Look for the Tour de France’s bonus second climbs to animate race
Eight non-finish climbs to tempt bold GC riders hunting precious seconds
The 106th Tour de France kicks off in Brussels, Belgium on July 6, and though most folks know that there are only two chronos, and that the Pyrenees come before the Alps, they don’t know that the ASO organizers have introduced bonus seconds climbs, with eight, five, and two seconds for the first three riders to crest.
This is in addition to the usual bonus seconds for riders at the finish of all the road stages. The bonus climbs vary from 13 to 38 kilometres from the finish, from 900 metres to 23 kilometres in length, from 5.1 percent to 12.2 percent in slope and from Cat 3 all the way up to HC Col du Galibier and Col de l’Iseran. Half of them come in the first “week”.
2019 Tour de France Bonus Second Ascents
Stage 3: Cat. 3 Cote de Mutigny (900 metres, 12.2 percent), 14 km from finish
Stage 6: Cat. 2 Col des Chevreres (3.5 km, 9.5 percent), 19 km from finish
Stage 8: Cat. 3 Cote de la Jailliere (1.9 km, 7.9 percent), 13 km from finish
Stage 9: Cat. 3 Cote de Saint-Just (3.6 km, 7.2 percent), 13 km from finish
Stage 12: Cat. 1 Horquette d’Ancizan (9.9 km, 7.5 percent), 30 km from finish
Stage 15: Cat 1 Mur de Peguere (9.3 km, 7.9 percent), 38 km from finish
Stage 18: HC Col du Galibier (23 km, 5.1 percent), 19 km from finish
Stage 19: HC Col de l’Iseran (12.9 km, 7.5 percent), 37 km from finish
The organizers’ aim is that riders with élan and grip will be motivated to attack and not follow, say, Team Ineos to the final climb or finish.
With five days to go to the Grand Départ, Ladbrokes has Egan Bernal as the odds-on favourite to wear yellow in Paris, followed by reigning champ Geraint Thomas, Jakob Fuglsang, Adam Yates, Richie Porte, Thibaut Pinot and Nairo Quintana.
