Tour de France stage 17 analysis: Winners and losers on the Loze

Primoz Roglic leaves Tadej Pogacar behind on the Col de la Loze on stage 17 of the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

The Col de la Loze cast a long, long shadow over the 2020 Tour de France, which isn’t surprising given its size. The first 16 stages of the race were all contested with the understanding that this single climb, the high point of the 2020 edition and arguably one of the hardest few summit finishes ever contested in a bike race, would define the GC. To paraphrase Henri Desgrange, the inventor of the Tour de France, on the occasion of the Col du Galibier making its debut in the face in 1911, oh Peyresourde! Oh Marie Blanque! Oh Grand Colombier! Compared to the Loze, you’re gnat’s piss.

The scenery on the Loze was stunning. The road was a marvel of creative engineering - the way it reared, flattened, twisted and changed, especially near the top, was really unusual compared to most other Tour climbs.

Edward Pickering is Procycling magazine's editor. He graduated in French and Art History from Leeds University and spent three years teaching English in Japan before returning to do a postgraduate diploma in magazine journalism at Harlow College, Essex. He did a two-week internship at Cycling Weekly in late 2001 and didn't leave until 11 years later, by which time he was Cycle Sport magazine's deputy editor. After two years as a freelance writer, he joined Procycling as editor in 2015. He is the author of The Race Against Time, The Yellow Jersey Club and Ronde, and he spends his spare time running, playing the piano and playing taiko drums.