Do you guys know how hard it is to copy-paste these posts on a phone when you have to somehow drag the copy end marker past all these screen-filling images that it always gets stuck on? Anyways, that‘s nothing compared to the monumental effort @Devil's Elbow has put into making this race everyone is now really tired of a bit more stomachable.
Map and profile
Start
A lengthy transfer has brought the riders from the middle of the Alps to the southern Jura, in the town of Nantua. It first developed just off the shores of the eponymous lake in the late 7th century as a Benedictine abbey. The current 12th-century church was constructed after the abbey was reduced in status to a priory. Lake Nantua was regulated in 1856, with the water level being lowered to drain the marshes that separated the small town from the lake. This area has since been developed for touristic purposes. The Tour has been here on one previous occasion, as the start of the 2017 queen stage to Chambéry.
(picture by Mfrays at Wikimedia Commons)
The route
Aside from not turning this into an actual mid-mountain stage (which was possible to at least some extent), here’s another bad decision ASO have made with this stage: they’ve grossly undercategorised all the climbing in its first part. Of course, the odds of the KOM jersey still being close at this point are not great, but the amount of points on offer today could reasonably have been almost doubled to potentially add a bit of interest. After 9 kilometres, we hit the first of these undercategorised climbs, the cat. 3 Col de la Croix de la Serra.
Its straightforward descent takes us into Saint-Claude, where after a narrow stretch through the town centre the road starts to climb again almost immediately. This next section annoys me doubly. Firstly, ASO have decided that an ascent of over 500 metres in elevation gain should be broken down into the cat. 4 Côte de Valfin and an uncategorised climb. Secondly, I couldn’t find a profile of any of it when all I wanted to do was to wrap up this analysis at a time of night that makes me look like an at least somewhat socially adjusted human being.
With that, the highest point of the stage has been crested, and from here the roads are rolling, but trending downhill overall as far as the town of Champagnole, almost 40 kilometres away. On one of the little uphill ramps, in Chaux du Dombief, we have the intermediate sprint.
From Champagnole, we have a valley section into Salins-les-Bains, notable for its history of salt extraction (the former saltworks are UNESCO-inscribed). In 2023, Jonas Vingegaard won a Dauphiné stage here after smoking everyone on the Côte de Thésy. That climb makes its Tour debut on this stage. It is the last proper climb of this Tour, but coming at over 60 kilometres to go it’s really hard to see much happening beyond than the breakaway being fractured.
The finale of the stage annoys me the most. While the best approaches to Pontarlier would have us coming from the south (preferably through Switzerland – this would not have required a longer stage than we have) rather than the west, we could at least have had a bunch of decent climbs between Thésy and the finish by detouring just a little further to the north than ASO have opted for. That way, there would have been at least a possibility of anyone rolling the dice one final time. Instead, the final 60 kilometres of the final day before Paris are rolling. The only climb worth categorising is the Côte de Longeville, which is admittedly harder than the official profile would have you believe.
After this, there is one last uncategorised little climb, with the summit at 9.7 kilometres from the line.
Finish
Following a short and easy descent, the riders enter the flat final 7.8 kilometres. For reasons beyond my comprehension, ASO have added an additional 2.3 kilometres to… spend more time on the ring road of Pontarlier? In any case, this finish is not designed with a sprint in mind at all, so if the break somehow fails to make it this would get messy.
