The ascending is really nothing compared to the Pyrenean giants of the preceding days, but pure sprinters will dread it anyway. The first 75 kilometres feature four modest climbs – Côte d’Auterive (1.7-kilometre at 3.9%), Côte de Naillous (1.2-kilometre at 5.4%), Saint-Félix-de-Lauragais (2.5 kilometres at 3.3%), Côte de Saint-Ferréol (2.6 kilometres at 5.5%) – before the Col de la Croix Montalric serves up the longest slope of the day: 11.5 kilometres. The average gradient is modest, though, at 4.3%.
Following the descent and a slightly undulating section of around 10 kilometres, the riders face the Pas du Sant, a 2.9-kilometre ramp at 10%, which is immediately followed by a 3.8-kilometre climb at 3.8% to the summit of the Col de Fontbruno.
With that, proper ascending is done for the day, and the riders fly down a 32-kilometre descent to the village of Villegailhenc. The final 10 kilometres are a flat run-in to the finish line in Carcassonne.
Three years ago, Jasper Philipsen just edged out Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen in Carcassonne. After a stage that was both reminiscent and entirely different, the finish in the medieval town was a nail-biter.
Tour de France 2025, stage 15: route, profile, videos
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