Tour de France 2023 - Stage 8: Libourne - Limoges | 200,7 Kilometres
The eighth stage of the 2023 Tour de France could also end with a sprint. However, the finishing straight in Limoges is uphill. The course has a 4.5% gradient in the last 700 meters. This means that it is not necessarily the fastest sprinter who is favored, but someone who can ride a long sprint. Because even if a rider protects the sprinter, the latter has to work harder in the slipstream when the sprint goes uphill.
What is needed is a mixture of sprint power, stamina and good power-to-weight ratio. It is also conceivable that a puncheur will pull through. Pure sprinters could also be left behind on the undulating approach to Limoges.
As a scenario for today’s simulation, we’ll choose a long uphill sprint over 200 meters on the eight stage of the 2023 Tour de France. Are aero-bolides advantageous on this terrain as well, or would the lightest possible bike be the better sprinter’s bike?
Number of the day: 13,20 seconds
Is the simulated long sprint with the fastest bike - very narrowly the Canyon Aeroad prevails. But the heavier Cervelo S5 already follows with a hundredth of a second, and six other bikes with two hundredths of a second. So it’s even closer than a flat sprint, where the higher final speed makes aerodynamics even more significant. We determine “only” 55.5 km/h as the final speed in this final.
That minimum weight at any price is not advantageous in this sprint is shown by the lightest bike in our list. The Giant TCR Advanced comes very close to the UCI minimum weight of 6.8 kg even in stock trim, so as a pro bike it's easily adjustable to 6.8 kg, but it trails behind in the simulation with weak aerodynamics.
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 details. Of course, we have not yet been able to examine last-minute prototypes either.
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.
