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“Sunday, 9 July On the last stage before the first rest day, the yellow caravan will cover 182.6 kilometres to the Puy de Dôme. The volcano has not been part of the Tour for 35 years. It is a behemoth where the route climbs by more than 11% in the last 5 kilometres. The Puy de Dôme has a nice list of winners. Fausto Coppi, Federico Bahamontes, Julio Jimenez, Felice Gimondi, Luis Ocana, Joop Zoetemelk. They all won on the volcano with the magic sound. Zoetemelk even won twice. The last winner, however, is less known. Johnny Weltz. The Dane took part in the Tour four times and once came first in a mountain finish. That was the Puy de Dôme. The Puy de Dôme has not been part of the Tour de France since 1988. The final climb is 13.9 kilometres long with a 7.7% gradient. The gradient is around 7% for the first 5 kilometres, then the road flattens out before a brutal eruption in the last 5 kilometres. This section has a double-digit gradient throughout. So the violence of the climbs is in the finale, but it is also rarely flat until the final climb. After the start, the riders cycle over hilly terrain to the first climb. The Côte du Lac de Vassivière climbs at 4% over 4.4 kilometres, which is not enough for a classification, but offers enough gradient for escapees to try their luck. Later, there is the Côte de Felletin (2.1 kilometres with 5.2%), the Côte de Pontcharraud (1.8 kilometres with 4.6%) and the Côte de Pontaumur (3.3 kilometres with 5.3%). 42 kilometres before the finish, the Col de la Nugère begins. This is a long gradual climb (9.2 kilometres at 2.8%), and once at the top, it is downhill for 15 kilometres. In the valley, the final chord awaits the riders, the Puy de Dôme, whose climb already starts in the city of Clermont-Ferrand.“ ( & Routes 'n' Maps 'n' Flags) Creating cycling stage animations requires a lot of work and computing power. You are welcome to support me with a donation:
