Overview
- The Tour route visits Alpe d'Huez, the race's emblematic 21-hairpin ascent that has borne winners' names since Fausto Coppi's 1952 summit finish.
- The hairpins carry more names than corners, with reporting noting 21 turns and about 31 winner names that have led to shared plaques along the climb.
- The ascent used for this stage measures roughly 13.5 kilometres with an average gradient near 8.2 percent, a profile that evokes past legends and the memory of Marco Pantani.
- Tadej Pogačar is contesting the stage and could place his name on a curve now associated exclusively with Bernard Hinault, changing which riders are commemorated on the bend.
- A stage win would both alter the physical memorials on the climb and advance Pogačar's push toward equalling the Tour's highest victory totals, a storyline that will shape the race's next days.