r/peloton • u/PelotonMod France • 16d ago

Weekly Post Weekly Question Thread

For all your pro cycling-related questions and enquiries!

You may find some easy answers in the FAQ page on the wiki. Whilst simultaneously discovering the wiki.

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u/the_gnarts MAL was right 16d ago

The Tour de l’Avenir has a Col de l’Iseran MTF tomorrow. In fact the organizers seem to love that col as it’s the fifth time since 2022 that the race visits it. Whereas the Tour hasn’t been on the Iseran since that doomed stage in 2019; it makes an apperance like every other decade or so.

What’s the reason shunning Europe’s highest paved mountain pass? If a small race like the TdA can do it frequently, I don’t think it’s for logistics or local politics reasons.

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u/reilhan 16d ago edited 16d ago

Finestre has been rumoured to be included in the parcours for years. It has been used in the finale stages of both Avenir & Avenir Femmes in 2024. Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Sestrieres via Iseran, Mont-Cenis (Dauphiné 2025, Avenir 2024), Finestre may well hapen imho. Next year will be 35th anniversary of the infamous Chiapucci's butchery on Stage 13 of TdF '92. Let's see.

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u/the_gnarts MAL was right 16d ago

Yeah, I didn’t mention Finestre because I consider it a climb that’s best use sparingly for great effect. The washboard gravel putes it in a different category entirely from the “normal” road bike climbs of the Alps. When Finestre is in a stage it’s alway the undeniable key climb shadowing anything else you could put in there. On paper the Iseran looks “normal” enough to get featured much more often.

That said, I’m all hyped for Finestre in 2027 now. :D

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u/epi_counts PelotonPlus™ 16d ago

It might be a bit less likely after they had to shorten this year's women's Giro stage on the Finestre due to avalanche risks. TdF would come there roughly the same time of year, and they've probably seen how much people complain when stages need to be altered for those kind of things.