The Vosges Wildcard
The Vosges mountains are the Tour de France’s underrated range. They lack the altitude of the Alps and the mythology of the Pyrenees, but their steep, forested climbs and exposed ridgeline roads have produced some of the race’s most unexpected results. Stage 14 from Mulhouse to Le Markstein Fellering is 155 km through this terrain, and the compact distance means the pace will be high from the start.
Route des Cretes
The stage follows sections of the Route des Cretes, a military road built during World War I along the ridgeline of the Vosges. The road was constructed to keep supply lines hidden from German observation across the Rhine plain, and its tactical origins are fitting: the exposed ridgeline catches crosswinds that can fracture the peloton in ways that climbers and sprinters alike cannot anticipate.
The Vosges climbs are shorter and steeper than Alpine passes. The Grand Ballon (1,424m), Ballon d’Alsace, and Col du Platzerwasel are all potential route features, each presenting sustained gradients of 7-9% through dense forest cover. The descents are technical, with tight corners through pine groves that punish hesitation.
Le Markstein
Le Markstein sits at 1,266 metres on the Vosges ridgeline. The climb from the Thur valley is approximately 10 km at 6.3% average, with the final 3 km steepening through exposed pastureland above the treeline. The wind on the upper slopes is unpredictable and can turn a climbing contest into a survival exercise.
The Vosges stage is positioned between the flat transition through Burgundy and the big Alpine finale. Riders who lost time in the Pyrenees may see this as their last opportunity to attack before the mountain stages in Week 3 where the strongest climbers dominate. It is a trap stage — difficult enough to expose weakness, but not severe enough to discourage aggressive racing from riders outside the top ten on GC.