On paper, the ninth stage is undoubtedly the flagship stage of this 110e edition of the Tour de France. With a departure from Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat (Haute-Vienne) – the city where Raymond Poulidor is buried – Sunday July 9 will be a tribute to the legendary duel between Jacques Anquetil and “Poupou” in 1964 Because it is at the top of the Puy-de-Dôme (13.3 km at 7.7%, out of category) that the finish is judged.
Since 1988 and the victory of Dane Johnny Weltz, the Grande Boucle peloton had not put a wheel there. “The Auvergne mountains will have taken care to wear out the legs of the suitors well before launching an assault on this formidable and majestic summit”, warns the director of the Tour, Christian Prudhomme. Le Puy-de-Dôme at the end of a stage of 182 kilometers and 3,600 meters of cumulative altitude difference, where the riders will compete in an intermediate sprint before tackling the three other listed difficulties – the Felletin coast (2.1 km at 5.2%, 4e category), the Pontcharraud coast (1.8 km at 4.6%, 4e category), then the Pontaumur coast (3.3 km at 5.3%, 3e category).
Something to delight both the spectators and the peloton. “A lot of people asked for this step, it happened! It remains a mythical setting, even off the bike »rejoiced the French David Gaudu at the time of the revelation of the course, in the fall of 2022.