L'Alpe d'Huez is a legendary mountain that has been climbed 33 times by the Tour de France men's peloton since 1952. The Tour de France women will finish at the top of this classic climb on Sunday, marking the finale of the women's edition of the eight-stage race.

Why would anyone want to win this climb in the middle of the French Alps?

In 13.8 km, the climb meanders up 1,120 meters in elevation with 21 switchbacks, some with gradients as high as 13%.

The Tour de France Fém begins with a mountainous stage from Le Grand-Bornand on stage 7, with Sunday's final stage, the 21 hairpins of the Alpe d'Huez, to decide the winner.

“I think it's the most beautiful thing to climb this course as a woman in the Tour de France. It will be a very special day,” French champion Audrey Cordon-Lago told Cycling News.

Special signs at each bend are numbered in descending order. The signs indicate the elevation of the road, and until a few decades ago they were used in winter to signal snowplows to proceed to the resort at the top. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] And I don't think there are any surprises in what the legs will tell you, and I want to have a good run there.

“Everyone was talking about Alpe d'Huez, but I think Grandon is probably harder than Alpe d'Huez.

“I think it would be a good run.

Labouse has finished in the top 10 overall in the last two Tours and is one of the favorites to win the final stage. She is prepping for the climb to Le Grand-Bornand on stage 7, but it has been a long time since she has visited the ski resorts of upper Huez.

“I'm looking forward to the mountains. I want to see who has the best legs. I know Alpe d'Huez well, I've run it five times. Not recently, but the last was in 2018 when I did a training camp with my boyfriend before some races. When I was a junior I used to go to training and run a lot.”

Cordón-Lago told Cycling News that while the climbers competing for GC probably won't have the time or energy to soak up the uphill experience in the Alpe d'Huez, the work ahead for the team leaders and the last few kilometers to finish the Grand Tour will make a bigger impression, he said. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]