In the past, it used to be said that whoever led the Tour de France at L’Alpe d’Huez would win overall. In recent years, something similar could be stated of the Alsatian climb to La Planche des Belles Filles, nicknamed “Le Petit Alpe d’Huez” by cyclists who struggle up there each year in the Trois Ballons sportive, and climbed by the Tour at the finish of Wednesday’s fifth stage.
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