | Tour de France 2024 stage 19

The 2024 Tour de France promises to be a distinctive edition, starting with its Grand Depart in Florence and Emilia-Romagna, just across the border in Italy. For the first time in many years, the race will conclude away from Paris, with the riders heading to Nice for the grand finale. Scheduled from June 29th to July 21st, let's take a preview of the upcoming stage.

Another brutal day. This is, in my opinion alongside stage 15, the other day that could be termed the queen stage. It's very different however with only 145 kilometers on the menu and a start that is relatively flat. But it presents, deep into the race, challenges that will not suit every rider and may in fact see a few GC contenders completely explode.

The first 20 kilometers of the day should be fast but the climbers looking to win from a breakaway will likely wait for the Col de Vars to make their move. The climb is 19 kilometers long at 5.6%, but this includes small downhill. The first 8 kilometers of the climb average around 7% and it's hard enough to make differences. It's still a long effort however and the mountain goes all the way up to 2105 meters of altitude. Altitude is a key word on this day.

Because the Tour will tackle its highest climb of the year. The Cime de la Bonnette is the highest-altitude climb ever used in the Tour de France and it is the highest paved road in Europe that doesn't have a dead end (meaning it can be climbed from two different sides. It is also the third highest paved road in Europe only behind the Pico Veleta and the Tiefenbachferner.

This is a good introduction to just how high the riders will go. It's the fifth time the climb is in the race, the last of which was in 2008, but it was part of the Giro d'Italia in 2016 (where the riders raced in the same direction as this day, with Isola 2000 also in the route). But the climb is not just about the altitude, it's details are just brutal as well. It's 23.1 kilometers long at 6.8%, a climb that will take around an hour even for the best climbers in the world.

The ascent ends with 57.5 kilometers to go but have no doubt that at this point in the Tour, and with just how hard of a climb it is, some GC riders may go all-out - specially those who love the altitude and long ascents. The fact that the descent starts at 2798 meters of altitude and is technical will make it a tense challenge as well, on a road that is fully exposed to the weather.

In 40 kilometers the riders lose 2000 meters of elevation until they face the final climb. The Col de la Lombarde as many know it, but the riders have the finish line before the summit at the Isola 2000 ski station - where riders such as Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel prepared for the Tour de France in a training camp.

At the end of a brutal day and race this climb can see bigger differences than what it would usually get. It's overshadowed by a different mountain on the day, but the climb is still over 16 kilometers long at 7% with it's summit at 2022 meters of altitude. It's a proper final climb to a proper day in the mountains and the differences at the finish can be massive.

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Prediction Tour de France 2024 stage 19:

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