Favorites stage 15 Tour de France 2023 | Let's throw in a few more Alpine climbs!

We start off in Les Gets, a place that holds a special place in Tom Pidcock's heart. The British INEOS Grenadiers rider spent his summer vacations in this region when he was young, so he will have definitely marked this stage on his calendar. Pidcock still enjoys mountain biking in the surroundings of the starting town Les Gets and the finishing town Morzine, which may also give him some extra motivation for Sunday.

Anyway, let's discuss the stage itself, which both starts and finishes in winter sports resorts. The first kilometers could have an immediate impact on the stage as they go uphill. After a short descent, there is a plateau section of about 25 kilometers where the breakaway of the day is likely to form. Then, at 31.5 kilometers, the road starts to climb. Don't ask us why the Col des Fleuris (8.9 kilometers at 4.6 percent) is not a categorized climb - we don't understand either.

After 72 kilometers of racing, it's time for the intermediate sprint in Bluffy, from where the road starts to climb fairly steeply. The Col de la Forclaz de Montmin (7.2 kilometers at 7.3 percent) is immediately a tough obstacle, as the gradient on the last three kilometers of the climb hardly drops below nine percent. After a steep descent and a middle section, the next challenge awaits: the Col de la Croix Fry - 11.3 kilometers long, with a seven percent gradient. This mountain is definitely going to be testing the riders' leg muscles.

There won't be much time to recover after that climb because we are once again going uphill towards the Col des Aravis (4.4 kilometers at 5.8 percent). After this climb, there is some time to have a drink and eat on the plateau around Megeve, following which we will be treated to the spectacular finale of the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France 2023.

The last fifteen kilometers of the stage can best be described as a two-stage rocket: the Cote des Amerands (2.7 kilometers at 10.9 percent) serves as a tasty appetizer for the television viewers, following which we begin the main course of the day: an extremely short descent followed by the ascent of Le Bettex, taking us to the splendid Mont Blanc. The ascent here starts off relatively gently, but the gradient ramps up significantly between three and four kilometers from the finish. A challenging finale like this, at the end of an already very challenging stage - that's basically a guarantee for fireworks!

Times
Start: 1:05 p.m.
Finish: about 6 p.m.

The weather is likely to have little influence on the Tour de France on Sunday. The conditions in France are fine, with 28 degrees Celsius and a light breeze.

After the first round in the Alps, it is clear who the strongest climbers are in this Tour de France: Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates), the two main contenders. On the Joux Plane, they hardly left each other's side, and that promises an exciting day ahead. Considering Pogacar's strong sprint and attack on Saturday, we give him a slight advantage here.

Vingegaard and his Jumbo-Visma team proved on Saturday that they are in excellent form. Throughout the day, the yellow and black train truly set the pace. So now the question is: how will they approach Sunday? It's possible that they will opt for an aggressive strategy once again, potentially utilizing riders like Sepp Kuss and Adam Yates from the two major teams. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how things unfold!

Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) fought like a lion on the Joux Plane and saw his efforts rewarded with an impressive stage victory. The man from Andalusia achieved the most significant win of his career, but if we're being honest, we still consider him a step below the aforementioned riders. Also, keep an eye on his teammate Tom Pidcock, who will have marked this stage on his calendar as soon as the Tour route was announced. Being out of contention in the general classification only makes him more dangerous from the early breakaway.

Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën) and Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe) also showcased a strong climb on the first day in the Alps. The Austrian rider from the French team might even be able to join the early breakaway, but securing and protecting their positions seems to be gradually taking precedence. For the same reason, we might see riders like Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) adopt a more defensive approach.

Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) is not familiar with that word, so we expect him to be attacking. The same goes for Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), Mattias Skjelmose, Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Mikel Landa, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Michal Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers), and Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar), all part of the group of attacking climbers.

Top favorites: Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)
Outsiders: Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) and Adam Yates (UAE-Team Emirates)
Longshots: Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën Team), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe), Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious)