Tour de France: Stage 15 Preview

Well, that's it for the Pyrenees for 2011 - pity, as they always provide a great part of the Tour, but it's the Tour de France rather than a tour of the mountains and the climbers have had a chance to strut their stuff. It's only fair that the rest get an opportunity to play now, and today's that chance.

Our start town today is Limoux, home to around 10,000 people and acting as a stage town for the very first time. The region has been inhabited since prehistory, as is made evident by the Neolithic Menhir de la Pierre Droit and wealth of ancient tools discovered in the area. It became an important city for the Romans who called it Flacianum et Limosus and then began to grow larger at the start of the Medieval period with the establishment of the Abbey of Saint Hilaire. Today, the abbey is a quiet and serene place, but the fortifications prove to be more than architectural decoration on close inspection and leave no doubt that the Benedictine order to which it belonged had occasion to resist violent attacks in the past. Today, Limoux is famous for a white wine, Blanquette de Limoux, which is made using the champagne method and is pretty much indistinguishable from champagne as far as scumbags like us are concerned.

There are a couple of fairly technical-looking bends on the outskirts along the D104, just prior to the Basilique de Notre Dame de Marceille, a 14th Century church which fans of gothic architecture would feel gutted about were they to miss it, then a roundabout - however, the road is wide and there shouldn't be any problems even if the peloton is still all together. Pieusse, 1.5km along the road, has a castle which is of particular interest to historians as it wasn't modified or added to after being constructed, thus providing an excellent example of what a Cathar fort would have looked like in the 12th Century.

On the way out of town, the road enters a twisty section with 17 bends rising to a little over 300m before heading back downhill to Saint-Hilaire, through which the route passes. The road narrows and isn't straight, which has to potential to cause problems and riders will need to be wary of street furniture. Approximately 1km outside Saint-Hilaire is a ruined building in a field. It looks to have been a chapel or small church, but there's not enough left to tell for certain - perhaps too small to come to the attention of the cameras, but picturesque. Continuing north on the D104, we pass within a kilometre and a half of Pomas, a small town of around 700 inhabitants and one castle, about which little is known other than that it seems to have first been mentioned early in the 14th Century. As is so often the way in France, it's not too clear who owns and is responsible for the building which in Britain would no doubt have been converted into a tourist trap and so it stands there, locked up and a little uncared-for.

The route soon reaches Leuc, which also has a castle - this one is used as offices and also isn't open to visitors. A talented local trompe-l'œil has painted a number of objects on walls about town including an old man on a bench, a medieval water trough and, best of all, an extremely lifelike antique bicycle which looks for all the world as though someone has left it propped up against the wall upon which it's painted while they go into one of the nearby shops. Just to the east of Couffoulens - which is off the route unfortunately, as it's a very pretty village - we leave the D104 by way of an uncomplicated junction and join the D204 and head through Cavanac which is shown to be the home of many wealthy people by the large number of swimming pools evident on satellite photographs. We don't see much of the village as it's split into two main parts, the southern part a short way to the east of the road and the northern part to the west. Once out of the village, the parcours rejoins the D104.

Carcassone

After 26km, we come to the truly remarkable city of Carcassone, one of the most famous sights in France, and if you watch the Tour for the chateaux believe us when we say this one is going to leave you speechless. A World Heritage Site, the upper town - called Cité de Carcassonne - is an enormous walled fortress which looks exactly how the Romantic artists of the 19th Century pictured Camelot. Words cannot really do justice to the place; anyone visiting anywhere even vaguely nearby is recommended to find an excuse to see it for themselves, because it's so beautiful it's beyond description - and if you're ever lucky enough to be there, think how lucky we are that the place still exists: having been removed from the list of fortifications retaining military value during Napoleonic times, it fell into such a state of disrepair that by 1849 an edict was issued for it to be demolished. This, thankfully, met with strong opposition from prominent figures throughout France and instead the site was restored, perhaps not to its former glory as several details - such as the pointed turret roofs which wouldn't have been used this far south - are entirely incorrect but add to the beauty. The site has been fortified since at least 100BC when the Romans recognised its strategic value, but Neolithic tools found in the area prove that it was inhabited long before then. As if all that's not enough, it also has a spectacular basilica and cathedral.

