Usually, when Le Tour finishes in Saint-Étienne the town also hosts the stage start of the folowing day. For instance, in 2019 the race travelled on lumpy terrain to Romain Bardet’s birthplace, Brioude, where Daryl Impey outgunned Tiesj Benoot in a two-up sprint.
A race to Mende is on the cards this time – or, to be more precise, to the landing strip of Mende Airport. The riders are to crest the Col de la Croix Neuve with 1.5 kilometres to go. It’s a 3 kilometres climb at 10.2% with steepest ramps of up to 18%. A 1 kilometre drop leads onto a flat 500 metres run-in to the line.
The French call the punchy last ascent Montée Laurent Jalabert, since their hero claimed the stage on Bastille Day 1995. Jalabert was succeeded by Marcos Serrano (2005), Joaquim Rodriquez (2010), Stephen Cummings (2015), and Omar Fraile (2018).
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Tour de France 2022 stage 14: route, profile, more
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