Romain Bardet sets new fastest Strava time on Orciéres-Merlette  

The Tour de France peloton smashed the previous fastest times up the climb

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Tour de France peloton returned to the legendary Orcières-Merlette climb for the first time since 1989.

With the likes of Egan Bernal and Primož Roglič in the peloton, we were almost guaranteed to see some rapid times up the 7.1km-long, 6.7 per cent climb. 

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Alex Ballinger

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.