Here’s what you need to know about Orcières-Merlette, the legendary first summit finish of Tour de France 2020
It’s the first major climb of this year’s race and we could see some GC fireworks
The opening three days of the 2020 Tour de France have already offered up some hectic and thrilling racing.
From the nightmare weather conditions on stage one, which saw most of the peloton involved in crashes at some point, to Julian Alaphilippe’s classic escape on the hills around Nice on stage two, we’ve already been treated to some stand-out moments.
But stage four marks another key moment in the 2020 Tour de France route - the first mountain finish and an opportunity for the yellow jersey contenders to stretch their legs.
The 160km stage from Sisteron to Orcières-Merlette features four categorised climbs, the last of which is the first major climb of the race.
At 7.1-long with an average gradient of 6.7 per cent and finish altitude of 1,800 metres, the climb is not the most punishing on the race on paper, but that will all depend on how it’s raced.
The French ski resort is located in the Hautes-Alpes department, tucked in the Alps mountain rage, around 200km north east of Nice and not far from the town of Gap.
Starting with more manageable gradients of between three per cent and six per cent in the opening kilometre, the climb then gets tougher from kilometre two, where the ramps bounce between four per cent and nine per cent.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The ascent then continues with a steeper middle section with gradients up to 9.5 per cent, and then levels out between the fifth and sixth kilometres.
Into the final kilometres the road holds at around six per cent, before completely levelling out in the last 200m before the line.
Orcières-Merlette hasn’t featured in the Tour since 1989, when Stephen Rooks won the individual time trial to the summit and Greg Lemond moved into the yellow jersey.
But the most famous race on this iconic climb came during the 1971 Tour, when Luis Ocaña put Eddy Merckx to the sword with a 177km-long attack which saw him finish more than eight minutes up on the Belgian cycling legend and take the yellow jersey.
In more recent times, the climb has not featured in major races, while the fastest times on Strava date back to at least 2014.
The current fastest rider on Strava is AG2R La Mondiale’s Clément Chevrier, who hit the climb during a training ride in July 2013.
Chevrier rode the 7.4km-long segment in a time of 19-56, with an average speed of 22.3km/h.
Unfortunately Chevrier hasn’t shared his power data from the effort, but the second fastest rider Jeremy Defaye did.
The Frenchman pushed 328w for 20-33 in July 2014 to come second on the segment, with an average speed of 21.6km/h.
>>> Thomas De Gendt reveals plans for breakaway win at Tour de France 2020
Since then, there have been no efforts close to toppling Chevrier from the top spot, so we can expect the KoM to fall once the Tour de France peloton reaches the top.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
-
The land of legends: Riding on Tadej Pogačar's home roads
As part of our New Worlds issue in Travel Month, Chris Marshall Bell travelled to Slovenia to find out why it produces so many WorldTour riders per head of population.
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
SBT GRVL lives! The story of just how close the gravel community came to losing one of its biggest events
Here are all the details on what the revamped event will look like in 2025 as government headwinds continue to push against the event
By Logan Jones-Wilkins Published
-
Tadej Pogačar broke 288 Strava KOMs during Tour de France victory
Slovenian won his third Tour title in Nice last weekend, and picked up a host of new trophies on Strava
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'Who TF flagged me?': Tadej Pogačar's achievement marked as questionable on Strava after Giro d’Italia stage victory
The queen stage of race featured the brutal Mortirolo pass and included more than 5,400 metres of elevation
By Tom Thewlis Last updated
-
Remco Evenepoel obliterates Tenerife's Mount Teide Strava KOM
Reigning World Champion currently in altitude training before next week's Volta a Catalunya
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
British rider takes Jebel Hafeet QOM, deletes Strava file
Claire Steels's bike was the fastest to the summit, but she wasn't riding it
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'Expect anything at the Giro!': Riders react to 7 kilometre Giro Donne 'neutral zone' climb
Stage three of the Giro Donne might have had the toughest neutral opening section ever, a seven kilometre climb at an average of 7%
By Owen Rogers Published