Tour de France: Stage 19 Preview

A very short stage today at just 109.5km, but with more than enough climbing to keep even the most sadistic of fans entertained: for the second time this year the peloton will be tackling the mighty Galibier with its 16.7km Hors-Categorie grind up to 2556m. Of course, the team medics would be most unimpressed were their charges to attempt tackling that without a few warm-up exercises; so the organisers have thoughtfully thrown in an 11.9km Category 1 ascent of Col du Télégraphe within the first 30km. Oh, and there's a second HC climb of 13.8km reaching 1850m up to the summit of Alpe d'Huez at the end of the stage too, just to get the riders relaxed and ready for their beds.

The Savoyan flag

The stage begins in the heart of the Savoie region, part of the now-defunct nation of Savoy that once straddled the Franco-Swiss-Italian borders and which had the longest-surviving Royal dynasty in Europe; beginning with Humbert I in 1003 and still with us in somewhat reduced circumstances today. Savoy started as a poor and undeveloped area, but its ruling class became skilled at exercising tight control over what was transported through the high mountain passes and extracting money from those involved in such activities. Today, Savoy has a small separatist movement with surveys suggesting between 40 and 55% of the population support devolution from France and Italy and the re-establishment of their nation on its traditional territory. Thus, it's often possible to spot a few Savoyan flags (Savoyan if the official demonym; the more common Savoyard is informal and shouldn't be applied to the flag, though most people probably rightly wouldn't care) waving among the spectators when the Tour visits this region.

La Maison Penchée

Modane lies at the foot of a wide, green valley and is almost contiguous with Saint-André and Villabordin-Rogret to the west and east. Home to around 4000 people who have been Italian at various points in the town's history as well as French and Savoyard; belying the strategic importance of the area and explaining the large number of fortifications dating from medieval times to WW2 dotted around the town and high up into the surrounding mountains. The most famous of these is La Maison Penchée: a concrete bunker designed to house explosives should the Mont-Cenis tunnel need to be blown up if war broke out. Towards the end of WW2, the Nazis blew up the tunnel to hamper future Allied movements. The explosion blew the bunker - which remained intact - more than 30m and it ended up partially buried where it still stands today.

Things are very different in Europe since the EU and nowadays crossing borders between constituent states rarely even requires a passport, so Modane has grown wealthy from the tourists who base themselves here due to the easy access to the Alps of France and Italy - usefully providing employment for those residents who are not cut out for work in the particle physics research laboratories in the area. We leave the town along the D1006 heading west, a non-technical stretch of road sandwiched between the river to the north and railway tracks to the south with a large roundabout on the western perimeter. Another roundabout marks the little hamlet of Freney, home to 85 people, and the large industrial site stuck right next door - if there's one thing the French love, it's an industrial site placed slap in the middle of an area of great natural beauty. A third - insanely complex - roundabout with six exits and a fly-over carries the peloton onwards, the road sharing the river bank with the A43 and passing by a rocky gorge, more industry and a little village named La Praz - the site of the pretty and unmistakably alpine Villa Paul Héroult. Just to the south, Pointe de la Sandoniere reaches almost 2900m.

Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, artfully cropped so as not to
show the aluminium works which bring prosperity and
ugliness in equal parts to the town.

Soon, we come to a section where the road tackles an artificial lake by way of a wide causeway before continuing crosswise over the dam and up a slipway leading into the long Tunnel d'Orelle, emerging some way on and travelling below the A43 for a while. Soon, it veers north and into Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne. The village is attractive enough, but tourists are a little dissuaded by the enormous aluminium works on the edge of town - even if the owners do provide funds for the doubtless fascinating museum devoted to the history of the metal which is located in the town.  However, we're disappointingly not going to see it today as after 14km the parcours turns south-west via a sharp but uncomplicated corner onto the D902 - a road also known, ominously, as the Rue du Galibier - taking us immediately into Saint-Martin d'Arc; passing through on a sweeping road as it begins to rise before reaching the next village, La Ravoire, where the first climb begins in earnest.

Fort du Telegraphe

The Col du Télégraphe, with an average gradient of 7.1% (maximum 10%) is climbed by means of 14 hairpin switchbacks on a road that visits several tiny and picturesque hamlets along the way before reaching a high ridge south of the Fort du Télégraphe which stands at almost 1600m and commands the valley roads far below. The site was originally occupied by an optical telegraphy station - a method by which a chain of towers are used to pass coded messages from one station to the next by means of symbols formed by articulated arms, similar to semaphore - which gave the Col its name, with the fort built between 1896 and 1890. As such, it lacks the charm of a medieval fortress but is nevertheless an imposing structure. The site has come full circle, for today the fort is topped by a collection of communications masts. The highest point comes 26.5km from the start.

The road follows the ridge for a while, offering views best described as stupendous, then reaches the tiny village called Le Col that has grown up chiefly on the money spent by the cyclists and motorcyclists who come up here and passes Les Granges, which consists largely of chalets for skiers but also has a tiny, picturesque chapel with a single bell. 4.5km onwards and over 100m downwards from the Col is Valloire which has grown to become the largest skiing resort in the Maurienne region, but unlike most ski centres the town has managed to retain much of its traditional alpine appearance and Savoyard character. There are, of course, many modern chalets; but there are much older buildings located about the town too, such as the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption which can be described as sumptuously decorated even by the standards of Baroque churches. There is also a ruined Chateau Saint-Pierre, but little remains of it.

As soon as Valloire is left behind, the parcours in on the slopes of the Col du Galibier; climbing today from the opposite direction to Andy Schleck's incredible winning ride yesterday and this side is rated considerably harder. The road travels south for a while, connecting an assortment of villages, before turning left and then right as it crosses a bridge over the rock-strewn stream. It then stays fairly level until a pair of hairpins take it up 20m or so, then begins to climb more rapidly on the approach to a small bridge near a barn where it turns south-east. A series of wide bends takes it between high cliffs which look a little like those along the Casse Deserte yesterday and towards a switchback combined with a bridge where the altitude reaches 2000m.

Col du Galibier

From here, the climbing really begins as a series of hairpins carries the road up to a ridge, which continues onwards and upwards. A final set of seven hairpins brings the Tour to the summit. Plenty of riders - especially the sprinters - will be wishing it was yesterday at this point: they may ridden much further to get here yesterday, but at least once they were here the stage was over. They'll take some comfort from the fact that they're going through the tunnel today, past the Henri Desgrange memorial where a wreath will be placed as it is every time the Tour comes this way, so they don't have to climb as high as yesterday. Those riders not so comfortable with fast descents will be wishing it was all over too because the road back down Galibier is steep and almost 40km long, twisting and turning about several tricky switchbacks as it picks its way precariously downwards to the junction with the D1091 - which we take - just east of an alpine plants botanic garden.

La Grave

The route heads west again, around two steep hairpins and into a long descent through the valley towards Villar-d'Arêne, 63.5km from the start line. More hairpins carry us downwards towards the tunnel which brings us out to La Grave which, with its 12th Century church and stunning location, has been voted as one of the beautiful villages in France and it truly is a stunning place with a perfect cafe that serves the best coffee in France - inhabited whilst I was there by three German goths whom, so far as I could gather, had driven in an ancient Mercedes from Frankfurt simply because of the village's name and were somewhat disappointed at the cheerful prettiness of the place. The excellence of the coffee, however, was sufficient to perk even them up.

The parcours continues downhill to the Lac du Chambon and passes through two tunnels on the northern shore before a sharp left hand corner takes it along the dam at the western side, then around an outcrop and down through the forest into Le Freney-d'Oisans, at which point there is 25.5km to go. The road out clings to the side of a near-vertical cliff, passing through a tunnel and past a look-out which offers stunning views up the valley before climbing up, around and back down a rocky promontory overlooking another artificial lake and Le Clapier, which is reached by means of a bridge over the dam's outflow. Immediately north of the village in the Alpe d-Huez, rising rapidy from the lake to over 2100m.

The 21 hairpins en route to the summit
of Alpe d'Huez.

After Le Clapier, the road becomes almost poker straight and level for a little over 3km and, were it not for the scenery and the fact that it's today's intermediate sprint, would be rather boring. This is a sprint that both Mark Cavendish and Jose Joaquin Rojas could really do with winning - it would go a long way to securing victory for Mark and could earn victory for Jose in the points competition - but chances of either man getting here in time to pick up any points at all are so marginal they may as well be ignored. It soon reaches a roundabout at Le Bourg-d'Oisans where the riders turn right onto the D211, beginning the ascent of Alpe d'Huez.

The Alpe acts as a stage finish this year for the first time since 2008, having been unusually absent on the schedule for the two years up until now, and makes a welcome return. Getting to the top takes in an incredible 21 hairpins, each named after riders who have won a stage there - though since 2001 it's become necessary to start adding the names of recent winners to those who gave their names to the lower bends in years gone by - that year, the lowest hairpin became known as the Coppi-Armstrong. As one of the most famous climbs in the Tour there is guaranteed to be vast crowds of spectators along this section, all hoping to see the rider who, upon winning this stage, may also win the Tour.

Cadel's turn to win today?

Predictions: This afternoon, another hairpin on the climb up Alpe d'Huez will be renamed - but will it be named in honour of Evans or a Schleck? In fact, Frank Schleck already has one named after him, since he won here in 2006 - is it possible that either he or Andy will give the family name to another? In Frank's case, it's actually quite likely - he had a relatively easy ride yesterday, sheltering behind Cadel and Voeckler while Andy was out at the front busying himself with winning the stage, then got into gear and scooted past them to take second place; so he's going to have a lot more left in him today than many other riders. For Andy, it's not so likely - he may be one of the greatest riders in of recent years, but mounting an attack 60km from the finish and then working it all the way up another two HC mountains is going to take a lot out of anyone, even him. But one thing we all learned yesterday is that nobody should ever write him off: the entire cycling press had given up on him for this Tour, and then he scored not just a stage win but one of the best stage wins since the days of Eddy Merckx.

Cadel worked hard yesterday, pulling himself and Thomas Voeckler all the way up Galibier; but he's a strong rider and looking better than ever this year which puts him in a better position than anyone else to defeat the Schlecks. His style is the complete opposite of theirs, brute strength to their almost balletic grace, but they are equally matched in terms of ability. As a wildcard, how about Contador? He's not going to be at all pleased about his ride yesterday, during which he appeared to crack and was unable to respond to his Luxembourger rival. But Contador has up days and down days - if he's having an up day today, there might not be anyone who can catch him.

Weather: Another nice day, by the looks of things - sunny and warm at the start (up to 23 degrees C) and manageable winds over most of the course. At the Col du Telegraphe it'll drop to about 10 degrees, but an east wind of no more than 10kmph will prevent it being too uncomfortable. Galibier is a different matter being so much higher, expect a north wind of 15-20kmph here which, with ambient temperatures of 9 degrees, will make it feel decidedly chilly. On the other side, the valleys will be much warmer with highs up to 26 degrees. Stronger winds up to 30kmph from the north-west may cause problems, acting as cross - and headwinds over some sections. Alpe d'Huez should be fine, plenty of sun and though temperatures are likely to be no more than 10 degrees at the summit. a 15kmph wind from the south-east will prevent it becoming too cold.

DEVIL WATCH: There's really no need for discussion today - he'll be on one of those hairpins going up Alpe d'Huez. Remember, all you goodly folk - if you see tridents painted on the road, the Devil lurketh somewhere nearby.

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 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 12 Preview

Ladeeeeeezangennulmun!
It gives me much pleasure to announce that the Tour de France 2011 starts today, rumours of its earlier birth being greatly exaggerated. All that stuff you've been watching for the last week and a half round Vendee, Brittany, Tarn and so on was just an extended prologue and the real competition begins today!

Alright, that's not strictly true - the first eleven stages have been absolute classics with top-notch racing and superb scenery, plus calling the a prologue would belittle the tragedies (Wiggins, Vinokourov, Zabriskie etc.), downplay the heroics (Hoogerland, Flecha) and ignore the high-speed skill (Cavendish, Costa) which, as is the case in every Tour, have been dished out with a shovel.

Meanwhile, it's fair to say that today brings such a change that we are beginning a race within a race, a test to find the world's best grimpeur who shall be crowned the King of the Mountains. In the coming days, the sprinters will be all but forgotten as attention turns to the climbing specialists: Contador, the Schlecks, Evans and the Euskaltel-Euskadi boys, because today brings the first of the high mountains.

After the last two stages, which have primarily been intended to transfer the remaining riders between two points, today is not an easy day at all. In fact, it could accurately be described as bloody difficult. Those first 119km up to the intermediate sprint are almost entirely straight, though there are one or two awkward tight bends chucked in, like the one as the D3 passes through Saint-Clar-de-Rivière 12.5km from the startline - just to keep everyone awake, but let's not forget the parcours rises over 400m.

That's actually quite demoralising, because it makes your knees hurt but it's not enough of a gradient to look like a climb should a rider look back. On a big, bad high-gradient climb, your knees feel like someone's injected molten steel into the articular capsules, but at least you can look back and draw strength from the sense of sheer achievement. Today, just as some riders' knees are beginning to hurt they'll look back and it'll seem they've been riding in the flatlands - and when they look forward, they'll see all 1538m of Hourquette d'Ancizan. Which they have to ride up. And that dissolves will like a marshmallow in nitric acid.

Cugnaux is a vibrant town with some 16,000 inhabitants. The name is derived from that of a tool used to split wood, reflecting the occupation of many locals in the medieval period before the forests that once covered the landscape here were all chopped down and replaced with the arable farmlands now found among the several large urban centres nearby. The town hit French headlines in 2007 when it adopted a new law banning anyone who did not have a burial plot reserved for them from dying within the municipal area and threatening anyone sufficiently inconsiderate as to do so with harsh penalties. It's also the home of three chateaux - Cassagnère, Hautpoul and Maurens.

Gers is characterised by fertile, rolling terrain. Backdrop provided by the Haute-Pyrenees.

22km onward is Rieumes, an attractive town unfortunately connected with the distinctly unattractive "sport" of bull-fighting. Luckily for us, the Tour will be flashing through on the D3 and so we won't have to see any animals being slowly tortured for the entertainment of supposed human beings. As the riders pass through, they enter a forested section and the department of Gers which is home to around 185,300 people but is host to some 890,000 tourists every year - as might be suggested by these statistics, the scenery is not unpleasant. We're not there for long, however, soon moving into Haute-Garonne.

There are a number of villages either side of the parcours as we head towards Ciadoux, 65.5km from the start, but none are of particular note. Nevertheless, this is rural France and there will be chateaux, along with - no doubt - huge bicycles and stuff made out of hay and assorted farm detritus in the fields along the way. Ciaodoux itself is a pleasant enough village, standing on a low hill and offering the riders their first glimpse of the Pyrenees looming in the second half of the stage. It also marks the end of the D3, forcing them to negotiate a sharp right hand corner onto the D635 and then, after a kilometre and a half, a left onto the D17 at Rebirechioulet. The latter looks set to be quite a technical section - although it's an obtuse angle, generally easier than a sharp, acute bend - it's quite a complicated junction due to an irregularly-shaped section right in the middle (43°15'52.08"N 0°42'44.65"E) and may account for a rider or two.

As the riders complete their 73rd kilometre, they come to the village of Blajan with its somewhat dejected-looking church. It's a small one, but attractive in a "faded grandeur" sort of way. It represents the village rather well - Blajan isn't much, but what it is is unpretentious and likable. Nizan-Gesse, 5km on, is similar but trumps its neighbour for location - it sits at the bottom of a shallow valley with woodland along the hills either side and some impressive houses among the trees. What really gives the place an edge, though, is the views to the south: more of the same rolling countryside and patches of trees, finished off perfectly with a backdrop of the Haute-Pyrenees - and we cross into the department of the same name after the next 16km.

Lannemezan, at 101.5km from the start, makes two very impressive claims to fame. One is that it's hosting today's feeding station, the other is that its Town Hall was the very first to appear in the online virtual world Second Life. Once a thriving, wealthy place, Lannemezan fell upon hard times during the last 40 years as the heavy industry upon which it relied declined but since 2007 there have been many positive signs suggesting that the town is on the way back up as it begins to attract high-tech industry.

Le Chateau des Nestes

A few kilometres on is Izaux, famous for its Roman remains which include a well-preserved villa and then Lortet on the banks of what is unmistakably a mountain river. Next is Hèches, located in a passage through the Pyrenees foothills and famous for the nearby cliffs which are a centre for rock-climbing. 5km further is Sarrancolin, a fortified medieval town and very much the gateway into the Pyrenees. It's also the site for the intermediate sprint today, which extends along the valley floor. Arreau, just down the road, is home to many imposing medieval buildings including le Château des Nestes. Ancizan, 4km further on, is a medieval fortified village.

Very soon, we come to Category 1 Hourquette d'Ancizan, the first real mountain of this Tour. The 9.9km journey to the top rises to 1538m with an average gradient of 7.5%, much of it achieved by means of a complicated series of switchbacks. There is a very high possibility that riders may decide to abandon here. The D918 takes the race back down, passing through several little villages with Gripp being perhaps the most attractive, but this section is all about getting as much rest as possible before the Col du Tourmalet, this year's first Hors-Categorie climb and one of the highest and most notorious points ever visited by the Tour.

The highest road in the Pyrenees, Tourmalet is 17.1km long and with an average gradient of 7.3%, one of the most difficult and testing challenges in the Tour de France with which it has long been linked, having been climbed 79 times since its first appearance in 1910. It is, of course, considered a jewel of the race and being the first to the top brings a lot more than points. Expect to see Alberto Contador and Andy Scheck lock horns as they climb - this is where both men will begin their attempt to win the overall General Classification for the top place on the podium in Paris. Don't miss La Mongie on the way up, a beautiful little village at an altitude of 1800m made rich by winter sports.

Once over, the parcours soon reaches Barèges, the highest spa town in the Pyrenees, which grew up after shepherds tending their flocks on the high slopes noticed that sick sheep would recover after bathing in the water bubbling up from the hot springs. Viella is also attractive, as is Luz-Saint-Sauveur - the location of the Chateau-Sainte-Marie which stands ruined and picturesque above the village.

Chateau-Sainte-Marie

Finally, we reach Luz-Ardiden - another Hors-Categorie climb, this time of 1.3km at a gradient of 7.4% to 1715m. It's often said that the Tour takes all a rider has to give and then it takes the rest, too; this was never truer than on this stage. The majority of the riders are going to be agony as they grind their way up the final summit on their way to the finish line at the top, so keep a careful eye on who performs well and who suffers here - those who do well are contenders to win the Tour.
Predictions: Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador or Andy Schleck - our money's firmly on Andy. Wildcard - Frank Schleck, who appears to be in his best form ever. But don't forget, this is home turf for Euskaltel-Euskadi, the Basque hardmen for whom the Pyrenees are regular training rides.

Weather: At long last, things are looking good - but we're in the mountains now, where the weather can change almost in an instant. At altitudes such as Tourmalet, anything can happen. The wind should remain light, but once again the situation may prove different high up as high mountain stages are always susceptible to wind.

DEVIL WATCH: Where could he possibly show up today other than near the summit of Tourmalet?

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.

Tour de France: Stage 10 Preview

Today's stage, the second shortest if we discount the time trials and final stage in Paris, is called flat on the official Tour de France website. However, a quick look at the profile shows it's not actually very flat at all - in fact, it has four categorised climbs and a number of uncategorised hills thrown in for good measure. No individual climb reaches anywhere near 1000m, but this is still a stage which will severely test those riders who find the mountains difficult. All in all, it's a stage on which a strong breakaway could dominate, but also one which is likely to be won by a strong sprinter.

Kolobnev - doper

Depressing news came during Monday, a rest day - Katusha's Alexandr Kolobnev supplied a sample that tested positive for a banned diuretic known as Hydrochlorothiazide. This drug at first seems an odd one for a cyclist to want to take; it reduces the kidneys' ability to hold water, thus making the user urinate more, and by decreasing blood volume, lowers cardiac output and has a host of known side-effects eminently undesirable to a cyclist. However, it's banned by the UCI due to diuretics being used in cycling and other sports to hasten the passage of tell-tale signs of performance-enhancing drugs in urine, thus allowing a clean sample to be provided sooner than would otherwise be possible.

The 30-year-old Russian voluntarily suspended himself from competition pending the investigation and has been fired by Katusha - which has made a rule stating that any rider who presents a B sample which also proves to be positive will be sacked, so it would appear that such a sample has indeed be provided. He now has four days during which he can mount an appeal, but of that appeal fails and/or the sample again tests positive he will also be fined "five times his salary" according to team rules. At the time of writing, he claims to have no idea how the drug got into the samples provided.

This is depressing because, throughout the world, this is going to be the first Tour news to reach the ears of millions of non-cyclists, many of whom would have remained unaware that the race was even on, thus reinforcing their belief that "all cyclists are on drugs." Few, if any, outside cycling will view it for what it really is - proof that cycling is working hard to eliminate doping and that any professional who does resort to trying to get an unfair advantage over his colleagues will be caught and punished. Every cheat detected should be viewed as a step forward, proof that cycling is working hard to eliminate doping, but in the media it is used to further blacken the sport's reputation.

