2023 Tour de France Stage 9 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 9 of the 2023 Tour de France! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
The yellow caravan returns to the Puy de Dôme on stage 9. The Tour de France didn't use the volcano since 1988. It's a monster of 13.3 kilometres long with the last climbing at more than 11% towards the crater at the top. The race totals 182.4 kilometres.
The list of Tour de France stage winners at the Puy de Dôme is impressive. Fausto Coppi, Federico Bahamontes, Julio Jimenez, Felice Gimondi, Luis Ocana, Joop Zoetemelk. They all won on the flanks of the volcano with the magical aura. Zoetemelk even won twice.
The name of the last stage winner Johnny Weltz might not ring a bell. The Dane participated four times on the Tour de France and reached the summit of a col on one occassion. Which was enough to be added to above list.
The Puy de Dôme was not included in the Tour since 1988. The 13.3 kilometres climb averages 7.7%. The first 5 kilometres go up at around 7% and after an easygoing section the last 4.3 kilometres are the exact opposite. The gradient never falls below 11% in this part of the climb.
So, most climbing is packed together in the finale, but the route to the foot of the finish climb is far from flat either. The first 25 kilometres are slightly undulating before the Côte du Lac de Vassivière offers a gentle way to stretch the legs – 4.4 kilometres at 4%, not enough for a KOM classification, but a perfect launch pad for breakaway riders. The gradients kick up a notch on the subsequent cimbs – Côte de Felletin (2.1 kilometres at 5.2%), Côte de Pontcharraud (1.8 kilometres at 4.6%), Côte de Pontaumur (3.3 kilometres at 5.3%) – before another non-classified uphill begins 42 kilometres before the finish. The Col de la Nugère is actually a prolonged false flat – 9.2 kilometres at 2.8% – and subsequently the riders plunge down a 15 kilometres descent to the base of the Puy de Dôme.
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