The Col du Tourmalet is something like the ancestor of all epic mountain passes in cycling. With its crossing at an altitude of over 2100 metres, it has been one of the most difficult obstacles in cycling since it was included in the Tour de France programme in 1910, offering scope for heroic stories and tragic collapses. Geographically, it is understandable, but emotionally, it is unfortunately a little far from Italy. From a sporting point of view, it would certainly be fitting if the Giro organisers also held tests for their competitions there.
Tour de France 2023: Jai Hindley in the yellow jersey at the Col du Tourmalet
The Tourmalet is where heroic stories end and new legends begin. In 2023, the mountain provided the stage for three memorable stages in grand tours. On 6 July, around four kilometres before the pass, the big dream of Australian Jai Hindley from the Bora-Hansgrohe team was shattered. His jubilation at winning the yellow jersey the day before was followed by a drastic realisation. "To be honest, I didn't have the slightest chance, but I enjoyed it," said Hindley after handing the lead of the classification back to last year's winner Jonas Vingegaard from Denmark at the finish of stage 6. He enjoyed the day despite the setback. At the same time, his childhood dream of riding the mythical climbs of the Tour in the yellow jersey came true. But it was also clear at the Tourmalet that this chapter at the top was soon history.
The Jumbo-Visma team was once again too aggressive and too dominant. The team did everything in its power to shake off the competition before the rugged transition into the next valley. These were representative moments. It was the same everywhere this season where men contested major national tours. The stage only ended around 50 kilometres later with a mountain finish in Cauterets-Cambasque, but this exceptional group had already demonstrated its dominant position on the Tourmalet. It was not the first appearance of this kind for Jumbo-Visma. Nor would it be the last. It even opened up the opportunity for a big rival to attack.
Tadej Pogacar: The champion ponders
That day on the Tourmalet and on the following climb, you could have been forgiven for thinking that Tadej Pogacar had what it takes to triumph at the Tour again, that the ever-smiling Slovenian from Team UAE Emirates could still combine several Monument victories with the most important success in cycling in 2023. However, it was a deceptive picture when Pogacar beat the Dane Jonas Vingegaard by 24 seconds before the finish. Vingegaard had not lost. He was now the leader - and had a team that would outsprint all his rivals. Tadej Pogacar pondered this tour, which he finished in second place two weeks later. It was "not ideal" for his preparation for the Tour of France to put so much effort into the spring and autumn races. So will the Slovenian have to change something about his moody manner and versatility in order to satisfy the wishes of his sponsors? Or would it have been enough for him to win in France if he hadn't crashed at Liège-Bastogne-Liège? After breaking his hand, he had to take a break in the spring.
For Jonas Vingegaard and his team, the ride to the Tourmalet was another opportunity to demonstrate sporting superiority on the tarmac. It was this kind of dominance that even prompted the English-language political magazine "The Economist" to write a story about the Dutch racing team. A superiority that was already evident at the Giro d'Italia was recognisable in May. There had Primoz Roglic won the race for his team, strongly supported by the American noble helper Sepp Kuss. And two months after the Tour de France, he would once again write one of the sport's most unexpected stories on the Tourmalet.
Tour de France Femmes 2023: Demi Vollering's triumphant ride
The aim of Marion Rousse, organiser of the Tour de France Femmes, was also to provoke sporting history. "We also wanted to show that women are capable of conquering the mythical climbs like men," said the director ahead of the second edition of the week-long tour, in which women's cycling has received much more attention than in previous decades. The Tourmalet was also the decisive climb of the 2023 Women's Tour. And as hoped: on the way from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan up to the pass, the outstanding female athlete of the year, Demi Vollering, from the once again outstanding Team SD Worx, took her chance. In the cloudy Spanish-French border mountains, she attacked her compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten, who would have liked to win her second Tour before the end of her career. Vollering pulled away and rode to the finish as a soloist - the kind of attack that champions make. The following day, Vollering defended her yellow jersey with aplomb. This was the most important Tour victory on the women's racing calendar.
Vuelta a Espana: Remco Evenepoel - failed on the Col du Tourmalet
The Belgian on the Tourmalet, on the other hand, experienced a deep fall Remco Evenepoel. The cycling world had the world champion as the favourite at the Vuelta, he was wearing the white jersey of the best young rider and was in third place in the overall standings. But then he experienced a sporting collapse in the Pyrenees. On the way to the Tourmalet, he lost a good 27 minutes on the leaders. While the Jumbo-Visma-Express once again dominated the action at the front, Vingegaard once again cemented his status as a gifted tour rider. Evenepoel, regarded in his home country as a possible Eddy Merckx of the 21st century, failed. Nevertheless, he later reported that he had enjoyed the freedom that the defeat on the Tourmalet had given him. And so Evenepoel triumphed on two more stages and won the mountain jersey.
The most unusual story of the year also took place on the Tourmalet, although it only really came to light later. Vingegaard had reaped the big cheers at the Vuelta's mountain finish. But his team-mate Sepp Kuss was already wearing the leader's red jersey. This had come about unplanned during the race - and it was not to change until the finish in Madrid. The noble helper, who showed outstanding performances in three tours and was supposed to pull his captains to victory, suddenly got his own chance. And Jumbo-Visma had gained such an advantage that his own captains tried to wrest the lead back from Kuss. Cycling legend Sean Kelly thought the attempt was "unfair". What's more, it failed. And so, at the end of the year of almost overwhelming black and yellow dominance, there was still a big surprise - and an interesting question: Will Sepp Kuss be the great cyclist of the future?
Tour de France
Results men
- Jonas Vingegaard (DEN, Jumbo-Visma), 3,401.3 km in 82:05:42 hrs.
- Tadej Pogacar (SLO, UAE Team Emirates), +7:29 min.
- Adam Yates (GBR, UAE Team Emirates), +10:56
Women's results
- Demi Vollering (NED, SD Worx), 959.9 km in 25:17:35 hrs.
- Lotte Kopecky (BEL, SD Worx), +3:03 min.
- Kasia Niewiadoma (POL, Canyon-SRAM ), +3:03
Giro d'Italia
Results men
- Primoz Roglic (SLO, Jumbo-Visma), 3,481.2 km in 85:29:02 hrs.
- Geraint Thomas (GBR, Ineos Grenadiers), +0:14 min.
- Joao Almeida (POR, UAE Team Emirates), +1:15
Women's results
- Annemiek van Vleuten (NED, Movistar), 968 km in 24:26:25 hrs.
- Juliette Labous (FRA, DSM-Firmenich), +3:56 min.
- Gaia Realini (ITA, Lidl-Trek), +4:23
Vuelta A Espana
Results men
- Sepp Kuss (USA, Jumbo-Visma), 3156.5 km in 76:48:21 hrs.
- Jonas Vingegaard (DEN, Jumbo-Visma), +0:17 min.
- Primoz Roglic (SLO, Jumbo-Visma), +1:08
Women's results
- Annemiek van Vleuten (NED, Movistar), 741 km in 19:00:11 hrs.
- Demi Vollering (NED, SD Worx), +0:09 min.
- Gaia Realini (ITA, Lidl-Trek), +2:41
