The 2003 Tour de France in the French Alps
The 2003 Tour de France had three Alpine stages and included three of the most famous climbs in France. On the first day, the relatively unknown Col de la Ramaz was the high point of the day at 1,610 metres. On the second day, the giant Col du Galibier was raced before the 21 hairpins of the climb to Alpe d'Huez. On the third and final day, the riders climbed the 2,000 metre Col du Lautaret before descending to Briancon and the climb of the 2,360 metre Col d'Izoard before the undulating route to Gap for the stage finish.
Tour de France Stage 7 - Saturday 12th July : Lyon - Morzine ( 226,5 km )
Profile : The first stage saw the riders leave Lyon and head towards Geneva before the notable climb of the day, the Col de la Ramaz, and the stage finish in Morzine.
Stage Detail : The first climb of the day was an 800 metre vertical ascent over 15 kilometres to the Col de Portes, 1020 metres at the summit. Following the descent to the village of Chazey-Bons, the route undulated towards Geneva for 80 kilometres. The next two climbs of the Côte du Mont des Princes and the Côte de Cruseilles can be found to the west and north of the picturesque town of Annecy.
The big climb of the day started in the village of Mieussy. At 1,610 metres, the Col de la Ramaz is climb that is 14 kilometres in length with an average gradient of just under seven percent, making it an easier option than it's tough neighbour, the Col de Joux Plane. The toughest kilometres are in the middle of the climb, but only three of the 14 kilometres are steeper than nine percent.
The final climb after descending the Ramaz saw the riders climb up to the ski resort of Les Gets, but this was only four kilometres at an average gradient of four percent.
The stage finish was in Morzine, a pretty ski resort situated in the heart of the Savoie Alps between Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc.
| Climb Name | Distance into Stage | Details |
| Col de Portes | 56 km | 15 km climb at 5.5% |
| Côte du Mont des Princes | 113 km | 6 km climb at 7% |
| Côte de Cruseilles | 140 km | 8.5 km at 4% |
| Col de la Ramaz | 205 km | 14 km at 7% |
| Côte des Gets | 218 km | 4 km at 4.6% |
Around Morzine : There are two notable climbs above Morzine. The first is the Col de Joux Verte which continues on to climb to the ski station of Avoriaz. The climb to Avoriaz was used as the final climb in the 1994 Tour de France mountain time-trial when Piotr Ugrumov won the stage. Morzine's famous climb above the ski resort is the Col de Joux Plane which is 1,700 metres in altitude and a difficult climb. The Col de Joux Plane was the final climb on stage 16 of the 2000 Tour de France on the stage from Couchevel to Morzine. Lance Armstrong cracked on the climb and Jan Ullrich took over a minute out of the American. Armstrong had already done the work to win the Tour de France but described the stage as 'the hardest day of my cycling life'.
Best view points : Col de la Ramaz and finish in Morzine.
|
1
|
Richard Virenque (Fra) | Quick.Step-Davitamon | 6.06.03 (37.78 km/h) |
|
2
|
Rolf Aldag (Ger) | Team Telekom | @2.29 |
|
3
|
Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) | Brioches La Boulangere | @3.45 |
|
4
|
Michael Rogers (Aus) | Quick.Step-Davitamon | @4.03 |
|
5
|
Stefano Garzelli (Ita) | Vini Caldirola | @4.06 |
|
6
|
Christophe Moreau (Fra) | Credit Agricole | @4.06 |
|
7
|
Laurent Dufaux (Swi) | Alessio | @4.06 |
|
8
|
David Millar (GBr) | Cofidis | @4.06 |
|
9
|
Georg Totschnig (Aut) | Gerolsteiner | @4.06 |
|
10
|
Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) | Team Telekom | @4.06 |
General classification after stage 7
|
1
|
Richard Virenque (Fra) | Quick.Step-Davitamon | 29.10.39 |
|
2
|
Lance Armstrong (USA) | US Postal-Berry Floor | @2.37 |
|
3
|
Rolf Aldag (Ger) | Team Telekom | @2.48 |
|
4
|
José Luis Rubiera (Spa) | US Postal-Berry Floor | @2.59 |
|
5
|
Roberto Heras (Spa) | US Postal-Berry Floor | @3.03 |
|
6
|
Joseba Beloki (Spa) | ONCE-Eroski | @3.09 |
|
7
|
Jorg Jaksche (Ger) | ONCE-Eroski | @3.14 |
|
8
|
Manuel Beltran (Spa) | US Postal-Berry Floor | @3.15 |
|
9
|
Jan Ullrich (Ger) | Team Bianchi | @3.15 |
|
10
|
José Azevedo (Por) | ONCE-Eroski | @3.37 |
;) |
Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step-Davitamon ) leads the break on the Col de Portes, with the German Rolf Aldag (Team Telekom) and Frenchman Benoit Poilvet (Credit Agricole ). |
;) |
Frenchman Médéric Clain of the Cofidis team on the Col de Portes. |
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The stage winner, Quick.Step-Davitamon rider Richard Virenque. The Frenchman was over three minutes behind the three leading riders at this point. |
;) |
The US Postal-Berry Floor team lead the peleton on the Col de Portes, over six minutes down on the leading three riders. |
;) |
A Gerolsteiner rider rides alone on the Col de Portes. |
Stage Eight of the 2003 Tour de France - Stage Nine of the 2003 Tour de France
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