Pau is finishing venue on the Tour de France for the 63th time. But, with 66 stage starts, the town in the foothills of the Pyrenees is even more experienced in that regard. Last year the Tour left from Pau to finish in Laruns, where Jai Hindley took both the stage win and the yellow jersey.
The last time that Le Tour finished in Pau was in 2019. It was the heyday of Julian Alaphilippe. Dressed in yellow, the Frenchman stormed to an ITT triumph. In 2018, Pau was last included as a finish of a race in line. Arnaud Démare sprinted to victory ahead of Christophe Laporte and Alexander Kristoff.
Starting venue Agen saw its last Tour de France peloton in 2000. The race went to Dax and Paolo Bettini took a sprint victory. In 1980, the Tour featured a stage with the same start and finish as this time. Gerrie Knetemann bested Ludo Peeters in a sprint-à-deux at the end of a 194 kilometres long race.
The route looks promising for the fast men this time, although they have to digest a series of hills in the last 40 kilometres before getting the chance to do what they do best – sprinting.
The first three riders across the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6, and 4 seconds.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX 13th stage 2024 Tour de France.
Another interesting read: results 13th stage 2024 Tour de France.
Tour de France 2024 stage 13: routes, profiles, videos
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I love this part of France and the farmers market on Wednesday nights is a definite must if your around.
As for the riders just hope the sprint in Nogaro is safer than last year’s finish