Exiting via the D6113 and then take the D610 east via Marseillette and Puichéric and, once the riders have negotiated a sharp left-hand turn onto the D2610, to Homps which stands next to a large and roughly circular lake which is a popular place for wind-surfing (this region being subject to strong winds), this being the sort of thing the camera operators in the helicopters love. The riders will have to get through a series of tight corners in the town, avoiding tangles with street furniture, to get to the Avenue du Minervois bridge across the canal before the road turns straight, becomes the D910 and heads for Olonzac. We're now in the department of Hérault, which has been made famous by its rocky gorges. Herault is a very important site in the study of pre-human hominids - traces of the "Chopper Civilisation" (so-called because of their primitive tools, not their primitive 1970s Raleighs) found here date back to 1.57 million years ago.

After 70km, the route reaches Aigne; a small community famous for the Ruelle dans la Circulade which is a unique street formed by ancient houses arranged in a spiral centred on the church and once protected by a drawbridge and portcullis - if you visit Carcassone, it's well worth coming here too for the many ancient buildings which look more like the old parts of Jerusalem or an Arabic casbah than a French village. Getting through the village - and past the Ruelle - requires taking a series of bends beginning at a large roundabout on entering. A few kilometres out of the village, the riders will leave the D910 for the D907, taking a sharp right-hand turn on another roundabout and head through Aigues-Vives (joining the D20) and into Agel which stands in the crook of a sharp bend in the river, the road following its course. Agel has a 12th Century chateau, of which not much remains but what's there is worth seeing. A short way from the town, the road passes by a small but attractive waterfall.

Cessenon-sur-Orb

At the 82km ridden point is the stage's only climb, the Category 4 Côte de Villespassans which rises to 204m as the riders cross one of the ridges running across the landscape. This part of France is famous for its capitelles, small dry-stone huts used by shepherds - some are very old and, since most have fallen out of use, are in very poor condition. Next on the route is Saint-Chinian, birthplace of Charles Trenet - the singer of "Boum" fame. Entering town on the D20, there's a very sharp bend (under 45 degrees) onto the D612 which passes through the centre of the town and back onto the D20. 10.5km from here is the feeding station at Cessenon-sur-Orb, another fortified citadel with a very unusual history due to having been inhabited at various times by Romans, Visigoths and even Saracens, the latter having left several Muslim graves in the area. It was the home of people long before that too, as can be seen by the Neolithic dolmens and tumuli in the area. It also has a small suspension bridge, seen in the right of the photograph.

Puissalicon

On the eastern side of the town the parcours joins the D36 and heads through a gap in a ridge with some very impressive ruins at Réals, crossing the river and heading on to Murviel-les-Beziers where a ruined castle stands high on an outcrop above the circular medieval centre of the town. The parcours once again becomes technical here as the road leads around the centre, using the D19 and then turns onto the D16 which is poker straight for the first kilometre or so, then deviates sharply to the right before entering Saint-Geniès-de-Fontedit. In the centre of town, the road turns sharply right to a roundabout, then joins the D18 and heads east to another roundabout in an industrial area where the D18 joins the southbound D909, a wide dual-carriageway road which is likely to be mind-numblingly boring, so it's a good thing that the peloton will cover this section extremely rapidly and soon be on the much more pleasant D33 travelling east to Puissalicon which - can you believe it, history fans! - is yet another fortified citadel, this time with two castles. One dates from the 11th Century, the other from the 12th and is still inhabited. An even older tower in the town originally stood alone but was later incorporated into a church.

Since medieval town planners didn't consider 21st Century bicycle races when designing the layout of streets, getting through Puissalicon onto the D18 is quite a difficult process involving several sharp corners. Once on it, the peloton heads south east into Espondeilhan where the route turns north and then east onto the D33 which takes it into Coulobres and then to Abeilhan, a small town with medieval origins and some good buildings dating back to the 9th Century and more technical sections around the corners. Once out of town, the parcours soon joins the D13 to Pezenas, home to more than 30 buildings officially classified as protected historic monuments, several of them private mansions dating from the 16th Century. It's also the birthplace of Alain Robert who has found fame free-climbing skyscrapers, earning himself the nickname Spiderman and a lengthy criminal record in the process.

Alain Robert stops to
make a phonecall while
on his way up a
Hong Kong skyscraper.

The riders leave Pezenas on the D913 before negotiating two roundabouts onto the D613 into Montagnac which is the location of the intermediate sprint. After the last few mountain stages, several sprinters are likely to be in contention for this one - if, as is likely, a breakaway group is still leading the peloton by this point expect the fastest riders to get the lion's share of the points. Mark Cavendish, provided the mountains haven't done him too much damage, will probably be the first of the peloton to cross the line and pick up the best of whatever points are left.

