There are two kinds of strategic stages teams vying for the overall lead in a grand tour plan their three week campaigns around to win it all: time trials and mountaintop finishes. The main reason? There is nowhere to hide your weaknesses. For time trials, the race is against the clock, so there is no protection of a bunch finish or a peloton to block the wind. For mountaintop finishes, there is no descent on the other side to let gravity, who was your enemy on the way up, be your friend on the way down, or any other riders also, to block the wind at high speeds. Only the strongest riders in both disciplines of climbing and time trialing can become a grand tour winner, which is why you will see the most drama and hype built around these kinds of stages during the Tour de France, and also the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta á España.
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