The Tourmalet awaits today: the Tour's first major mountain test

The Tour de France faces one of its first major mountain tests today with the stage from Pau to Gavarnie-Gèdre. After several days of tension, nervous finales and constant vigilance among the favourites, the race now moves into much more selective terrain, with the Col du Tourmalet as the main feature of the day.

The Tourmalet is one of the most iconic climbs in Tour history and has often been the scene of attacks, crises and important shifts in the general classification. Its difficulty, length and historical weight make today's stage a key moment to assess the real form of the riders targeting the yellow jersey.

The stage could be especially important for riders such as Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and the rest of the favourites, who will get a clear first chance to test themselves in the high mountains. After days in which the priority was to avoid crashes and not lose time, it is now time to see who has the legs to make the race harder.

It could also be a good day for some teams to try to shake up the race from distance, either to put pressure on the race leader or to place riders up the road. Energy management will be crucial, because the Tourmalet is punishing not only because of its gradients, but also because of the pace that the strongest teams can impose.

Today's stage does not necessarily have to decide the Tour, but it could start to create important gaps. For some riders, it will be an opportunity to launch the first major attack; for others, it will be a day of survival. In any case, the Tour enters a decisive phase today, and the mountains will begin to shape the overall standings.