The D5 leads the race to Villeveyrac, site of the Abbaye de Valmagne which was founded by the Cistercian order in 1138. Early on in its history, the abbey enjoyed a ong period of great wealth and fortune which made it very grand, so the buildings left today are impressive. However, parts were built from the poor-quality local stone and are as a result in bad condition despite the site having been classified as a protected monument as long ago as 1947. The route then heads along the D2, back onto another stretch of the D5 which is unconnected to the previous road with the same name (a sort of road enclave) and around a 90 degree left-hander in Montbazin to Cournonsec. Nearby is another Cistercian abbey, l'Abbaye de Vignogoul.

After 179.5km, the route reaches Lavérune, where the 18th Century Château de Lavérune stands on the site of a 16th Century house which in turn replaced a medieval castle. The existing building incorporated elements of both the earlier structures, leading to an interesting mixture of styles. The D5 continues through and out of the town, leading to a roundabout and the D132 which heads north t the D109 where the parcours swings east and into Montpellier. The last section contains many corners, traffic islands and other hazards before entering the final sprint.

Montpellier, home to 266,000 people and the 8th largest city in France, has been a Tour stage town 29 times before today. It's one of the few large French cities without a Roman history, dating from the Middle Ages when regular pirate raids persuaded the inhabitants of Maguelone to move their town further inland. Two villages were rapidly assimilated and the town grew sufficiently important to gain a castle and be fortified in the 10th Century. Montpellier became very wealthy due to its location, which made it a centre for the trading of goods from all around the Mediterranean - this also enriched its culture as it absorbed influence and people from all around the sea, soon developing vibrant Christian, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim communities who, united in their efforts to do business, co-existed in a manner highly unusual during past times and still very much a lesson to the modern world.

Montpellier remains a wealthy and vibrant city with a rich culture.

Predictions: With the exception of the climbing specialists, this stage could be just about anyone's. It's likely to be a top-name sprinter - probably one from the Isle of Man, in our opinion, due to the flat and perfectly straight final kilometre - but there's a high possibility that the strongest rider in a successful breakaway or even a chancer who feels he's got a chance at the end of the race could end up winning this one. Mikael Delage is a rider very likely to lead a breakaway and could try to take the stage, but we don't rate his chances at a victory.

Weather: The heavy rain earlier on has now cleared up, but strong winds are causing problems and may result in the climbers losing time.

DEVIL WATCH: With the absence of big climbs, it's very difficult to predict likely spots for devillish manifestations. The most likely point is probably the section through the ridge at Reals.

Tour de France: Stage 14 Debrief

"That was beautiful - I enjoyed every moment." (Frank Schleck)

Well, well, well - you spend a bit of time thinking about your stage predictions and then what happens? Someone nobody would ever have expected appears from the more anonymous depths of the tour bus and wins what could be the hardest climb of the Tour!

It was, of course, the Saint-Gaudens to Plateau de Beille stage and everyone following the event knew we were going to see something special today. The thing is, we all thought that something special was going to come from either Alberto Contador, some Schleck or another, Cadel Evans, Thomas Voeckler or - as an absolute rank outsider wildcard probably no chance in hell contender - Geraint Thomas. What actually happened surprised everyone.

An early breakaway - at one point consisting of 24 riders, which makes it more a satellite peloton than a lead group - defied expectations by holding on to their lead for much longer than was thought possible.

It's been confirmed that the mountain upon which noted
hardcase Jens Voigt crashed is being treated in hospital
for a fractured collarbone.

One thing that did happen as predicted was that Contador's knee suddenly seemed a lot better and Andy Schleck was suddenly on good form again once it became apparent that the troublesome joint had been subject to a miracle. The two rivals sparred their way to the top with Alberto matching every move the Luxembourger made until eventually - as a lot of us thought might happen - Andy got the better of him. It was also noted that Andy learned a valuable lesson in Stage 12, that being his team's limits. He drove them too hard too early on Thursday, a stage he probably could have won with no effect on his performance today, but ended up without support before the hill really got going. Today, LeopardTrek were out of the limelight until the ascent of the Plateau loomed ahead and then moved up to the front of the peloton and took full control. When the right time came, the brothers were ideally placed to make their attack; and they did. Lots of times.

