Championnat Spécial Division 1

In my lifetime, the most memorable climax to a stage on Alpe d’Huez was when team-mates Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault arrived at the top arm-in-arm in 1986 – a turn of events that saw them cease their hostilities and ultimately resulted in the American winning his first Tour and his veteran colleague bowing out from the sport. A real changing-of-the-guard moment, with France still without a win since Hinault’s 1985 triumph.

I’ll never forget the excitement of seeing lone leader, an Italian chap called Giuseppe Guerini, being knocked off his bike by a fan who stepped out to take a photo in 1999 and misjudged the distance in his viewfinder.

Five years later, I was there with my brother for the individual time trial in 2004. We had camped out on a grassy roundabout for days to be there. I’ll never forget the roars reverberating up the mountain from below as the favourites approached. We were watching from the corner where Lance Armstrong overtook his main rival Ivan Basso on a bit of road with graffiti of the words LANC/EPO and a large syringe. Happy days.

When the Tour comes, it’s the closest thing you’ll get to Glastonbury at a bike race. This is most felt on what is known as Dutch Corner – around halfway up by the church of Notre Dame des Neiges on switchback #7. Here it’s a sea of orange flares, flags and paint – with fans often camping out for the entire week before the race. The beer is plentiful and riders rely on the hordes of supporters parting ways – a bit like Moses and the Red Sea.

Alpe d’Huez’s nickname is Dutch Mountain, since Dutch riders won eight of the first 14 finishes. If you win, you get your name etched onto one of the corners for posterity. There have been some unforgettable moments through the years – most recently, with Geraint Thomas winning in yellow in 2018 and then Tom Pidcock’s solo in 2022 after his daredevil descent of the Galibier.

Today the race heads up to the ski resort of Alpe d’Huez via the mythical 21 hairpin bends for a summit finish that is one of the greatest prizes in professional cycling. Why is Alpe d’Huez so iconic, you might ask?

It’s not the hardest or the prettiest of Alpine climbs – and after its first appearance in the Tour in 1952, it was such a damp squib that it wasn’t used again for 24 years. But since then, it’s become one of the standout totems of cycling – a climb that has become synonymous with the Tour in the same way that the Arenberg forest section of cobbles is indelibly linked to the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic.

It’s a 13.8km ascent that curls up the mountainside in a series of switchbacks from Bourg d’Oisans down in the valley, to the ski resort up top. The average gradient of 8.1% is not to be baulked at – particularly because the fans get so close, that it’s a highly charged and claustrophobic atmosphere for the riders.

If Tadej Pogacar’s lead in the yellow jersey standings seems like a pretty comfortable cushion – illness concerns aside – then the came cannot be said for his team-mate Isaac del Toro in his white jersey clash with French phenomenon Paul Seixas.

Where 4’32” separates Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel on GC, just 20 seconds stand between the Mexican and the French 19-year-old as the two do battle for both the white jersey and the final spot on the podium.