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Double Alpe d’Huez. 13,000m of high-altitude climbing. A rutted back road climb. The stage 18-19-20 triple header in the Alps that concludes this Tour de France is truly terrible.
It’s so terrible that it might be the hardest finale the Tour de France has seen in a decade.
And guess who is already plotting to annihilate at least one of ASO’s marquee stages before the race returns to Paris?
You know it.
Tadej Pogačar is seeking his ultimate Tour de France coronation in the hulking peaks of the Alps.
A botched leadout for teammate Isaac del Toro on Plateau de Solaison and losing to Remco Evenepoel in the stage 16 time trial fed King Pog’s hunger.
“I always ride to win. I really wanted to give it my all today and to win. My legs felt good, and I was incredibly motivated, but Remco is simply the best time trialist ever,” Pogačar admitted after the stage on Tuesday.
“That gives me extra fire to go for another stage win in the coming days.”
The hardest final mountain block in a decadeThe men’s Tour de France returns to Alpe d’Huez, “the rockstar mountain” of road cycling, for the first time since 2022 on Friday.
Stage 19 winds its way up the infamous 21 bends for a brutal summit finish to a spicey, 128km stage.
The pack returns to the Alpe via the gnarled Sarenne goat track on stage 20 for a classic “queen stage” with a twist. The Croix de Fer, Télégraphe, and Galibier are just “warm ups” before the back-road route to the ski town caps a stage with 5,500m climbing.
With the grueling uphill haul to Orcières-Merlette on Thursday included, the Tour de France hasn’t seen a final block this hard since Pogi came to prominence.
The last time the race successfully finished with three consecutive stages so severe was 2016. The finale in 2019 might have taken the punishment prize but landslides and severe weather decided to decapitate the race.
Another climbing record on Alpe d’Huez?
Expect madness when the Tour de France ascends the Alpe d’Huez on Friday. (Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)
The back-to-back summit finishes in Alpe d’Huez are the crescendo of ASO’s old-school final of the 2026 Tour de France.
It seems to be in Pogačar’s destiny that he’ll win one, if not both of them.
The grimy resort has celebrated the biggest superstars of the sport – but not yet Pogačar, the Meckxian GOAT of our era.
Demi Vollering, Tom Pidcock, and Geraint Thomas are the last three who won on Alpe d’Huez after they navigated tunnels of crazed roadside crowds.
Before them, Andrew Hampsten, Marco Pantani, and Carlos Sastre earned a ceremonial plaque mounted to the side of a hairpin by winning on the hors categorie horror.
Pogačar might be next.
The 27-year-old said in his post-race conference on Wednesday he ranked the 14km switchback climb alongside Ventoux and Tourmalet as the icons of the Tour de France.
Victory on the Alpe d’Huez would be the ultimate way for Pogačar to seal a historic fifth yellow jersey. Adding to his collection of prestigious climbing records would make it all the sweeter.
Marco Pantani owns the two fastest Alpe d’Huez ascents in history with times of 36:40 in 1995 and 36:53 in 1997 .
“They’ve scheduled two of the toughest stages back-to-back this year, both finishing at Alpe d’Huez,” Pogačar said. “I expect it to be insane. We already saw huge crowds on Le Markstein. But I think Alpe d’Huez might even top that. It’s going to be fantastic.
‘I hope nothing goes wrong, but … we’ll see. It’s going to be a great finish to this Tour.”
Seixas and Del Toro battle to become Tour de France prince in the Alps
Paul Seixas is fighting Isaac Del Toro to reclaim the white jersey. (Photo: Jeff PACHOUD / AFP via Getty Images)
Pogačar aside, this brutal Alpine triple will host the final act of one of the most fascinating GC battles the Tour has seen in years.
Even with Adam Yates falling sick, only disaster or a late-night doping test can stop Pogačar from winning the yellow jersey.
However, Jonas Vingegaard’s exit has blown open the chase for the spots below the Slovenian dominator.
Evenepoel is in his best form in years and has a strong grip on second, but he’s lost his best teammate, Florian Lipowitz.
Del Toro and Paul Seixas are as good as neck and neck in the fight for third overall and the white jersey, and both have the potential to win big in the Alps.
Del Toro might get some superdomestique pulls from Pogačar if his captain feels generous again. French phenom Seixas has the collective power of a nation behind him.
Tour de France stages 18, 19, 20: The peloton’s terrible route to ParisHere are the raw details of stages 18, 19, and 20.
Pogačar might win all three and blow out his GC advantage to 10 minutes. Or he might bonk and lose it all (but likely won’t).
But what’s certain is this is a Tour de France finale that should not be missed.
Stage 18 (Thursday): 185km / 3,900m+
Stage 19 (Friday): 128km / 3,500m+
Stage 20 (Saturday): 171km / 5,450m+