Pontarlier is located on the historical main route across the Jura, and a settlement already existed here in the Roman era. When Roman power collapsed, the Jura was one of the regions settled by the Burgundians. As I discussed previously, Bourgogne became more or less independent again after Frankish power waned. Pontarlier (which was hardly worth calling a town at this point) then found itself in the northern part of the Kingdom of Arles, however due to its distance to the capital this northern part developed into the more or less independent County of Bourgogne in the late 10th and early 11th century. The Counts soon became rich and powerful, especially because of the saltworks I mentioned earlier, but also thanks to the upturn in trade. The resulting increase in traffic helped Pontarlier develop into an actual town. In 1330, the Duchy and the County were united under the same ruler once more, becoming part of the powerful Burgundian State I introduced at the very start of this thread. However, after the extinction of the Dukes in 1476, France successfully reasserted control over the Duchy, but only managed to occupy the County for thirteen years before being forced to cede it to the Habsburgs. Pontarlier itself was briefly seized by the Swiss during this time, who burned it.
When the Habsburg Empire itself was divided into a Spanish and an Austrian branch, the County of Bourgogne became a part of the former, despite remaining within the Holy Roman Empire (which from that point forward would in practice be a title permanently held by the Austrian Habsburgs). Pontarlier enjoyed a period of relative prosperity during this time, until Spanish power faltered from the late 16th century onwards and the French kings saw the County as the most obvious location to take advantage. France invaded in 1595 (not reaching Pontarlier), 1634 (sacking and burning Pontarlier in 1639) and 1668 (the entirety of the County was occupied, but France then ceded it in return for its gains in Flanders being legalised). However, the reigning King Louis XIV had no intention of abiding by this latter treaty and attacked once more in 1674, this time achieving annexation. Like the other towns and cities in the region, Pontarlier had by then badly declined because of the repeated wars.
In 1805, an absinthe distillery by the name of Pernod Fils was founded in Pontarlier. This distillery would develop into one of the largest spirits producers in the world and sponsor the famous Super Prestige Pernod. From the second half of the 19th century, Pontarlier started to grow rapidly, with the population rising from under 5000 in 1872 to almost 18000 in 1975. Initially, this growth was driven by its status as the centre of absinthe production, but after the (now lifted) ban on this liquor in 1915 it successfully diversified, in part because of the development of the Jura as a tourist destination. In cycling, it annually hosts the Tour du Doubs. Eight previous editions of the Tour have had a start or a finish here, the last time being in 2009 for the start of the Verbier stage where Alberto Contador went berserk.
(picture by Ordifana75 at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect
Obviously a breakaway day, but the amount of uphill in the first 57 kilometres means that this is one for allrounders who can climb and the actual climbers.
Stage 20: Nantua – Pontarlier (184.2k)
The worst use of a final Saturday in Tour history. Yes, the breakaway specialists have had the short end of the stick with the rest of the route, but ending the race with what should be two non-GC days is a shame.Map and profile
Start
A lengthy transfer has brought the riders from the middle of the Alps to the southern Jura, in the town of Nantua. It first developed just off the shores of the eponymous lake in the late 7th century as a Benedictine abbey. The current 12th-century church was constructed after the abbey was reduced in status to a priory. Lake Nantua was regulated in 1856, with the water level being lowered to drain the marshes that separated the small town from the lake. This area has since been developed for touristic purposes. The Tour has been here on one previous occasion, as the start of the 2017 queen stage to Chambéry.

