Stage 13 of this year’s Tour de France saw the return of a rarity at the race: the mountain time trial. Except for 2023's ascent of the less-steep Côte de Domancy on stage 16, the true summit-finish TT had been absent from the Tour for 21 years. Jump back to 2004, and the Stage 16 time trial took place on cycling’s most famous amphitheatre, Alpe d’Huez. On that day, Lance Armstrong beat Jan Ullrich by just over a minute.
Outside of that 2023 Combloux stage where Jonas Vingegaard delivered what is widely regarded as one of the most dominant TT performances in modern history, time trials since 2004 have been, at most, a rolling affair, although sometimes the rollers have been big, like stage 17 TT from Embrun to Chorges in 2013.
Point being: the Tour doesn't have a lot of recent experience with uphill TTs, but the Pyrenees set the stage for this edition’s second time trial. Setting off from Loudenvielle, the 10.9 km course began with three flat kilometres before hitting the slopes of Peyragudes. From there, the road headed only upwards, gaining 627 metres over the final eight kilometres.
As the time trial is often called the race of truth, it's most interesting for what it reveals. And stage 13 showed – or rather confirmed – several things about the 2025 Tour that are becoming abundantly clear. First, Tadej Pogačar is again head and shoulders above the competition. Second, Jonas Vingegaard is best of the rest. And third, the fight for the white jersey of best young rider – who might very well land the final podium spot – might be the most interesting competition in the race.
A hard climb to pace
Peyragudes averages 7.9% across its 8 km, but the gradient is anything but steady. The lower slopes roll at 4-6%, the middle kilometres hover between 7-9%, and the final two kilometres bite hardest, with sustained ramps over 10% and pitches reaching 16% near the finish on the steep altiport runway.
The varied profile makes Peyragudes a notoriously difficult climb to pace. The 16% closing section could be costly for anyone who has overreached on the lower slopes, but equally, arriving there too fresh would be a mistake. It also means that pure climbers could claw back time in the latter part of the TT, from the second time check to the finish.
TT bike or not to TT bike?
Although the climb dominates this TT, the opening three kilometres, including a brief downhill, offered teams a dilemma: aero gains on a TT bike versus the weight savings of a road bike for the decisive climb. Approximately 37% of the course by distance is flat or rolling, though this accounted for only around a fifth of the total time for a given rider.
The weight difference between a TT bike and a road bike can exceed one kilogram, but if a rider is able to remain in the aero extensions, the aero benefit could be worth the weight penalty. At the expected speeds of ~25 km/h, aerodynamics remain relevant, further complicating strategy, as Ronan McLaughlin recently highlighted.
Ronan Mc Laughlin
In the end, the strategy was a mix: of the top finishers, Jonas Vingegaard (2nd), Primož Roglič (3rd) and Florian Lipowitz (4th) opted for stripped-back TT bikes to help them on the flat opening kilometres, viewing the aero benefit on the climb as worthwhile. (So did Remco Evenepoel, who finished a muted 12th). Meanwhile, Kevin Vauquelin (11th), Oscar Onley (7th), and winner Pogačar opted to use their standard road bikes. While clip-on TT extensions were an option for some, no riders in the later portion of the day at least opted to use them.
It is also for this reason that power estimations are open to too much variation to hold much confidence. The difference between the equipment for Lipowitz and Vingegaard means that, unlike in road stages where estimations can be calculated with a certain degree of confidence, this is not the case here. Rather than speculating with a massive margin for error, in this instance, I have only done comparisons based on time for them. I have done power estimates for Pogačar since he was on a traditional road bike and wearing a road helmet.
| Rider | Bike |
|---|---|
| Oscar Onley | Lapierre Xelius DRS - Road bike |
| Kevin Vauquelin | Bianchi Oltre RC - Road bike |
| Florian Lipowitz | Specialized Shiv TT - TT bike |
| Remco Evenepoel | Specialized Shiv TT - TT bike |
| Jonas Vingegaard | Cervelo P5 - TT bike |
| Tadej Pogačar | Colnago Y1Rs |
Although none of the athletes on the GC podium heading into the stage shared their power data, the riders just behind them did. For these riders, the battle is not only for the podium but also to take the white jersey from Remco Evenepoel.
Heading into today’s stage, fifth-placed GC rider Kevin Vauquelin, Oscar Onley (6th), shared their power data, giving us a look inside what is becoming a fierce fight for this year’s final podium spot and the white jersey. Here's the full analysis:
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