Roanne is a small town on the river Loire. The Tour de France visited the town once before, also for a stage start. In 2008 the race went to Montluçon, where Sylvain Chavanel won from the breakaway.
This time the riders head for the Beaujolais countryside to finish in Belleville, on the banks of that other main river in France, the Rhône. To get from a to b the riders traverse rugged terrain.
The second half of the race opens with the 8.1 kilometres long drag up the Col de la CasseFroide. The gradients are mostly hovering around 4%. The riders then fly down to the foot of the Col de la Croix Montmain – 5.7 kilometres at 5.5% – before continuing to the Col de la Croix Rosier, which is a slightly harder climb: 6.1 kilometres at 6.6%.
Still almost 30 kilometres to go at the summit. The rest of the route goes mostly downhill, although there are some small obstacles and several flat sections to tackle as well.
Belleville-en-Beaujolais never before hosted a Tour de France stage finish.
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Tour de France 2023 stage 12: route, profile, more
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