The start town is Aurillac and the 29,000 Aurillacois (as the locals are called) have had the honour of hosting the start or end of a Tour stage no less than seven times. Aurillac is famous for being the coldest town in France, but in reality it's just the only mountain town included in French National TV weather forecasts. It may, however, be one of the wettest: it's also famous for the manufacture of umbrellas and produces around 50% of all umbrellas sold in France.

That it has been inhabited since ancient times was made evident in 1977 when a Celtic-Roman temple was discovered in the town. By 885 CE is was the site of a Benedicitine monastery, later home to a monk named Gerbert who became Pope Sylvester II in 999 (when he would have been 54 years old - with average life expectancy being considerably shorter, they probably didn't have much choice among octogenarians like they do today). Overlooking the town is the Chateau Saint Etienne, a real castle built with the intention of resisting armed attacks rather than a gateau chateau built to impress rich friends from Paris and all the more imposing for it, begun by the father of Saint Gerald who established the monastery and thus dating (in parts) to about 1,126 years old. Part of the chateau houses a museum of vulcanology and exhibition of mineral deposits collected in the region which is unmissable if - like me - you're a bit of a geology geek and find that sort of thing interesting.

Things start off downhill but we'll only have seen 8km of racing before the parcours takes a kick upwards, rising a hundred metres or so over the next 5km. 8km is more than enough time for a breakaway to form and begin establishing a worthwhile lead, which we fully expect to be the case again during this stage: the intermediate sprint comes early today, starting at the 37.5km point, and it ought to be a fairly simple process for a gang of fast domestiques to build a gap and get the top points while the GC bosses stay in the peloton and and conserve their energy for the final sprint to the finish line. Having said that, if a lead group doesn't form or is caught on the big descent through Rouziers, Quézac and Saint-Etienne-de-Maurs, they're going to find themselves trying to wrestle points away from the Manx Missile. Good luck with that one, lads!

The intermediate sprint is located at the very bottom of the hill so expect some of the highest speeds seen in the race so far as they flash through; a pity, really, as it means we're unlikely to get any helicopter footage of the Église St Sulpice, an unusual medieval church. But, as we've said before, this is primarily a bike race rather than a helicopter tour of French chateaux, churches and villages - though they're all an important part of the greater whole, of course, as are things in fields made of hay bales and tractors - so this is as it should be.

Following another 7km, we come to Bagnac-sur-Cele where the peloton joins the  N122, a fast road passing through forested rolling country and which is almost straight but for some wiggles as it passes a large open-cast mine. The road is wide and well-surfaced, making this about as non-technical as the Tour de France gets and, if we're honest, about as boring too. Luckily for those of us who are watching rather than competing, this section includes the town of Figeac which has a number of interesting features that the helicopters can wander off and have a look at including an enormous reproduction of the Rosetta Stone, L'église Notre-Dame-du-Puy, a pair of mysterious stone obelisks which have never been dated (they look medieval and may have been waymarkers for pilgrims on their way to Saint Jacques de Compostela in Spain) and a nu,ber of medieval houses including one that belonged to the Knights Templar.

Just to the south of Figeac is the first Category 3 climb up to 350m on the D822 road as it crosses the Côte de Figeac. The road here is top quality, so the ascent should be a simple enough matter and the descent very fast indeed - 90kpmh+ is very likely as riders try to get ahead to the next climb, a Cat 4 to 326m at Côte de Loupiac. On the way, we enter the department of Aveyron- the ancient inhabitants of which had a special enthusiasm for dolmens, building over a thousand in the area. Villeneuve, less than 2km further on and the site of the feeding station, has a town hall which is the most stupendously French-looking building imaginable and some very fine medieval architecture including la Porte-Haute and la Tour-Porte Cardalhac - the former was used as a prison, the latter, as suggested by the name (la Tour-Porte = the tower-gate) was one of the entrances through the city walls when it was fortified.

La Tour-Haute and la Tour-Porte Cardalhac. What a lot of towers in this preview - if any Freudians would like to provide an explanation, please write your thoughts on a stamped, addressed envelope and throw it in the bin.

