Next Saturday, July 27th, the 20th stage of the 2019 Tour de France will take place in the Alps. Starting in Albertville, the route goes through Bourg Saint Maurice-Les Arcs, Macot-La Plagne, St Martin de Belleville and Les Menuires before finishing in Val Thorens.
The very much anticipated Alpine stage takes place right before the final stretch of the Tour, which will see cyclists ride through the Parisian Champs Elysées on Sunday 28th. Val Thorens will host the highest-ever finish line of the Tour de France's history, at 2365m, after 130km of Alpine climbs.
On their way to the Three Valleys, the peloton will go through two other challenging cols, the category 1 Cormet de Roselend (1968m) and the Category 2 Cote de Longefoy (1190m) just below La Plagne. However, the best has been reserved for last as the climb to Val Thorens involves a gruelling 33.4km at an average steepness of 5.5%. Cyclists will ascend a total of 4563m.
The arrival in Val Thorens is scheduled between 17:30 and 18:00, passing through Bourg-Saint-Maurice at 15:13-15:24 and La Plagne at around 15:46-16:00. Roads will be closed en route from Albertville to Val Thorens, some of them shutting at 20:00 on Friday 26th and others closing two hours before the peloton arrives. You can find all the information on the Savoie Route website (in French).
