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Etape du Tour 2020 Route

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The route of the 2020 Etape du Tour will take the riders over the same course as stage 2 of the 2020 Tour de France, tackling 177km from Nice

The 2020 Etape du Tour marks a change away from the Alps or Pyrenees and heads to the southern coast of France. While the climbs are much less known than the likes of the Izoard, Alpe d’huez & Glandon, it makes up for this with may unknown routes and beautiful roads.

The proper Pros flock to Nice with the likes of Phillipe Gilbert, Chris Froome & Ritchie Porte all live in the area. A superb climate for riding with smooth roads and great Mediterranean views over the Cote d’Azur. This area also has over 340 sunshine days a year and is a superb spot for the Grande Depart and the Etape.

The busy French Riviera is always buzzing so riding in and around central Nice can be tricky However a short spin inland towards Alpes Maritimes brings famous climbs including the Col de la Madone, Col de Braus and Madone d’Utelle. The Col d’Eze is a great warmup ride from our hotels for the 2020 Etape du Tour being a very short spin from the city.

The 2020 Etape du Tour contains 3570m / 11712.6 feet of climbing in its 177km. We would say its a more balanced route than 2019’s brutal, climbfest edition with 3 main sections and 3 main climbs.

The initial 55km will be fast and furious. There isnt a great deal of rolling terrain to break up the groups so it will be similar to the 2017 edition with decent size pelotons forming for the first 45-50km. The gradient is very rarely above a false flat in this hard charging first section so know your effort levels and dont get carried away before you hit the main climbs of the Etape!

The Etape du Tour 2020 has 3 major climbs

1/ Col de Colmiane (16.3km at 6.3%)

The first climbing challenge will be the Col de Colmiane (sometimes known as the Col Saint-Martin) – a feature of Paris-Nice in both 2017 and 2018.

Be careful of a sharp right turn at Bollinette which signals the start of the Col de la Colmiane (aka the Col St Martin) This will be the first time the Tour de France has used this locals favourite climb and tight hairpins occur in the early section. The gradient stays fairly steady throughout with a couple of 8-9% pitches for its 16.6km ascent. At an average of 6.4% this will be an important section to pace yourself and it is a really good climb to ride by heart rate / power as we get up to 1,500m.

2/ Col de Turini (15.3km at 7.2%)

After a 20km descent (be careful! things then ramp up again with the Col de Turini, the second major climb of the day.

After featuring in the 2019 Paris-Nice, where Daniel Felipe Martinez claimed stage honours, and Team Ineos’s Egan Bernal moved into the yellow jersey, the climb is back at the Tour de France after a 47-year absence.

The first few corners are pretty sharp and should be taken with care but the views down the valley are spectacular. This climb is much better known and despite being a shorter at 15km, packs more of a punch with steady 7% average. The climb starts by coming through La Bolléne-Vésubie and you would never know you’re so close to the coastal hustle and bustle. Stiff but steady, the climb tops out at 1600m and includes some sections at 9% with the KOM being held by Jack Haig in a time of 40:50. From the top, its a 50km steady descent back towards the finishing section Nice and the final climb of the day!

3/ Col d’Eze (7.8km at 6.1%)

At 7.8km, and with an average gradient of 6.1 per cent, the Col d’Eze may be shorter than the climbs that come before it, but it’s the most iconic ascent on the route because of its regular inclusion as the final (and frequently decisive climb) in Paris-Nice.

The Race to the Sun often uses the Col d’Eze for a time trial, which Sean Kelly won five times and Sir Bradley Wiggins completed in a record 19 minutes 12 seconds in 2012. Strava suggests an average time of 40 minutes for men and 47 minutes for women is a more realistic benchmark for L’Etape riders to target, though the climb will come after a long and arduous day in the saddle.

Etape du Tour 2020 Strava Route