Jens Voigt did an admirable job of piling on the pressure, first as part of the breakaway and later as a single act and ensured the pack was tiring when Andy had plenty more left, despite two crashes in close succession - one bringing him perilously close to plunging down a steep slope. But, being Jens, he picked himself up, checked the tarmac hadn't been too badly cracked and got on with it; only giving way in the last part of the stage when he'd gone well and truly above and beyond the call of duty.

In the end, when everything came down to the simple question of who could be the first to ride up the mountain the fastest, it soon became apparent that there was no simple answer. All the riders with a chance of victory got involved in a highly complex psychology game, a sort of mixture of cat-and-mouse, poker and go as they tried to toy with other riders, show no emotion (Andy's the undisputed grand master at that one) and second, third and fourth guess their opponents. What's more, it turned out that they're all almost perfectly matched, too.

This was all quite entertaining, but the novelty would wear off very soon if every single race ended up as a battle of the wits - cycle racing was always supposed to be primarily about who can ride a bike the fastest without falling off to much, after all. The mind games played in all races and especially the Tour are an interesting little aside, but many fans are longing for the days when what you got at a race was a good old-fashioned duel like the ones that Coppi and Bartali and Hinault and Zoetemelk used to have, a sawdust-on-the-floor bare-knuckles fight involving riders who had no time for psychic warfare but were quick to lock horns, bear grudges and extract revenge.

This is what we want: fighting!

Then, while the top brass were still studying one another for signs of weakness and learning what they could about who was on form and who was not, someone nobody expected decided he was feeling pretty good. So, he thought he may as well have a pop at winning the stage. That man was Jelle Vanendert, a useful enough climber to no doubt be highly valued in Omega-Pharma but by no means a candidate for victory today - or so we thought. Jelle just got down to business and kept going. Euskaltel-Euskadi's Sammy Sanchez saw him and decided he'd had more than enough of the frontline cleverness, so he followed.

And - would you believe it - it turned out that riding a bike faster than anyone else can still win a race: Vanendert crossed the line with such an advantage he was able to take his hands off the bars, sit bolt upright and cruise across with a massive grin on his face. Sanchez wasn't far behind and crossed 21" later. We'll have to wait and see if everyone understood the lesson, but it seems that at least one person did - just as they reached the top of the climb, Andy Schleck abandoned race-winning theory and resorted to brute strength - and it worked for him too! He literally shot out of the group and surged ahead of them, soon building an enormous gap and crossed the line in third place. Other than Evans, who eventually gave chase, nobody could respond - most notably, Contador who took sixth place a good few bike lengths later.

Tomorrow, we're back down in the flatlands again and the climbers will take a back seat - but then it's mountains again for Stages 16, 17, 18 and 19. With a bit of luck, we'll see some riders trying out the Vanendert Method - and that means the racing is going to be a lot more fun from the spectators' point of view.

How did Vanendert win? Easy - he rode
his bike faster than anyone else rode
theirs.

Last word: It seems to us that Andy Schleck's main problem, other than obsessing about Contador, isn't lack of form or that famous niceness which his father says stops him having the killer instinct that is needed to win - he proved with that stupendous burst of speed that got him into third that he has all the form he needs and the way he deliberately winds up Contador shows he's not as nice as he pretends. It's his timing: every time an apparently-faultless plan goes to pot, as it does so often with him, it's because he timed something wrong - attacking too early, attacking too late, driving his team to hard at too early a point or being at Point A when he should have been at Point B 30 seconds ago.

It's often said - because it's true - that every time the Plateau de Beille has been used in the Tour, the winner of the that stage also won the overall General Classification. That's just chance, it's not a guarantee - and there's still al long way and a lot of climbing before we get to Paris. If Andy, more than anyone else, experiments with trusting his instincts instead of what the spreadsheets suggest, this Tour might still be his - the top contenders may be well-matched, but it looked at the end of the stage that he might just have a very slight edge.

