With the notorious mountain finish in Alpe d’Huez, the Tour de France completed its twelfth of a total of 21 stages on Thursday. In terms of sport, the legendary ascent brought no changes. Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard of Dutch team Jumbo-Visma successfully defended the yellow jersey against his Slovenian rival Tadej Pogacar. Nevertheless, Alpe d’Huez is always a spectacle. The mountain stage in the High Alps is the most prestigious on the Great Loop, although there are steeper and more difficult climbs. In addition to the physical agony of having to climb three peaks (Col du Calibier, Col de la Croix de Fer and Alpe d’Huez), you have to fight your way through hordes of mad fans who line the slope and get dangerously close to the drivers on the final climb . Alpe d’Huez symbolizes the entire tour, which places the highest demands on the rider’s body and mind. The Tour has always meant torment and suffering. So time to take a look at the 109th edition of the Tour of France.
The magic of torment: Alpe d’Huez and the suffering of the Great Loop
