Tour de France 2024 - Stage 4: Pinerolo - Valloire | 139.6 kilometres
Off to the mountains! The roll-in is over, the fourth stage of the Tour de France 2024 features the mighty Galibier. In principle, it's a constant uphill or downhill, with the metres in altitude adding up to 3,600 m. The sprinters, who were so active the day before, will join together early on in the fourth stage to form a gruppetto and roll through the stage with a sense of proportion and an eye on the power meter in order to finish within the time limit. The sprinters are more likely to accelerate downhill, as they can make up some ground here with risk and technique.
It is also to be expected that contenders for the mountain jersey will try to get away early in the hope of keeping the cracks at bay. However, no well-known rider will get a free ride this early in the Tour. We can expect more of an exchange of blows between the classification riders.
Into the Galibier, the helpers will stretch out in front of the captains and step on the gas. As the mountain gets steeper, the elimination ride begins. The climbers will then take the lead and provide slipstream uphill. With a climbing speed of around 30 km/h in the milder sections of the mountain, it makes a huge difference whether you ride solo or have a rider in front of you.
But will there be an attack? Will there be a serious fight for the classification? Probably yes. The question is where the attack will come. The logical place is the steepest part of the climb, four kilometres before the summit, where the gradient is 9 per cent.
Downhill finale on the 4th stage of the Tour de France 2024
There are two aspects to consider in our scenario: The attack presumably takes place where the mountain is particularly steep and the downhill riding time in our scenario is longer than the uphill riding time. In addition, the descent is tricky. There are a series of difficult bends right at the start. As the route progresses, it becomes a rollercoaster - but not so steep that you can do without pedalling.
Tom Pidcock rode away from his fellow breakaway riders on this descent on stage 12 in 2022 and later won the stage that ended in Alpe d'Huez. Professionals can watch Pidcock's ride as a riding technique tutorial on YouTube.
Today, however, the descent has even more significance, as the finish is in the valley. Top speeds of over 80 km/h are expected in the upper, steeper part of the descent. Further down, the speed is 60-70 km/h, so there is still pedalling work to be done. The descent includes 20 bends and places high demands on riding technique. On the other hand, it is clear that an aero set-up helps enormously here.
Number of the day: 38 seconds
Under the outlined conditions - the start four kilometres before the summit - the fastest bike is once again an aero bike. We calculate the Canyon Aeroad CFR with the fastest overall time and 38 seconds ahead of the Cervelo R5.
A lightweight bike would be a few tenths faster than the Canyon at the weight limit of 6.8 kg on the steepest part of the climb, but would be a major handicap further downhill. Cervelos S5, second in the overall riding time despite being significantly overweight, loses around one second per kilometre on the climbs compared to light bikes, but is right at the front on the descents. A completely non-aerodynamic bike like the Cervelo R5, on the other hand, is highly unsuitable for a downhill final. Which bike will Jonas Vingegaard choose? Tadej Pogacar's Colnago V4Rs are also not convincing in the downhill discipline.
Will another team take the stage win? A logical candidate is Tom Pidcock, who has already proven how well he masters the descent. If he is at the front at the Galibier, he is the logical contender for victory.
The (almost) entire field at a glance*
*) The calculations are based on the bikes tested by TOUR in the laboratory and wind tunnel. The bikes at the Tour de France may differ in some details. Of course, we have also not yet been able to analyse last-minute prototypes. Background to the simulation.
The ranking of the bikes for the final of the fourth stage reveals that aero racers also score points in the high mountains - at least when the finish is in the valley.
To be able to utilise technical advantages, however, you need a fearless and technically skilled rider. If you want to win here, you have to be an expert both uphill and downhill.
Our expert
Robert Kühnen studied mechanical engineering, writes about technical and training topics for TOUR and develops test methods. Robert has been refining the simulation calculations for years and they are also used by professional teams.