Stage 14 results:

1. VANENDERT Jelle 5h 13' 25"  
2. SANCHEZ Samuel + 00' 21"
3. SCHLECK Andy + 00' 46"
4. EVANS Cadel + 00' 48"
5. URAN Rigoberto 
6. CONTADOR Alberto
7. VOECKLER Thomas
8. SCHLECK Frank
9. PERAUD Jean-Christophe
10. ROLLAND Pierre (4-10 all same time)


Overall General Classification following Stage 14:

1. VOECKLER Thomas 61h 04' 10"  
2. SCHLECK Frank + 01' 49"
3. EVANS Cadel + 02' 06"
4. SCHLECK Andy + 02' 15"
5. BASSO Ivan + 03' 16"
6. SANCHEZ Samuel + 03' 44"
7. CONTADOR Alberto + 04' 00"
8. CUNEGO Damiano + 04' 01"
9. DANIELSON Tom + 05' 46"
10. DE WEERT Kevin + 06' 18"


Points: Mark Cavendish; Climber: Jelle Vanendert; Youth: Rigoberto Uran; Team: LeopardTrek; Combative: Sandy Casar.

Tour de France: Stage 14 Preview

The Tour arrives at Plateau de Beille, 2007.

Stage 14 is the last one in the Pyrenees for 2011, but by 'eck it's a good one, not too long at 168.5km but with approximately 5500m total vertical gain to ensure the riders earn their post-race pasta. The finish line comes after a Hors-Categorie climb to the Plateau de Beille, a ski resort 1780m above sea level. Nowadays, Plateau de Beille in winter is full of ultra-modern BMWs, Bentleys and Range Rovers but it wasn't always like that - people were living here more than 14,000 years ago, as proven by the cave paintings dating from the Magdalenian Period during the Upper Palaeolithic. Herds of cows roam freely about the area and may decide to mess things up by standing about on the roads.

What's more, there are no less than five categorised climbs to be tackled on the way - and two of them are hefty Cat 1s, challenging ascents in their own right. Then there's a pair of Cat 2s, both reaching over 1000m and thus plenty high enough to get the lungs burning; and just before the final climb a respectable little Cat 3 in the form of Port de Lers, which is only 3.8km at 5.5% but, as it piggy-backs on Cat 1 Col d'Agnes, is still 1517m above sea level at its highest point, making it much harder than it would be if it started at sea level.

Soueich.
(Image by Christian Roucheux, used with thanks
and in accordance with the conditions set out here.)

The action kicks off in Saint-Gaudens, a town of about 12,000 souls which has been a stage town 12 times before today and is the home of the Sunn mountain bike and BMX manufacturer and the birthplace of former AG2R rider Laurent Estadieu, winner of a Tour de Somme in 2001. As we leave on the D5 road, we soon come to Soueich, a village with a population of about 500. There isn't much other than vowels in Soueich, but what's there is pretty - the village and its church line the banks of the river and have the picturesque charm of  unspoiled, not particularly wealthy rural France.

The village of Aspet marks the beginning of the Col de Portet-d'Aspet, today's first mountain, reaching 1062m with an average gradient of 9.7%. First used along with Tourmalet and d'Aubisque in 1910, this is the mountain that claimed Fabio Casartelli when he and other riders crashed in a high-speed descent in 1995. The Italian, who was only 24-years-old, hit his head on the concrete barrier and sustained horrific head and facial injuries. Following three cardiac arrests, he died in the helicopter en route to hospital. Two years later, the Youth classification in the Tour was renamed in his honour. The point where the tragedy took place is marked by a sundial aligned so that the sun highlights the dates of his birth, his death and the day he won an Olympic gold medal. Raymond Poulidor was very nearly killed nearby 22 years earlier when he crashed off the road and plunged into a ravine.

The chateau near Saint-Lary is a very fine example of a real castle rather than a large house and the beautiful village should not be missed either. Orgibet is even better, but suffers somewhat from being so pretty that most of the houses have been bought by people from the cities and abroad, pricing locals out of the market. Orgibet is also the start of the intermediate sprint which ought to be an interesting one as it's twisty and not flat - also, since Cavendish and the majority of the sprint specialists are liable to be somewhere at the back after the Col de Portet-d'Aspet, it'll probably be left open for others to go for the points. 3.5km further on, Aucuzein has some interesting buildings including a Templar chapel and a ruined castle.

Audressein is the location of a  UNESCO World Humanity site, the Notre-Dame-de-Tramesaygues which was - and still is, in fact - an important point for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela , a journey which these days is as popular among hippies as it is among the devoutly religious and was the subject of "Spanish Steps - Travels with my Donkey," written by the same Tim Moore who wrote "French Revolutions," one of the very best books about the Tour de France.

