It's time to finish off the fourth edition of the modern TdFF. All the jerseys could very well already be worn by their eventual winners, but the two other podium spots and the rest of the top 5 can still experience multiple shake ups during this stage.
Yesterday the breakaway got its initial gap on a climb, while today it might happen during a descent. Combloux has become a rather famous place within the cycling world in recent years, but it won't be a decisive point on this stage, although Sarah Gigante will probably still be glad that the she doesn't have to ride down the Côte de Domancy on this occasion.
The first climb of the day is the Côte d'Arâches-la-Frasse which is the first third of the Col de Pierre-Carrée. A 5 km plateau is then followed by an 8 km descent to Cluses which averages around 5%.
The (expected) highlight will of course be the next well known mountain to make an appearance in this race: Col du Joux Plane. Unlike Madeleine which was previously used at least twice in the Grande Boucle Féminine (1995/2002), I'm not sure Joux Plane has featured in a women's race since the original TdFF. Back then they usually rode the last 40-100 km of the men's stages which meant they had descent finishes in Morzine in both 1984 and '87, won by Heleen Hage and Jeannie Longo respectively.
While shorter than Madeleine, Joux Plane is in no way an easy climb. The second half averages around 9% so differenced can definitely be made there. There are still nearly 60 km left from the top, but as we saw on the easier, but not too different opening stage of this year's Tour de Suisse W, it can be hard to close a gap if the strongest riders are ahead and too many of the others don't believe they can win anyway.
The descent to Morzine starts out easy, but kicks off after first 3 km, with steepest part coming towards the bottom. 11 hairpin turns will have to be dealt with. You don't want to get it wrong like Le Court yesterday.
The road continues to go mostly downhill for the next 14 km un til they reach the bottom of the final categorised climb of the 2025 TdFF, the Col du Corbier. It's another 8-9% ascent, but only half the length of Joux Plane. However at this point of the race some riders may not have much left in the tank, and you could also easily see some that freeze up after the long descent beforehand.
From the bottom of the descent there are 23 km left to the line. The first 15.5 km are false flat, which is then followed by a 1.5 km climb at around 7% to Châtel, before the final 4 km which are displayed below. When Bob Jungels won here in the 2022 Tour, they came via the Pas de Morgins from Switzerland instead.
The big gap between PFP and the rest will probably mean the GC win won't be in any danger, but I assume that FDJ still want to win a stage and also that Niewiadoma won't be satisfied with finishing outside the podium for the first time, so there should definitely still be some action, although it won't match the drama from last year.
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