GRAND FINAL UP THE COL DE LA LOZE

“The last and most challenging half of the 17th Tour de France stage lies ahead of us. You most likely have to dig deep after a few tough days - or perhaps you have prepared specifically for this Grand Final to Meribel and on to the iconic COL DE LA LOZE. It is a total climb of 35 km. It is a legendary summit that rounds off our great achievement - a summit that indeed also can decide the winner of this year Tour de France.”

The departure from HOTEL BASE CAMP goes towards CYKELNERVEN 2023's biggest challenge. This is the Grand Final with the steepest passages, in the roughest terrain and with the highest percentages of climb. It's a bit like a classic drama divided into 4 acts, where the tension continuously builds and you wait for the end - although it can also be 'dreaded' when the show is over!

Before we reach the final climb, we ride from the hotel towards the river L'Isére - approximately 1.5 km - from where we warm up our legs through small French villages on the mountain side. Exactly at kilometer 12.5 and before the town of Bonnegarde, we continue straight ahead, where the road would otherwise like to take us to the right. A dangerous intersection where traffic can come from the right and from behind - so stand by your group and focus on safety.

The ramp just in front of us marks the start of the day's first climb, CÔTE DE LONGEFOY, which continues towards NOTRE-DAME-DU-PRÈ. A good climb up through the forest of 6.6 km with an average gradient of 7.6%.

(6.6 km / 7.6%) towards Notre Dame du Pré

After winding our way through the small town of Longefoy and we turn left towards the fields, there is a good opportunity to fill our bottles at the water station and gather all the team's riders.

At this point, we have been riding 18.6 km of the stage's 83 km, and approximately 580 meters of altitude out of a total of 2,740.

With more than 2,100 meters of altitude ahead of us, you should at this point still have energy and the positive spirit for the rest of our QUEEN STAGE. In addition to the climb to NOTRE-DAME-DU-PRÉ, which is 4.5 km, the remaining altitude meters come on the 35 km long climb, of which the last 28.4 km is the categorized Tour de France climb COL DE LA LOZE.

We stress that every rider must ride down safely and in a fully controlled manner from Notre-dame-du-Pré.

As shown on the map, there are countless hairpin bends and blind corners, which can cause a risk when many riders are descending at the same time. Pay attention, be considerate and drive sensibly. Coaches on the different teams ensure to bring together all riders in the respective groups after the bridge crossing the river L'Iseré.

It doesn't necessarily have to be easy to get to the foot of the COL DE LA LOZE, so we have a 4 km stretch on a large main road, where everyone drives one-by-one with a great focus on road safety. We are heading towards MOÜTIERS, which is a cozy French town full of atmosphere, which we only enjoy while rolling through the streets to get to the foot of the last final climb.

The ascent actually starts from kilometer 38 and the first 5 km stretch is again on a busy road. At this point it's good to get into the zone and into your personal climbing rhythm. Focus on dividing the climb into smaller sections so that the ride to the top is as manageable as possible. The last act must be planned well, because it is rare that you are faced with a categorized climb that is 28.4 km long - and that starts after you already have been riding uphill for 6.6 kilometers.

From your training rides in mountainous areas, you probably know your average speed on ascents with around 7-8% grades. You can therefore quickly calculate that you will be sitting in the saddle for several hours.

The end of the classic drama has just begun. The profile of ascent clearly shows that the first 14 km of COL DE LA LOZE are the least challenging of the great mountain. Here it is primarily the blue and red, and some small green segments that shine through the kilometer markers. It is, after all, single-digit percentages of increase opposite when we get halfway up the last half of the climb, where the black color is pervasive!

At kilometer 58 and shortly after LA TANIA comes a short descent of 2.5 km which is the reason for Col de La Loze's misleading average grade of 'only' 6%.

When you reach the 62 km mark, you will meet the cheering and celebrating staff on the right-hand side of the car park, which is important to note. You probably won't pass by on your bike without noticing CYKELNERVEN's staff creating kind of a Tour de France atmosphere. Enjoy it as a wonderful and needed mental boost! You continue 400 meters further along the D90 and turn left, where you follow the signs for ALTIPORT and for ROND POINT DES PISTES. From the bend, it is 3 km up through winding roads, and you drive through an area with skiing hotels in the best French style.

Keep your focus on the bike computer's route so that you get right up to the Rond Point des Pistes, where you need to turn onto the ski slope. From here, you will have exactly 6 km to the top - first through a forest area which then transforms into a completely open landscape. After this, the road winds all the way to the top and offers its violent segments with very steep passages. The mountain profile shows a maximum rise of 24% approximately 2 km from the summit. This is where you become really happy with the right gearing on your bike! And if you stall the only way up is to walk until you can safely start biking again.

Since the TRIP UP is the same way as the TRIP BACK to Meribel, it is extremely important that you stay on the right side of the road and always look up - regardless of possible exhaustion or the joy of soon being at the top. NEVER CROSS THE WHITE LINE - and please help ensuring that other riders also observe this important rule.

For riders who have been at the top and are going down, it is equally important that you keep your lane and pay close attention to the uphill riders. Although gradients on the ascent make it difficult to slow down on the descent, DRIVE AS CAREFULLY AS POSSIBLE. Show the greatest possible consideration for the sake of all riders!

Regardless of whether you get to the very top of the COL DE LA LOZE or up to the 'Rond-Point des Pistes', make sure you get to the car park for celebration and for busses transporting us back to Bourg St. Maurice. IMPORTANT: The MSIF riders should NOT place their bikes in racks, but instead hand over to the UK staff for separate transport to Base Camp.