Soon, the parcours reaches the second climb, 1395m Cat 1 Col de la Core. It's not especially steep at 5.7%, but the full 14.1km will do a good job of tiring the less strong riders out which in turn will see that they suffer on the climbs to come. 13km from the summit is Seix with the ruined Chateau de Mirabat on one hill and the complete Chateau de Seix on another. It's also the location of the feeding station.  From Seix, it's another 17.5km to the next climb, Cat 2 1110m Col de Latrape. The climb is only 5.6km but the gradient is 7.2%. Then,  passing through Aulus-les-Bains on the way, it's just 15km to the Cat 1 Col d'Agnes which is 10km long, 1570m high and has a gradient of 8.2% - verging on Hors-Categorie and one of the most famous of the Cat 1 climbs. As if that's not bad enough, there's a secondary climb piggy-backing on the side: Port de Lers which carries the road back up to over 1500m again. It's worth pressing on though, because one over this one it's downhill all the way for the next 25km. Near Aulus-les-Bains is the famous Cascade d'Ars, a waterfall which is an hour's walk from the village and well within range for the helicopters.

Cascade d'Ars

Just over 10km from the summit of Port de Lers is the village of Vicdessos, where a fairly tricky junction between the D18 and D8 needs to be tackled. According to (probable) legend, hunters observed a woman running naked on the mountainsides here in 1808. When they succeeded in trapping her, they found that she behaved like a trapped wild animal and was apparently unable to speak - until, that is, someone asked her how she had avoided being eaten by the bears which were then common in the area. "The bears are my friends!" she exclaimed, in perfect French. It is said that she died soon afterwards due to her inability to adjust to captivity. Somewhat more solid than this story are the ruins of Château de Montréal which stand above the village.

Tarascon

Tarascon, 7km north west, is home to an ancient defensive tower (called the Le Castella and as such perhaps once part of a fort) on a rocky outcrop. More recently, it's been put to good use by the addition of a large clock. Ussat, 2km further down, has a spring providing mineral water said by those who prefer to make stuff up and pretend its true rather than believe in facts to be an effective preventative or cure for all types of paralysis. Ornolac-Ussat-les-Bains, a spa half a kilometre way, has a large cave system - the biggest chamber is open to the public and would be able to swallow Notre-Dame Cathedral with room to spare.

The route then continues along the N20 via Sinsat - which really ought to be an "adult entertainment" TV channel rather than a tiny village - and then via a nice, straight-forward junction at Aulos along the D522 to Les Cabannes with two or three tricky corners and bends required to get onto the road southbound to the start of the 15.8km climb to Plateau de Beille. Once on the mountain, there are several switchbacks as the road gains altitude - these add a further challenge as although they reduce the average gradient, the small sections at the bends where the road moves up to the next section are much steeper.

Plateau de Beille in the winter.

The final kilometre is both uphill and twisty, with a right-hander in the final 500m to make sprints to the end difficult - though mass sprints are exceedingly unlikely after that climb, anyway - and possible further complications depending on how organisers are routing the race around the car parking at the top.

Predictions: We were completely wrong yesterday - but then, so were a lot of people: hardly anyone at all thought that sprinter Thor Hushovd would win a stage like that one - so let's see what we can do today. Whether or not either of them win will have to remain to be seen, but the Schlecks are very obviously going to be gunning for this stage. Frank is a natural choice and if Andy can get over his Contador obsession he might just surprise the critics; assuming, that is, that we're correct in our suspicions that he hasn't lost the excellent form he was in last year. Then there's Contador himself, who certainly shouln't be written off just yet - never write off Contador - who is in seventh place overall and could take a lot of points today if he's feeling good and fortune is on his side. Cadel Evans is an all-rounder, which often means a rider does well on all stages but excels in none - but that doesn't apply to him. He's a strongman and though a little stockier than most of the purebred climbers he might do well here if he puts his mind to it. Don't forget Euskaltel-Euskadi who might fancy a last shot at glory before the Tour leaves their territory: Sammy Sanchez won a mountain stage two days ago and, buoyed up by that success, might feel lucky today.

