re: Which feat is harder, thru hiking the AT or riding the Tour de France route?

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Physically the TdF route especially if you are doing a stage a day, for all but the most fit amateur cyclists some of the mountain stages, and definitely the Queen stage would be damn near impossible. Just consider how hard it is for the World Tour sprinters to finish the big climbs.

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correct.

It's the compressed timeline that's the problem. Former cat3 road racer weighing in here and I can tell you I wouldn't have been able to finish.

Consider every stage is roughly 125-150 miles and throw in 2 or 3 days worth of cat1 or Hors catégorie mt vonteaux or alp duez climbs and you're not getting on the bike and doing another 150 miles in the saddle the next day even with the 2 pitiful rest days.

Also with that much riding a simple rubbed blister on your inner thigh becomes a raging bed sore and your immune system goes to shite and getting sick and still having to ride every day relentlessly..

Not happening and I raced and trained like a fiend for years