(picture by Mfrays at Wikimedia Commons)
The route
Aside from not turning this into an actual mid-mountain stage (which was possible to at least some extent), here’s another bad decision ASO have made with this stage: they’ve grossly undercategorised all the climbing in its first part. Of course, the odds of the KOM jersey still being close at this point are not great, but the amount of points on offer today could reasonably have been almost doubled to potentially add a bit of interest. After 9 kilometres, we hit the first of these undercategorised climbs, the cat. 3 Col de la Croix de la Serra.

Its straightforward descent takes us into Saint-Claude, where after a narrow stretch through the town centre the road starts to climb again almost immediately. This next section annoys me doubly. Firstly, ASO have decided that an ascent of over 500 metres in elevation gain should be broken down into the cat. 4 Côte de Valfin and an uncategorised climb. Secondly, I couldn’t find a profile of any of it when all I wanted to do was to wrap up this analysis at a time of night that makes me look like an at least somewhat socially adjusted human being.

With that, the highest point of the stage has been crested, and from here the roads are rolling, but trending downhill overall as far as the town of Champagnole, almost 40 kilometres away. On one of the little uphill ramps, in Chaux du Dombief, we have the intermediate sprint.


From Champagnole, we have a valley section into Salins-les-Bains, notable for its history of salt extraction (the former saltworks are UNESCO-inscribed). In 2023, Jonas Vingegaard won a Dauphiné stage here after smoking everyone on the Côte de Thésy. That climb makes its Tour debut on this stage. It is the last proper climb of this Tour, but coming at over 60 kilometres to go it’s really hard to see much happening beyond than the breakaway being fractured.

The finale of the stage annoys me the most. While the best approaches to Pontarlier would have us coming from the south (preferably through Switzerland – this would not have required a longer stage than we have) rather than the west, we could at least have had a bunch of decent climbs between Thésy and the finish by detouring just a little further to the north than ASO have opted for. That way, there would have been at least a possibility of anyone rolling the dice one final time. Instead, the final 60 kilometres of the final day before Paris are rolling. The only climb worth categorising is the Côte de Longeville, which is admittedly harder than the official profile would have you believe.

After this, there is one last uncategorised little climb, with the summit at 9.7 kilometres from the line.

Finish
Following a short and easy descent, the riders enter the flat final 7.8 kilometres. For reasons beyond my comprehension, ASO have added an additional 2.3 kilometres to… spend more time on the ring road of Pontarlier? In any case, this finish is not designed with a sprint in mind at all, so if the break somehow fails to make it this would get messy.


Pontarlier is located on the historical main route across the Jura, and a settlement already existed here in the Roman era. When Roman power collapsed, the Jura was one of the regions settled by the Burgundians. As I discussed previously, Bourgogne became more or less independent again after Frankish power waned. Pontarlier (which was hardly worth calling a town at this point) then found itself in the northern part of the Kingdom of Arles, however due to its distance to the capital this northern part developed into the more or less independent County of Bourgogne in the late 10th and early 11th century. The Counts soon became rich and powerful, especially because of the saltworks I mentioned earlier, but also thanks to the upturn in trade. The resulting increase in traffic helped Pontarlier develop into an actual town. In 1330, the Duchy and the County were united under the same ruler once more, becoming part of the powerful Burgundian State I introduced at the very start of this thread. However, after the extinction of the Dukes in 1476, France successfully reasserted control over the Duchy, but only managed to occupy the County for thirteen years before being forced to cede it to the Habsburgs. Pontarlier itself was briefly seized by the Swiss during this time, who burned it.
When the Habsburg Empire itself was divided into a Spanish and an Austrian branch, the County of Bourgogne became a part of the former, despite remaining within the Holy Roman Empire (which from that point forward would in practice be a title permanently held by the Austrian Habsburgs). Pontarlier enjoyed a period of relative prosperity during this time, until Spanish power faltered from the late 16th century onwards and the French kings saw the County as the most obvious location to take advantage. France invaded in 1595 (not reaching Pontarlier), 1634 (sacking and burning Pontarlier in 1639) and 1668 (the entirety of the County was occupied, but France then ceded it in return for its gains in Flanders being legalised). However, the reigning King Louis XIV had no intention of abiding by this latter treaty and attacked once more in 1674, this time achieving annexation. Like the other towns and cities in the region, Pontarlier had by then badly declined because of the repeated wars.
In 1805, an absinthe distillery by the name of Pernod Fils was founded in Pontarlier. This distillery would develop into one of the largest spirits producers in the world and sponsor the famous Super Prestige Pernod. From the second half of the 19th century, Pontarlier started to grow rapidly, with the population rising from under 5000 in 1872 to almost 18000 in 1975. Initially, this growth was driven by its status as the centre of absinthe production, but after the (now lifted) ban on this liquor in 1915 it successfully diversified, in part because of the development of the Jura as a tourist destination. In cycling, it annually hosts the Tour du Doubs. Eight previous editions of the Tour have had a start or a finish here, the last time being in 2009 for the start of the Verbier stage where Alberto Contador went berserk.
(picture by Ordifana75 at Wikimedia Commons)
What to expect
Obviously a breakaway day, but the amount of uphill in the first 57 kilometres means that this is one for allrounders who can climb and the actual climbers.