Weather: It's looking rather pleasant for Saint-Gaudens this morning - there's likely to be a bit of light cloud about later in the morning, and while there's a 20% chnce of rain at some point today it's far more likely this afternoon once the Tour is gone. The wind is variable but very light, having little or no effect either way on the race, and the temperature ideal for cycling at 16C. There'll be no change after the first 20km when the race reaches the Razecueillé area, nor at Aucazein after 40km, but conditions at altitude can change rapidly so things might be different at Col de Portet-d'Aspet (26.5km) and Col de la Core (62.5km). The area around Seix will be much the same as the start, but the wind may have picked up a little though still not enough to affect the race. The same is true of Aulus-les-Bains (100km), Vicdessos (130km) and Sinsat (150km), but it could reach as high as 27C through these areas, making the race tougher. Once again, the weather may change rapidly on the mountain passes through this region. It looks set to be good on Plateau de Beille, temperatures around 21C and wind speeds of 14kmph shouldn't affect things too much.

DEVIL WATCH: Now you're asking - he could show his horned head just about anywhere today because the entire route is riddled with the climbs that are his preferred haunting grounds. We thought Col d'Aubisque would be the most likely spot in Stage 13 but saw nothing of him - however, with the mist and huge crowds, that doesn't mean he wasn't there somewhere. For Stage 14, somewhere on the steep slopes up to Plateau de Beille seem a good option and we'll be keeping a careful eye out for him there.

Tour de France: Stage 11 Preview

Stage 11 is another of those which, like yesterday, at first glance appear to exist only to fill time and because transporting a load of cyclists and their bikes by train would be boring TV: it's flat (even flatter than yesterday) and it's not especially long. However, we do have some technical sections today, including a number of tight bends and various obstructions, plus - this being the Tour de France - there's some impressive scenery and the usual chateaux and suchlike dotted about the place for when the race does enter a transitional section where nothing much happens.

The start is Blaye-les-Mines, acting as a stage town for the first time. It's just to the south west of Carmaux (yesterday's finish) and has a similar history, having expanded rapidly to take advantage of the coal deposits in the area. The ready access to fuel also brought the town to the attention of the Nazis in World War 2, but they didn't get it all their own way and met with opposition - the socialist mayor, Augustin Malroux, is said to have been the first man from the département of Tarn to join La Résistance. When caught, he was deported to Belsen-Bergen where he died on the 10th of April, 1945.

During the 20th Century, as old mining methods were replaced with open cast, an enormous pit was opened - by the time mining stopped at the site, it was over a kilometre wide. The crater now houses Cap'Découverte, a vast leisure centre with numerous facilities including cycling tracks around the crater walls - it's a pity that the stage does not travel this way today, because it would have made for a novel section.

As it is, the parcours heads in the opposite direction, north west along the D73 which, being almost perfectly straight for the first 4.5km, seems likely ground for an early breakaway attempt. However, like all French roads with the "D" prefix, it's extremely high quality with a smooth surface and like yesterday will encourage the peloton to build up to an impressively high rate of knots too, so whether a breakaway is possible - and if it is, whether or not it can achieve and maintain a significant gap - remains to be seen. The most probable course of events will be a repeat of what happened in Stage 10: a few hopefuls will give it a go but fail, then a successful lead group will form later. If you're watching on television, we recommend you keep an eye out for Monestiés an undiscovered jewel of a village which would have served perfectly as a location in a Claude Berri film - and if you're not, have a look on Google Earth (44° 4'14.72"N 2° 5'46.74"E).

At Monestiés we join the D91 via a series of fairly complicated bends and tight corners. If no breakaway has formed thus far, expect it to do so on this road once the technical section has passed. If it has, there's every likelihood of chase groups forming. There are a number of other small towns and villages along the way, none of particular note but all very attractive in the way that small French towns and villages are.

Cordes-sur-Ciel

Do not miss Cordes-sur-Ciel, 15km on from Monestiés, as it's one of the most spectacular sights anyway along the route of this year's Tour. A medieval fortified town, many of its buildings are clustered together on a rocky hill which commands the local countryside. having successfully resisted most attempts to overthrow it through the centuries there are a large number of preserved medieval buildings within its walls.

After 28.5km we reach the day's first climb, a 3.6km section with gradients up to 4.9% - not steep, but rated Category 3 and thus offering two points to whoever is first over it. There are some more tight bends as the route takes the D15 heading south towards Vaour where there are a number of ancient dolmens in the woods. The largest is Peyrelevade, but since it's partially buried - as some archaeologists believe all dolmens to have originally been - there's not much to see from the air. Those that are not buried are small and unlikely to be seen from the helicopters. There is also a 12th Century commandery connected with the Knights Templar which, since Dan Brown brought the Templars to the attention of the general public (or a fictionalised, make-believe version, at any rate), is an obvious helicopter camera operator's target.

