TOUR DE FRANCE 2023 – STAGE 17
SAINT-GERVAIS MONT-BLANC – COURCHEVEL

1981: ON THE FOOTSTEPS OF HINAULT
An advantage of 7’35” by Maillot Jaune after stage 17 hadn’t been recorded since 1981, when Bernard Hinault led Lucien Van Impe by 9’39” after the Alpe d’Huez stage.

22’03”: VINGEGAARD… AND GALL!
The longest climb of the Tour 2023, Col de la Loze (28.1km at 6%), was decisive in its final sections. With a time of 23’18’’, Tadej Pogacar held the Strava KOM on the last 7km of ascent (average gradient: 9.2%) since he finished 3rd of stage 17 of the Tour 2020… Two riders were faster than him on Wednesday: Jonas Vingegaard, who was the fastest with a time of 22’03’’ over that segment according to NTT Data; and Felix Gall, who did 23’07’’ to power to the stage win. Simon Yates was the 3rd fastest (23’29’’) and Pogacar lost minutes (26’37’’).

1959: THE HIGHEST SUMMIT IS FOR AUSTRIA
Felix Gall is the second Austrian in history who takes the highest peak at the Tour after Adolf Christian in 1959 at Col de l’Iseran (2770 m.). At the time, the Iseran wasn’t the Souvenir Henri Desgrange, attributed to the Galibier (2642 m.), who was won, on the same stage, by Charly Gaul.
Gall too won two KOMs in this Tour, both Hors Catégorie: (Soudet, Loze).

22.1: POGACAR’S EARLY CRASH
Tadej Pogacar’s bid to turn the tables in the mountains started off wrong with an early crash at the bottom of the Col des Saisies. According to NTT Data, the Slovenian was doing 22.1 km/h when he crashed on his left side (the same side he injured in Liège-Bastogne-Liège) and hit the deck at km 15.6. He stopped for only 15’’ and quickly returned to the front positions of the bunch, before he faltered on the ascent of Col de la Loze.

1931: GALL IS THE YOUNGEST
A junior world champion, Felix Gall was yet to take a pro win only a few weeks ago… He’s now a stage winner in the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France.
At 25 years, 4 months and 22 days, he becomes the youngest Austrian ever to win at the Tour, beating the record of Max Bulla (25 years, 9 months, 5 days in Dinan, 1931).

3+3: TWO CENTURIES COMPARED
6th Austrian stage win at the Tour, the third in this century after Georg Totschnig in Ax-3-Domaines in 2005 and Patrick Konrad in Saint-Gaudens two years ago.
The other three were scored in 1931 by Max Bulla (Dinan, Marseille, Aix-les-Bains).

107.4: MEZGEC CATCHES UP ON THE DOWNHILL
Sprinters are not the fastest up the mountains, but Luka Mezgec showed how much they can make up for it on the downhills, hitting the highest speed recorded by NTT Data on stage 17: 107.4 km/h as he descended from Cormet de Roselend. Anthony Turgis is still the rider who went the fastest during the Tour 2023, with a speed of 107.7km/h on the downhill from Col du Tourmalet (stage 6).

23: MATCHING AN ITALIAN LEGEND
23rd Maillot Jaune for Jonas Vingegaard: he matches Gino Bartali at the 18th all-time spot.