Tour de France Forgotten climbs at the Tour de France

[Cannavaro]

I just want to add the first four climbs the Tour has ever visited (though one of them was climbed very recently).
1903:
Col de la Republique (7 km 6%)

Last climbed in 1997 and 1978

1905:
Ballon d'Alsace (9.1 km 6.6 %)

Last climbed in 2019 and 2005

Côte de Laffrey (6.8 km 9.1%)

Last climbed in 2010 and 1989

Col Bayard (2 km 8.1 %)

Last climbed in 2015 and 1991

Another classic in the past was also Col de la Faucille (11.8 km 6.2%)

Last climbed in 2004 and 1994

 

[Ulle97]

La Mauselaine or what it's called was a very nice finish in 2014 and is a great finish for a first week or intermediary stage.

Yes... that was in Gerardmer.... the Vosges region.

 

[Fyr3]

Surprised the climb to Col de Parquetout has not been mentioned even if it has never been crossed:

The supposed summit despite the road clearly going up into the trees beyond that blue sign in the distance, the official height is 1382m but CyclingCols puts it at 1424 given this.

Climb Profile:

It could be paired up with the nearby climb to Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette for a stage finish or alternatively be descended to La Mure which hosted a stage start in TDF 2017 and via the most direct route would be a final climb of 4km at 6%, making it borderline Category 2.

The nice thing about Parquetout is you probably would never descend the North side because of the way it is but its perfectly paved and harder that side, with a safe descent on the South side, which means it could be used when coming from North I am pretty certain.

I made this stage from Embrun that includes the Col de Parquetout and finishes in La Mure as mentioned above. Ended in a sprint with Pogacar vs Roglic.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Yes... that was in Gerardmer.... the Vosges region.

The Croix des Moinats descent is pretty narrow and fast, though. I don't remember who crashed (I think several riders did), but it was and odd choice for the first 2nd category climb in the race in what was a GC-relevant stage. Positioning was important.

 

[Ulle97]

I know that there is a very strong sentiment on this forum for stages with multiple cols to be reintroduced to the Tour again.

Personally however, I really enjoy seeing stages where there is a 2nd Category climb used as a finish, especially outside of the Pyrenees or Alps.

The Massif Central obviously has a bunch of these options. Superbesse and Mende are regularly used. Puy Mary in 2020 was very selective indeed and caused as much damage as many MTFs do in the major ranges. I scrolled back through the Tour archives and noticed 2 other finishes in the Massif Central that could be reused..... Causse Noir and La Bourboule. These were used in the early 90s.

In the Vosges, we obviously have PlancheDBF but I think that could be given a rest for a couple of years. Did a finish ever occur on the Ballon d'Alsace or Grand Ballon?

Down on the South East there is quite bumpy terrain that is seldom used. In fairness, the start in Nice a couple of years ago gave us a chance to use some of the Paris Nice climbs. I would love to see the Tour use a finish on Mont Faron.....is there a chance of that happening??

 

[Fyr3]

I would love to see the Tour use a finish on Mont Faron.....is there a chance of that happening??

I think the general consensus is there isn't enough space and it won't be featuring any time soon on the Tour, though I suspect at some point Paris-Nice or Tour de la Provence could return to it.

 

[rghysens]

...
In the Vosges, we obviously have PlancheDBF but I think that could be given a rest for a couple of years. Did a finish ever occur on the Ballon d'Alsace or Grand Ballon?
...

IIRC, there have been 2 finishes on le Ballon d'Alsace in the past. In 1967 , after a surprising hard stage and in 1969, where Eddy Merckx completely obliterated the field: only Galera lost less than a minute, Altig less than 2 and everyone else more than 4minutes.

 

[roundabout]

IIRC, there have been 2 finishes on le Ballon d'Alsace in the past. In 1967 , after a surprising hard stage and in 1969, where Eddy Merckx completely obliterated the field: only Galera lost less than a minute, Altig less than 2 and everyone else more than 4minutes.

+ the unipuerto stage in 1979

66ème Tour de France 1979 - 13ème étape

www.memoire-du-cyclisme.eu

and a slightly less unipuerto, but still rather bland stage in 1972

59ème Tour de France 1972 - 17ème étape

www.memoire-du-cyclisme.eu