A few of these buggers
chasing the peloton would
liven things up a bit.

After a few kilometres we swing west and follow the D28 as it skirts the huge Forêt domaniale de Grésigne, a forest covering around a thousand acres, mostly uninhabited by humans. As the French government is not as idiotic as the British government, it looks set to remain state-owned and will continue to be maintained as a nature reserve providing a home for, among other species, wild cats, genets (a cat-like animal), wild boar and eagle owls. The route changes onto the D1 as it negotiates a large bend in the Tarn river which is located to the north of the road and another big open cast mine to the south, then swaps once again onto the D964 towards Larroque and, 16km onwards, to the feeding station which is 76km from the start just past  Castelnau-de-Montmiral.

Do you have a mental list of "Places I'm Going To Live In In
France When I Win The Lottery" which changes several
times in every stage of the Tour? Castelnau-de-Montmiral has
just replaced the Jade Coast (Stage 2) at the top of mine.

Which, incidentally, you also don't want to miss. Castelnau-de-Montmiral has long been ranked among the most beautiful villages in France and has many fine medieval buildings and fortified manor houses within its boundaries. Surrounding the village are more dolmens, evidence of a local culture from much, much longer ago.

After another 9km, the riders reach the intermediate sprint at Gaillac, which has an impressive abbey and was once the home of Albert Camus. The D964 is mostly very straight, but there are some sharp bends at Graulhet as the parcours makes use of the D84 and D631 to join with the D83. A large town of about 12,500 inhabitants, Graulhet's name comes from the Occitan word for frog (graulhas), frogs being extremely common in the wetlands that characterise the surrounding countryside, those of the correct species no doubt being put to good culinary use over two thousand years that there has been a town here. One aspect of the town especially worth experiencing is the medieval district centred on the Rue Panessac.

15km on is Lautrec, situated at a tricky bend in the road and which also has several medieval buildings and a 17th Century windmill on the slopes of a mound topped by a cross in the centre of the village. The route then swings south west along the D92 and, via some more technical bends at Vielmur-sur-Agout, to the second and final categorised climb of the stage: Cat 4 Côte de Puylaurens. The gradient is only 3.8%, but it extends over 4.2km and, as the riders will by now have completed over 135km, is plenty enough to get the knees complaining. The D92 between Vielmur-sur-Agout and Puylaurens looks fairly straight on the Tour de France website map, but in reality it has several bends as it negotiates fields and woodlands and tiny hamlets, all of which ere presumably already here when the road was built. Several sections qualify as the rural tree-lined avenues, the natural habitat of the Citroen DS, which are always a defining memory of driving holidays in France.

Lavaur's cathedral.

At Puylaurens we swap by means of an uncomplicated junction onto the D84 which turns north and swings about the fields for around 10km Saint-Paul-Cap-de-Joux (St. Paul the yarmulke?) on the banks of the Tarn river. The transition onto the D112 should be problem-free as should the next 15km into Lavaur where we'll see teams jockeying for position at the front of the peloton while sending out domestiques to capture any escapees still riding out in front. The final section in Lavaur looks reasonably easy-going, flat without sharp bends and the ideal place for a high-speed sprint to the line. Lavaur is a town very much in love with cycling - it has a large cycloparc featuring facilities for cyclists of various disciplines - so expect a warm welcome and a party atmosphere, helped no end by the festivities planned for this evening to mark the Tour's arrival (including a band with a name translated by Google as the "Well Good Jazz" band. So classy, the French - even the chavs are into jazz).

Stage 12 profile - ought to shake up the General Classification
somewhat. And, with a bit of luck, put the Schleck brothers at
the top of the list.

Predictions: Let's see - a fairly straight, flat sprint to the finish? Does the name "Mark Cavendish" spring to mind? Basically, unless anything goes wrong today - and on such an undemanding course it shouldn't - we really can't see how anyone other than the Manx Missile could win this stage. If so, it'll be his last one for a while. have you seen the profile for tomorrow?

Weather: Looks like more rain, unfortunately - it's scattered showers around Blaye-les-Mines, Cordes-sur-Ciel, Vaour, Bruniquel, Gaillac, Lautrec, Puylaurens and Lavaur - so at least we ought to have a few dry sections. The twisty bits might prove slippery, but with gentle winds the weather shouldn't cause problems.

DEVIL WATCH: On the D92 just before Lautrec - the wooded valley looks like a good spot for a bit of roadside devilment.