The route now takes the D922 south to Saint-Rémy and then to Villefranche-de-Rouergue, an attractive town of about 12,000 residents. The medieval heart of the town can be seen very clearly from the air (44°21'8.56"N  2° 2'13.60"E) as a terracotta-coloured, compact area surrounding the church. Note the straight streets and right-angled intersections - Villefranche-de-Rouergue was planned community, laid out according to the example set by Classical Rome when the local lord decided to move it from across the river to its present location - which are a contrast to the more modern parts of the town with streets winding this way and that.

5km further on and we reach the third and biggest climb of the day, which is 4.1km to 512m - translating to a gradient of 5.9% average. There's no let-up once the riders are at the top, though, because after a very short descent they're heading back upwards again; this time to Rieupeyroux at 751m above sea level, the highest point of this stage. There's some reasonably technical twisty bends on the way out of the town, but nothing that should cause any problems, then it's south via a tiny village named La Palousie to La Salvetat-Peyralès which stands among deep, forested valleys which are largely uninhabited.

At around this point, the parcours enters the department of Tarn and a few kilometres later arrives at the base of the day's last climb, Cat 4 Côte de Mirandol-Bourgnounac - the highest point is at Le Bes which is really a collection of large houses separated by fields rather than a village. They all have enormous gardens and, in quite a few cases, swimming pools; so it seems that this is a place for the rich. Next, we travel south through a relatively flat area characterised by large fields to Almayrac and through a forested valley with a small river flowing through it which then enters a lake created by a dam (44° 4'53.09"N 2° 9'0.98"E).

Statue of Jean Jaurès in Carmaux.

The moment we're south of the lake, the landscape becomes visibly more populated, suggesting we're nearing an urban centre - as proves to be the case after another 4.5km when we enter Carmaux, a large town with about 10,500 residents. The town grew rapidly during the late 19th Century due to be located on top of a large coal deposit, much like many towns in Northern England and, again like them, it's perhaps not the prettiest town in the world - though this wasn't helped by economic crises faced from the mid 1970s onwards, from which time the population has fallen by around 4,500 people.

Those years of prosperity left it with many grand buildings, however, along with some beautiful parks and an impressive collection of statues amng them two of Jean Jaurès, a socialist politician who defended Alfred Dreyfus during the "Dreyfus Affair" which, incidentally, led to the birth of the L'Auto newspaper which was originally a bit of a financial failure until it organised a bike race known as the Tour de France in 1903 to increase exposure.

Things are finally on the up again in Carmaux with an economic recovery of full swing - it's also acting as a stage town for the very first time, so expect the civic pride of the Carmausins to result in a festival atmosphere as the stage comes to an end.


Predictions: With a downhill sprint to the end, this could be just about anyone's - especially if a strong breakaway builds up a decebt gao and manages to keep it going. But Mark Cavendish has an ability to pump his legs faster than anyone else: that makes him lightning-quick in a sprint, but it also means that he can keep applying power when others just can't pedal enough to keep up with the RPM - and with one more day before the high mountains, he has limited chances to do what he does so well now. The final kilometres are technical with several tight bends to break up the pack - provided the HTC train can form (and they'll have practiced for this one) it seems likely we'll be in for another Missile launch, and not many finish lines can resist that.

Weather: After days of rain, things are starting to look up - we're not too far from the Mediterranean now, and the sun has come out. That'll drive up temperatures too, with 26 degrees C forecast for Aurillac later on. However, at the time of writing, it's apparently hailing heavily at the start line and spectators are trying to find shelter. Quézac looks set to be OK, though there's a 15% chance of light showers, as does Aveyrac and Villefranche-de-Rouergue. Things may change for the worse in Mirandol-Bourgnounac, meanwhile, where rain is predicted for this afternoon. Very light rain is also forecast for Carmaux later on in the day. The wind will come from the south-east, thus creating crosswinds, but at 10kmph shouldn't cause any problems.

DEVIL WATCH: As ever on flat stages, predicting likely Devil appearances is difficult - he tends to prefer a steep ascent where he can run along at the side of the peloton and offer his unique encouragement. About the most likely spots today would seem to be the Cat 3 climb Côte de Villefranche-de-Rouergue or, perhaps, further uphill on the approach to Rieupeyroux. Don't forget that if you see pitchforks painted on the road surface, the Devil is haunting the roadside verges somewhere nearby.