Landslides and tunnel damage force organisers to look for alternative climbs
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The summit of the Col du Galibier will feature prominently in the 2013 Giro d'Italia.(Image credit: RCS Sport)
Fifteen years after Marco Pantani attacked on the Galibier (pictured) to set up his 1998 Tour de France victory, the Giro d'Italia pays tribute with a summit finish on the Galibier.(Image credit: AFP)
Andy Schleck wins the Galibier stage of the 2011 Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The profile of stage 20 of the 2015 Tour de France to L'Alpe d'Huez(Image credit: ASO)
The corners(Image credit: Mark Sharon)
The risk of a massive landslide and damage to a key tunnel is almost certain to force the Tour de France organisers to cut the Col du Telegraphe and the Col du Galibier from this year’s race route.
The 2645m high Galibier –the highest planned for this year’s Tour and the Col du Telegraphe that leads to the Galibier, feature on stage 20, with the short but intense 110km stage sheduled to start in Modane and end atop L’Alpe d’Huez. It is the last mountain stage before the transfer to Paris for the final parade stage on the French capital.
However according to reports in L’Equipe and local France Bleu radio station website, the Chabron tunnel on the D1091 road between Grenoble and Briancon, 30km from the foot of L’Alpe d’Huez is closed due to damage to a tunnel. The risk of a 250,000 tonnes landslide during the summer means it will be impossible to secure the road and ensure a safe passage of the riders and fans in time for the stage on July 25.
“The stage isn’t at risk and the Tour de France stage will finish at L’Alpe d’Huez but via which way is not yet clear,” Jean-Pierre Barbier, the head of the L’Isere council told L’Equipe.
The Chabron tunnel is the only way to L’Alpe d’Huez after the descent of the Galibier. Local residents have reportedly been moved around the tunnel by military barges but the Tour de France will have to find a different way to reach the foot of the final climb of this year’s race.
Tour de France organiser ASO has yet to confirm any change in the stage route but the modified stage is expected to spend more time in the Maurienne valley and then climb either the Col di Glandon or the Col de la Croix-de-Fer. Both climbs are due to be climbed on stages 18 and 19 of this year’s race. Both climbs are long Hors Category climbs but are shorter than the combined climbs of the Col du Telegraphe and the Col du Galibier.
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
