Thursday 24: 12:10β12:20 β 17:10β17:50
This is the first of the 2 Alpine stages. There is not much true flat in the approach of the first climb, it's more often false flats. All 3 climbs are ranked 'HC', the last one (Loze Pass) is not particularly steep but is very long (and being the highest of the tour, it brings twice as many mountain points as other HC climbs). Its final part is irregular on a narrow asphalted track, however this side of the pass seems easier than the MΓ©ribel side which was climbed in 2020 and 2023.
The flat valley before the last climb may allow a bit of strategical play if a team has managed to send help in a breakaway, and managed to separate his leader from his opponent. But even so, would those 15 km (10 miles) significantly impact a race with 5,500 metres of elevation gain (18,000 feet)?
Ilandar proposed a good motivation for Visma.
But a larger question is IMO: why didn't anybody pull? And by pulling, I simply mean a moderate pace, to keep the following groups significantly behind.