Tour de France 2024 - Stage 11: Evaux-les-Bains - Le Lioran | 211 Kilometers
The 11th stage in the Massif Central has 4350 vertical meters in store for the riders. The route is nervous over small roads and the difficulty increases towards the end.
On paper, this is a stage for breakaway riders who can make good progress over short, steep mountains. But movement is also conceivable in the overall classification. The first of four climbs in the finale, the Col de Neronne, has an average gradient of 9.1 percent over 3.8 kilometers. That’s enough to break up the field and put the favorites under pressure. Especially as a strong team can do some damage on the approach to this climb, just like on the Galibier stage. The Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol gets really nasty towards the end, with gradients of up to 14 percent.
In today’s simulation, we are interested in the question of what difference the material makes over the last 46 kilometers. We assume that the finale will be ridden in full over this distance.
Number of the day: 1:09 minutes
Under these conditions, the fastest bike takes 1:09 minutes off the slowest. At the very back is another lightweight bike with poor aerodynamics, the Cervelo R5.
Bikes with a good compromise between aerodynamics and weight ride at the front in our simulation. We calculate the fastest overall riding time for the Canyon Aeroad - however, because it exceeds the minimum weight of 6.8 kg, it falls behind by 1-2 seconds per kilometer in the very steep sections over 9%. If you want to go on the ultimate attack here, you should be as light as possible.
Which bike is better therefore also depends on the expected course. A soloist who can ride evenly is well advised to use our ranking list. A classification rider who wants to keep the rear wheel when attacking, i.e. is defensive, should be as light as possible and could therefore be motivated to reach for a light bike. A classification rider who attacks, on the other hand, also benefits from aerodynamics uphill and in the flatter sections.
It will therefore be interesting to see whether Jonas Vingegaard prefers the fast S5 as he has done so far or whether he will ride the lighter R5. On the steepest section of the Peyrol, Vingegaard loses two seconds per kilometer with the S5 compared to the R5 (if the weight is really 7.6 kg, as in our list; it may be lighter).
Once again, Tadej Pogacar doesn’t have to worry. He only has one bike to choose from. At most, he could adjust the wheel height. But we don’t think today’s steep sections are long enough for that. Our guess is that he’ll ride the Enve 4.5 wheels as standard.
Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel don’t have to think too much either, both ride the Specialized Tarmac SL8, a bike that meets the minimum weight requirements and is also one of the faster bikes on the descents.
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 examine last-minute prototypes. Background to the simulation.
Table: In the final of the mountain stage, the bikes that offer a good compromise between aerodynamics and weight came out on top.
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.
