One for the GC riders not the TT specialists: The Tour de France's crucial stage 16 time trial
Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar will be raring to go on the 22.4km stage from Passy to Combloux, but not Stefan Küng
On an ordinary time trial day at the Tour de France, Stefan Küng would be licking his lips. The Swiss Groupama-FDJ rider is one of the best rouleurs in the world, with 70% of his career wins being taken against the clock, wins that include the European Championships and the Chrono des Nations. However, stage 16 is no ordinary Tour de France time trial.
"I would characterise it as a mountain time trial," the 29-year-old told Cycling Weekly last week, "You have some flat sections but they are short compared to all the uphill we have to conquer. It's 700m of elevation almost in 22km, so it's not going to be one for the specialists, it's going to be more one for the GC contenders."
After three gruelling mountain stages, and a rest day, the 22.4km effort from Passy to Combloux might yet prove decisive in the overall battle for this year's maillot jaune. There is 636 metres of climbing, including the second-category Côte de Demancy, and so it is not likely to be one for the powerhouses of the peloton.
"I think it's going to be hard to be at 110%, because normally you get motivation from the possibility of scoring a big result," Küng continued. "Nevertheless, I will take it seriously and go all in, also there is no other TT or anything from here to the Worlds, which is a big goal for me, so I will ride it like I was going for the win. You never know, maybe, something will happen. A top 10 already would be a victory for me on a course like this."
This appraisal is a view shared by Matt Winston, directeur sportif at dsm-firmenich.
"I think it suits the GC guys," he said. "The best guys up there can do anything and everything, but I think it also suits the climbing guys, as it's not a pure TT course. The climbers shouldn't be too nervous about it, I think.
"It's for sure possible for a guy like Küng, but to be honest, I can't see too far past the guys at the top of the standings at the moment. Guys like the Yates brothers [Simon and Adam] have come along a lot in the last few years, also Jai [Hindley] has progressed, so I think it will be a full GC battle."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
It is not so steep that it will be raced on road bikes, however, like the vertiginous time trial at the conclusion of this year's Giro d'Italia, or the final time trial which saw Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) defeat Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) at the 2020 Tour.
"The advantage over a road bike is so big, especially on the fast sections," Küng explained. "In the beginning there is a short uphill then there is a false flat. On there, you'd make a huge difference with a TT bike. And then the final climb, it's really steep at the beginning but then fast again. Maybe some guys will change at the bottom but I'm not so sure."
Some other pure time triallists said that they won't even be bothering to try in this year's sole race against the clock, an indictment of the course laid out in front of them.
Mikkel Bjerg, the winner of a similar ITT at the Critérium du Dauphiné last month, laughed and told Cycling Weekly not to bet on him in Tuesday's race. He is, of course, working in the service of Pogačar at this race, but even so, the admission was telling. Similarly, will Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), current Belgian TT champion, be allowed to push himself? Or will he be relaxed in order to serve his leader Jonas Vingegaard in the following days? Given his efforts to win a stage for himself on Sunday one suspects it'll be the former.
The ITT will also be made interesting by the fact that it comes after 15 stages of racing, and two hard days in the Alps. One man who has experience of tackling - and winning - Grand Tour individual time trials is Alex Dowsett, six-time British national ITT champion.
"If it really is a focus, you try and make your life as easy as possible for yourself in the days before," he told Cycling Weekly If you've got climbing in you, you don't have to join the first grupetto. There's a balance between the amount of time you put into it and the amount of effort you put in too. That's how I'd approach it, but I was very much a non-climber so I'd be in the first grupetto anyway.
"This far into the Tour de France I'd rely more on feeling than I would on numbers, because it's a bit of a lottery in terms of what's there and what isn't," he continued. "I would make an effort to take my eye off the numbers in the first five kilometres of the TT especially, and rely on feeling and instinct more, because it depends on how you are at that point of the Grand Tour. I've had both ends of the spectrum."
Alex Dowsett was speaking to Cycling Weekly as an ambassador for Wattbike, for whom he curated eight free workout sessions, called the Tour de Wattbike.
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
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
-
Who is leading the Giro d’Italia 2024 after stage 6?
Here are the riders who hold the maglia rosa, maglia ciclamino, maglia azzurra and maglia bianca after the fifth stage
By Joseph Lycett Published
-
Your Costa cappuccino could contain three times more caffeine than one from Cafe Nero - how can cyclists ensure they get the ideal boost?
Coffee and cycling may be inextricably linked, but does the black stuff really improve our performance on the bike? Lexie Williamson investigates
By Lexie Williamson Published
-
New team philosophy, no foreign investment and Red Bull helmets: Inside the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe deal
Team CEO Ralph Denk says further big money signings, similarly to Primož Roglič, are unlikely as Red Bull money gives German team wings
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
From 'best condition ever' to 'worst' - Wout van Aert reflects on crashing out of Classics
Visma-Lease a Bike rider rues his misfortune in team documentary after Spring campaign wiped out by crash
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tour de France stage winner leaves hospital, one month after being hit by car driver
Lennard Kämna to fly home to Germany to begin rehabilitation after incident in Tenerife last month
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert back on drop bars as he says he’s 'almost professional again' in Strava post
Visma-Lease a Bike rider broke his collarbone, sternum and several ribs in a high speed crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Jonas Vingegaard leaves hospital after Itzulia Basque Country horror crash
Danish rider underwent surgery to repair broken collarbone; too early to know whether Tour de France return will be possible
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Will the Tour de France be won by the last man standing?
With Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič hitting the deck at Itzulia Basque Country, all three now face battle to get their seasons back on track
By Adam Becket Published
-
Tom Pidcock unable to bear weight on right leg after Itzulia Basque Country crash
British rider crashed during recon of opening stage time trial last weekend and injured his right hip
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Mark Cavendish to miss Scheldeprijs as illness continues to affect schedule
Cavendish will ride Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye later this month, Astana Qazaqstan confirms
By Tom Thewlis Published