Tour de France Femmes 2025 - Stage 9: Praz-sur-Arly - Châtel Les Portes du Soleil | 124.1 kilometres
The ninth and final stage is in principle ideal terrain for breakaways. The highest difficulty of the day is the Col de Joux Plane (11.8 km, 8.5%), from which there are just under 60 kilometres to the finish. That's a long way, but doable with a group.
Whether the ninth stage is just about the stage win or the overall classification will depend on the starting position before the stage. If the gaps in the classification are small, attacks can be expected. A strong group, including GC riders, could carry a lead from the Col de Joux Plane to the finish.
On the way to the finish, the Col du Corbier (5.9 km, 8.5%) is another tough climb - not very long, but steep enough to make a difference.
After the descent from the Corbier, the route continues steadily uphill towards the finish, but with a gentle gradient. The finale in Châtel is a climb of just under 5 per cent over the last four kilometres.
The central climb is the Col de Joux-Plane - long and steep enough for good climbers to pull away.
If the real action starts in the middle of the stage at the Col de Joux-Plane, what would be the ideal bike on the stage to take a lead to the finish? We simulate the ride from the start of the Joux Plane to the finish.
The number of the day: 2:34 minutes
With the fastest bike, the time to finish is 2:34 minutes shorter than with the slowest. At the top of the rankings are the bikes that score aerodynamically and are light. This is logical and to be expected.
But how much time is lost if the wrong bike is chosen may surprise some people. Aerodynamics is an omnipresent topic in cycling. It is not for nothing that slipstreaming dominates tactical action. Slipstreaming is applied aerodynamics.
If you set off alone, you must therefore do everything you can to minimise your own riding resistance. The fastest possible bike is part of the equation.
The (almost) complete field at a glance*
The table shows the ranking of the fastest bikes on a long escape from the start of the Joux Plane.
*) The calculations are based on the bikes tested by TOUR in the laboratory and wind tunnel. The machines used in the Tour de France may differ in detail. Of course, we were not yet able to examine last-minute prototypes. Background information on the simulation.
Our expert
Robert Kühnen studied mechanical engineering, writes for TOUR about technology and training topics and develops testing methods. Robert has been refining the simulation calculations for years, they are also used by professional teams.
