Tour de France 2023 - Stage 13 preview

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Stage 13: Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne to Grand Colombier

Date: July 14, 2023

Distance: 137km

Stage type: Mountain

Bastille Day opens the middle weekend of the 2023 Tour de France and stage 13 sets up fireworks indeed with a summit finish at Col du Grand Colombier (17.4km at 7.1%). It is the first time the Tour has been hosted by the small mediaeval town of Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne. From the tranquil setting of the four-flower-rated town on the Dombes River, the race should be anything but calm. 

The peloton will climb to the intermediate sprint point at the Hauteville-Lompnes plateau to finish on the 1,531-metre summit of Grand Colombier for only a second time. The first summit finish took place in 2020, when Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) outdueled yellow jersey Primož Roglič (jumbo-Visma) on the fearsome summit, setting him into position to overtake the race lead five days later. 

The climb in the Jura extends for 17.4km at an average gradient of 7.1%, with the final few hundred metres peaking at 12%. Its most difficult portion comes in the opening seven kilometres as they navigate a set of switchbacks coming out of Culoz with ramps of up to 12% and no kilometre averaging less than 6.8% gradient.

There are moments of respite in the middle kilometres and towards the final ramp, but with such a high pace likely being set before they hit the climb, the GC favourites will be flying up the most difficult inclines.

The general classification couldn't be better poised coming into stage 13, with the yellow jersey wearer, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), only entering the day with a 17-second lead on Pogačar, despite dropping him on the first tough mountain test on stage 5. Pogačar lost over a minute on that day but responded just a day later by dropping Vingegaard and winning the stage into Cauterets-Cambasque. Pogačar was also the stronger of the two on stage 9 atop the Puy de Dôme, but could only gain 8 seconds on his rival.

None of the other GC contenders are expected to follow our two protagonists once they animate the finale, and there will likely be another exciting race igniting behind in the battle for third between Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), the Yates twins Simon (Jayco AlUla) and Adam (UAE Team Emirates) and new podium challenger Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) after his breakaway win on stage 10 moved him into fifth overall.

As it's Bastille Day, there will be a huge contingent of French riders trying to get into a break and take a historic victory, but with a run into the summit finish that only has one uncategorised climb, expect the GC teams to control.

Most likely, UAE, as they will believe Pogačar can at least follow Vingegaard on the harshest inclines and with an easy day in the legs, either drop him for the victory or outsprint him to take the win and bonus seconds. 

Neilson Powless (EF Education EasyPost) leads the king of the mountains classification by 16 points ahead of Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X), so will want the GC favourites to fight out the win and take the 20 available atop the Grand Colombier, which would guarantee him more time in polka-dots. 

It should certainly be a day for GC action with the next chapter in Vingegaard vs Pogačar ready to be written into what has been an incredibly entertaining and closely fought opening 12 stages to the 2023 Tour de France.