Two fewer climbs: Tour de France stage 19 rerouted and delayed due to cattle disease outbreak on Col des Saisies

Organisers of the Tour de France have made a last-minute change to Friday’s stage 19, following the discovery of a contagious cattle disease on the Col des Saisies.

The stage, originally set to cover 129.9 kilometres with five categorised climbs, will now be shortened to 95 kilometres. Two of the early climbs , the Côte d'Héry-sur-Ugine (11.3 km at 5.1%) and the Col des Saisies (13.7 km at 6.4%), have been removed from the route entirely.

“The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies has necessitated the culling of the animals,” race organiser A.S.O. said in a statement late on Thursday.

“In light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers and in order to preserve the smooth running of the race, it has been decided, in agreement with the relevant authorities, to modify the route of Stage 19 (Albertville–La Plagne) and to avoid the ascent to the Col des Saisies.”

Contagious nodular dermatitis is a viral skin infection affecting cattle. While not transmissible to humans, it spreads quickly among herds, and can cause significant animal suffering and economic hardship for farmers.

The revised route will still begin with the ceremonial start in Albertville, host city of the 1992 Winter Olympics, but now an hour later at 2:30 p.m. local time.

Following a 7-kilometre neutral rollout, the peloton will rejoin the original race route shortly before Beaufort. With the first two climbs removed, the day's first big test will be the Col du Pré, a category HC ascent of 12.6 km at an average gradient of 7.7%.

The remainder of the stage, which finishes with another HC climb to the top of La Plagne, remains unchanged.