Tour De France 2016: Stage 20 Route, Live Stream Schedule and TV Info on July 23
The penultimate race of the 2016 Tour de France sees the riders make their way from Megeve to Morzine-Avoriaz for Stage 20.
The short but intense stage will see the high, mountainous course end as it began—with a long descent—which will go a long way to deciding who will end the year in the yellow jersey.
After climbs up both Col de la Ramaz and Joux Plane, the riders will face a 12-kilometere roll downhill, in what could prove to be Christian Prudhomme’s signature introduction following his appointment as Tour director.
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Here's everything you need to know for Stage 20.
Date: Saturday, July 23
Route: Megeve to Morzine-Avoriaz
Profile: High mountains
Time: 1 p.m. (BST), 8 a.m. (ET)
Live Stream: ITV Hub (UK), NBC Sports App (U.S.)
TV Info: ITV 4 (UK), NBC Sports Gold (U.S.)
For the full Tour de France schedule, visit CyclingNews.com.
Preview
Chris Froome was fortunate to extend his lead at the top of the general classification timesheet after crashing on Stage 19 on Friday, per Barry Glendenning of the Guardian.
Despite losing control of his bicycle, Froome improved his overall lead from three minutes 52 seconds to four minutes 11 seconds, per Matt Westby of Sky Sports.
The Team Sky leader's front wheel jolted on the newly laid tarmac ahead of the final climb of the stage, with the British cyclist falling to the ground before regaining his composure with a new bike.
Le Tour provided footage of Froome's surprising mishap:
Columnist and former professional cyclist Michael Rasmussen was less than impressed with the competition's failure to take the race to Froome following his fall in the final stages:
Romain Bardet, Froome's key rival for major honours, took Stage 19 with an aggressive ride, with Sky Sports providing the time charts from Friday's action:
Heading into Saturday's decisive stage, Team Sky will be intent on preserving Froome's name at the summit of the GC standings, with the Kenyan-born rider enjoying a lead of more than four minutes to his closest challenger with the end is sight, per Sky Sports Cycling:
Excluding Friday's mishap with 10 kilometres remaining, Froome has been clear of serious danger due to the hard work and commitment of his faithful team-mates.
With the end of the Tour now in sight, the final moments of this year's competition could prove to be the most strenuous due to the steep and varied terrain on Stage 20. With four gruelling climbs, the riders must take full advantage of their long descents to balance their limited energy levels.
Per LeTour.com, the riders will first take on the climb to the top of Col des Aravis, with the second elevation up Col de la Colombiere. After swooping down to just 503m in Marignier, they face a lengthy climb to the top of Col de la Ramaz.
With fatigue undoubtedly facing each of the cyclists, the final mountain stretch to the summit of Col de Joux could be pivotal in the overall GC standings, and it will be fascinating to note which riders—if any—have the strength left to push on up that final climb before the crucial final ride down into Morzine-Avoriaz.
At 146 kilometres, Stage 20 is not a particularly long ride but is one of the most gruelling, with undulating elevation throughout. The high mountain profile this late on in the Tour may benefit the yellow jersey holder, knowing there will have to be an almighty swing in misfortune for him to miss out on the title for another year.
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