The final day in the Pyrenees is the most difficult. The route from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille takes in four categorised climbs.
Km 57.5 – Col de Portet-d’Aspet (1 069 m) – 4.3 kilometre-long climb at 9.7% – category 2
Km 93.0 – Col de la Core (1 389 m) – 14.1 kilometre-long climb at 5.7% – category 1
Km 144.0 – Port de Lers (1 517 m) – 12.9 kilometre-long climb at 6% – category 1
Km 195.0 – Plateau de Beille (1 780 m) – 15.8 kilometre-long climb at 7.9% – category H
The first climb of the day is the Col de Portet-d’Aspet, which is only 4.3kms long. However, the steepness of the climb at an average gradient of 9.7% could cause trouble for some riders. If a rider goes out the back here, it’s going to be a long and difficult ride to the finish.
The Col de Portet-d’Aspet is remembered as the descent where Fabio Casartelli tragically died in the Tour twenty years ago after crashing while descending, and the Tour will pay tribute today.
After the Col de Portet-d’Aspet, the riders will then have to negotiate two category one climbs, the Col de la Core and Port de Lers. The climbs have similar profiles, both long but not particularly steep.
The final climb of the day, the Plateau de Beille is where we may see the real action involving the GC contenders. The climb has an average gradient of 7.9% with the first half being the most difficult.
The average gradient in the first five kilometres of the climb is about 9% and could see a lot of riders struggling. If attacks go on the lower slopes, then we could see some significant time gaps emerging between the GC contenders.
