Saturday September 5, the Tour de France attacks the high peaks of the Pyrenees but, beforehand, it takes a break on the flat, this Friday, with a stage reserved for sprinters between Millau (Aveyron) and Lavaur (Tarn).
The departure is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and the arrival, 168 km further, around 5:30 p.m.
Of the dish while waiting for the mountain
It is possible that you will be a little bored in front of your TV by following the route du Tour this Friday.
The stage is likely to resemble that of Wednesday in Privas, the coup de theater of the yellow jersey less.
Before the mountain this weekend, the sprinters have an ideal playground in front of them ...
The Millau viaduct, of course
Open your eyes wide: the Tour starts from Millau and who says Millau, says viaduct.
We only see him, majestic and all white.
Above the Tarn, it rises to 343 m in height for a length of 2460 m.
Inaugurated in 2004, it saved vacationers stranded for decades in the traffic jams and small streets of Millau.
The Tour does not pass above this Friday, but below.
Beautiful images promised.
Lavaur, already a regular at the Tour
This year, the Tour passes through some of the largest cities in France: Nice, Pau, Lyon, Grenoble, Paris… But it also stops in small towns like Lavaur, in the Tarn, and its 11,000 inhabitants.
The Tour has already visited this small city.
The first time was in 2001 and the Belgian Rik Verbrugghe triumphed over a stage starting from Pau.
A certain Lance Armstrong was in yellow.
Ten years later, the Grande Boucle returned for a sprint finish and a victory for the king of the specialty at that time: the Briton Mark Cavendish.
The French Thomas Voeckler then wore the yellow jersey.