The Tour de France riders face a stern test as the 112th edition of the race enters the Massif Central for the 10th stage on Monday, with 4 450 metres of climbing awaiting them.
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Following a tough and hectic opening week, with some difficult stages, the peloton will ride 165.3km between Ennezat and Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, tackling eight categorised climbs including the uphill finish.
"All day long, we'll be going up and down climbs all the time," race director Thierry Gouvenou said. "You'll need to be in top shape if you hope to shine on this kind of course.
"The riders in the general classification will be aiming to win the stage and make up time for the final overall classification."
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar leads the general classification by 54 seconds ahead of Belgium's Remco Evenepoel while two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard sits fourth, trailing the yellow jersey by one minute and 17 seconds.
"A lot of things can happen," defending champion Pogacar told a press conference on Sunday when asked about the 10th stage. "All the day up and down. I think there will be some attacks from GC (general classification) riders."
Etape 10 / Stage 10 - #TDF2025
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) October 29, 2024
🚩 Ennezat - Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy🏁 163 km
🎇 Bastille Day means that this Monday will not be a rest day, but the first mountain stage with 4.400 m of D+!
🎇 14 juillet oblige, ce lundi ne marquera pas un jour de repos, mais bien la… pic.twitter.com/WJsf0RYhEg
His team principal Mauro Gianetti said Monday's stage was a key moment in the Tour.
"It's very important because it's a stage with about 4 500 metres of climbing," Gianetti told Reuters.
"There will be a lot of battles, a lot of attacks. It's going to be a very intense day."
Pogacar will miss his best domestique in the mountains as Portugal's Joao Almeida withdrew on Sunday after crashing on Friday.
Retired French rider Pierre Rolland, who won two Tour de France stages, said Monday could be a tougher day than the high-mountain stages starting on Thursday.
"It's going to be a very, very difficult stage. There's no respite. It's almost harder than a high-mountain stage because the course is so hilly," he told Reuters.
"There won't be a gap of minutes between the favourites but there may be a few seconds."
Monday's stage should give some insight into Vingegaard's shape. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider suffered a blow during the stage-five time trial, losing more than a minute on Pogacar but has managed to follow the world champion's wheel in every punchy finish.
After the stage comes the first rest day of the Tour, on Tuesday.