Stage 12 of the 2017 Tour de France will cover 214.5kms from Pau to Peyragudes. This will be the longest stage in the Pyrenees, but it’s not just the length making this a difficult stage—it’s the climbs. The day starts with a cat-4 before the intermediate sprint at 94kms in Loures-Barousse. Then, there are 5 more climbs including the HC Port de Bales and the conclusion in Peyragudes.
Here are the stats on the climbs:
• Km 64.0 – Côte de Capvern (7.7kms; 3.1%)—cat 4
• Km 111.5 – Col des Ares (7.4kms; 4.6%)—cat 2
• Km 139.5 – Col de Menté (6.9kms; 8.1%)—cat 1
• Km 184.0 – Port de Balès (11.7kms; 7.7%)—HC
• Km 209.5 – Col de Peyresourde (9.7kms; 7.8%)—cat 1
• Km 214.5 – Peyragudes (2.4kms; 8.4%)—cat 2
This should be a day of strategy and attacks. A sprinter wanting to gain any points on the day needs to get into the early break to score during the intermediate sprint as most others will likely be in the gruppetto by the end of the day. They will then have to be tactical to finish within the time cut. In terms of GC, it will be interesting to see which contenders use this grueling series of climbs to their advantage.