Strava stats reveal how tough Galibier and Col d’Izoard really were on Tour de France stage 18

The 2019 Tour de France is still balanced on a knife edge with just two more mountain stages left before Paris.

Stage 18 to Valloire included some of the most daunting climbs in the Tour, the Col d’Izoard which then ran into the Col du Galibier, before a long descent to the line.

Movistar’s Nairo Quintana returned to his best with a huge attack 7km from the summit of the final climb, riding away from Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) to take stage glory.

>>> Romain Bardet says ‘polka dot jersey is now only goal for Tour de France’ after disastrous GC bid

But how tough was the 208km stage? Strava stats give us an insight into the demands of a key mountain stage.

Stage winner Nairo Quintana doesn’t use the social media for athletes so we can’t see what it takes to win the stage, but runner-up Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) does share his ride data.

Bardet spent 5-35-58 in the saddle, covering 4,543 metres of altitude gain, with an average speed of 36.6km/h.

The penultimate climb of the day was the 14.1km-long Col d’Izoard, which averages 7.3 per cent.

Frenchman Bardet averaged 19.4km/h on the climb, hitting a maximum speed of 66.2km/h and reached the summit in 42-39.

His pace was only fast enough for the ninth fastest ride on the Stava segment this year.

The fastest rider over the climb was Sébastien Reichenbach (Groupama-FDJ), in 40-18 with an average speed of 20.5km/h.

Bardet’s compatriot Warren Barguil holds the Stava KoM for the Izoard, setting a time of 37-35 on his way to a summit stage victory in the 2017 Tour de France.

The day’s final climb was the Col du Galibier, with the peloton riding up the longer but shallower side, at 23km and 5.1 per cent average.

Bardet rode up the Galibier at an average of 25km/h, with a time of 50-02, good enough for fight on the segment.

>>> Live and direct – how data could change the Tour

Overall favourites Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) set a new KoM on the 20km Galibier segment, with a time of 48-54 and an average speed of 25.6km/h.

The descent from the Galibier into Valloire was another key moment on the stage, with Riche Porte (Trek-Segafredo) the fastest downhill, covering the 16.83km segment in 16-06, with an average speed of 62km/h.