Tomblaine – La Planche des Belles Filles
Distance: 199km
Highest point: 1,035m
Category: Medium mountains
The first steep ramps
Most pundits believe that the route of this year’s Tour heavily favours the time trial specialists and Frank Schleck is the man most frequently picked out as the rider for whom this is a problem. On this basis, Schleck and other climbers who struggle against the clock, such as Robert Gesink and Pierre Rolland, will have to take advantage of stages like this. All the damage will be done on the final climb, which has never previously featured on the Tour but provides a breathtaking finale to the Trois Ballons sportive. They may only gain seconds at the finish but they will get a big psychological boost if they drop key rivals.
Janez Brajkovic: "The profile of the final climb is really hard with ramps of 11 and 13 percent and there are certainly going to be some time differences at the top. It is almost six kilometres and averages around 7 percent so it is a climb that suits me."
Maps and profiles courtesy of ASO
-
Tour de Suisse 2025 start list
Official start list for 2025 Tour de Suisse -
'I think she could give a bit extra' - Vollering out-matched by Reusser in Tour de Suisse Women stage 1
Reusser explains how 'second group syndrome' played a crucial role in her stage-winning tactics -
UCI rejects One Cycling project inclusion in WorldTour
Future of new scheme in question as men's and women's WorldTour races decided through 2028 -
'Nothing bad, just some skin off' – Remco Evenepoel uninjured in Critérium du Dauphiné crash, but loses Tour de France domestique to earlier incident
After already losing Mikel Landa at the Giro, Soudal-QuickStep see Louis Vervaeke crash out with fractured collarbone
