After 106 editions, the Great Loop continues to innovate and offer new climbs to its riders, especially in the alpine massif. Thus, the route of the 2020 Tour de France, to be unveiled on Tuesday, includes two unpublished arrivals, one of which should particularly mark the spirits: that of the Loze Pass.
While the start of the race will be held June 27, Nice, for a final stage on the Champs-Elysees on July 19, the stage of the Loze Pass should take place around July 14. Above the Méribel resort, a forest trail has been tarred this summer, to allow cyclists to reach this 2,300 meter high pass. An opportunity on which jumped the organizers of the Tour, seduced by the difficulty of the course.
"Slopes completely broken"
At the microphone of Europe 1, Thierry Gouvenou, responsible for the layout of the Tour, describes "slopes sometimes very very steep, up to 20%". "In general, in the Alps, the slopes are arranged so that it is regular to go up to the stations, there it is completely different," he explains. "When we pass the station, we enter another universe, we go to the top of the mountain on an old path with slopes completely broken." And Thierry Gouvenou to announce that "the runners will suffer a lot on this kind of completely irregular course".
"It looks a bit like an amusement park with roller coasters", abounds with Europe 1 Thierry Carroz, director of the sports club Meribel. "We have a lot of rhythm changes, slopes at 20% in places, and after, dishes."
The Alps will also be the scene of another unprecedented arrival, with the col du Grand Colombier, on the border of the Jura. The pass had been borrowed for the first time at the 2012 edition, but never before had an arrival occurred at its summit, located at 1,500 meters above sea level.