A third hard day in the mountains will face the riders on Stage 12 of the 2015 Tour de France as they tackle 195kms from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille.
The intermediate sprint occurs early—20kms in in Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges. After this, the sprinters will probably be at the back of the pack for the rest of the day as the road tilts upward for the 4 categorized 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
Col de Portet d’Aspet, while short, is the second-steepest mountain in this year’s Tour and is just the start to what’s sure to be an incredibly tough day, especially if it’s as hot as Stage 11! However, anyone wanting to do any damage will attack on the final climb—the Plateau de Beille, first introduced to the Tour in 1998. It is here I am guessing anyone who has anything left will try to gain back some time on their rivals.