Stage 9: Aigle to Châtel Les Portes du Soleil
Date: July 10, 2022
Distance: 192.9km
Stage timing: 12:30 – 17:15 CEST
Stage type: Mountain
Most of the stage takes place in Switzerland. From the start in Aigle, the peloton will travel down the Rhône valley to Lake Geneva, then follow the lake shore through Montreux and Vevey to Bourg-en-Lavaux where the fourth-category Côte de Bellevue begins.
After the 4.3-kilometre climb, the route makes a detour north to the canton of Fribourg where the intermediate sprint is contested in Semsales before turning south again in Bulle. Back in the Vaud, the second-category Col des Mosses and the first-category Col de la Croix are climbed before descending back to Aigle.
Last, but not least, there is the first-category Pas des Morgins, climbing for 15.4 kilometres at an average 6.1%. The first eleven kilometres are the steepest at 5.9% to 8.6%. After one kilometre at 5.1%, the road then flattens to only 2.5% for two kilometres before the gradient increases to 5% again just before the top. Having crossed the border into France with 9.1km to go, riders will descend to just before the four-kilometre mark from where the road rises again to the finish at Pré la Joux. The penultimate kilometre of this unclassified finishing climb is the steepest at 7%.
With two category-one ascents, this stage is one for the climbers, and there is no need to hold back as the next day is a rest day. Climbers that are out of the general classification could go for a long breakaway in order to collect points for the polka-dot jersey and target the stage win. The GC favourites will watch each other closely; if one of them wants to attack to gain time, it would have to happen before the Pas de Morgins flattens out with 13km to go – so it may well be that the GC fight is neutralised.
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