To raise your arms to the roof of this edition on Thursday July 22, you will have to be very, very strong during what promises to be the crème de la crème of this Grande Boucle. The 2027 men's Tour de France route offers a wide variety of profiles and just as many promising events. Pure mountain stages will appear to be fewer in number, but these could be misleading.
Without insulting the inaugural triptych across the Channel or the passage in the great West, the 9th stage of Sunday July 11 nevertheless advances like the first announced fight between favorites. The Tour bosses had the good idea of returning to Basque lands, which have not been on the menu for almost 25 years.
In the Jura massif, the four summits of the day could leave their mark on those less visible. However, it should be too early to knock out the Tour.
From the first 50 kilometers, the back-to-back climbs of Burdincurutcheta, which is 8.7 kilometers at 9.3% and ramps at more than 15%, and Bagargui, 4.8 kilometers long at 6.4%, will eat into what will remain of the peloton's legs. The unique Côte de l'Estrade, measuring 5.7 kilometers at 8.3% less than 25 kilometers from the finish, seems ideally placed to offer an attacking race, both for adventurers in search of success and for leaders.