2018 Tour de France Stage Analysis

2018 Tour de France stage power and rolling resistance analysis — Best Bike Split

All stages of the 2018 Tour de France were modeled using the Best Bike Split performance modeling software. For non Time Trial stages the peloton was modeled as a single entity using the typical pulling power exhibited by riders at the front of the main group. We then used the Time Analysis tool to highlight specific sections of the course that could influence race day strategy.

The 2018 route is one of the more varied in recent memory, opening in the Vendée before heading north for a Team Time Trial in Cholet and eventually reaching the race's wildcard stage — the cobbled run into Roubaix. Stage 9's pavé sections add a level of chaos rarely seen in a modern Tour, where bike choice, tire pressure, and positioning in the peloton matter as much as raw power. The race then transitions to the Alps with back-to-back mountain stages culminating in the iconic Alpe d'Huez finish on Stage 12, before the Pyrenees take over in the final week. The penultimate Stage 20 individual time trial in the Basque Country around Espelette is short but decisive, rewarding riders who can hold an aggressive aero position on a rolling course. Use the Time Analysis tool on any stage to explore how power, drag, and weight trade-offs would play out across this diverse and unpredictable route.

Stage	Type	Date	Avg. Watts	Avg. Speed	Time
Stage 1 (Noirmoutier-en-l'Île to Fontenay-le-Comte)	Flat	07/07/2018	364 w	46 km/h	04:21:40
Stage 2 (Mouilleron-Saint-Germain to La Roche-sur-Yon)	Flat	07/08/2018	359 w	45 km/h	04:02:48
Stage 3 (Cholet to Cholet)	Team Time Trial	07/09/2018	525 w	54 km/h	00:38:58
Stage 4 (La Baule to Sarzeau)	Flat	07/10/2018	361 w	44 km/h	04:24:45
Stage 5 (Lorient to Quimper)	Hilly	07/11/2018	343 w	42 km/h	04:49:01
Stage 6 (Brest to Mûr de Bretagne Guerlédan)	Hilly	07/12/2018	356 w	42 km/h	04:21:12
Stage 7 (Fougères to Chartres)	Flat	07/13/2018	328 w	41 km/h	05:38:37
Stage 8 (Dreux to Amiens Métropole)	Flat	07/14/2018	351 w	42 km/h	04:18:22
Stage 9 (Arras Citadelle to Roubaix)	Hilly	07/15/2018	376 w	44 km/h	03:27:58
Stage 10 (Annecy to Le Grand-Bornand)	Mountain	07/17/2018	339 w	35 km/h	04:23:54
Stage 11 (Albertville to La Rosière Espace San Bernardo)	Mountain	07/18/2018	359 w	32 km/h	03:24:24
Stage 12 (Bourg-Saint-Maurice Les Arcs to Alpe d'Huez)	Mountain	07/19/2018	341 w	34 km/h	05:08:33
Stage 13 (Bourg d'Oisans to Valence)	Flat	07/20/2018	368 w	45 km/h	03:43:58
Stage 14 (Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Mende)	Hilly	07/21/2018	353 w	39 km/h	04:39:53
Stage 15 (Millau to Carcassonne)	Hilly	07/22/2018	345 w	41 km/h	04:21:33
Stage 16 (Carcassonne to Bagnères-de-Luchon)	Mountain	07/24/2018	347 w	40 km/h	05:26:01
Stage 17 (Bagnères-de-Luchon to Saint-Lary-Soulan)	Mountain	07/25/2018	359 w	27 km/h	02:24:44
Stage 18 (Trie-sur-Baïse to Pau)	Flat	07/26/2018	357 w	44 km/h	03:53:23
Stage 19 (Lourdes to Laruns)	Mountain	07/27/2018	339 w	37 km/h	05:24:40
Stage 20 (Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle to Espelette)	Individual Time Trial	07/28/2018	399 w	45 km/h	00:41:23
Stage 21 (Houilles to Paris Champs-Élysées)	Flat	07/29/2018	361 w	44 km/h	02:38:39

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