While it will pass through the 5 French mountain ranges, there will only be two Pyrenean stages. With an unmissable passage of the Tour de France through the Hautes-Pyrénées which will once again be at the rendezvous of the 2017 edition with the 12th stage which will arrive in Peyresourde. A stage which will take place on July 13th starting from Pau to cross the Hautes-Pyrénées passing through Tarbes and Tournay to begin the hostilities of the day with the coast of Capvern. Then passage through the Haute-Garonne with the cathedral of Saint-Bertrand de Comminges which will provide us with the superb images which the Tour de France regales us with each edition. But the riders' thoughts will probably be more focused on the passes that await them, such as the Col d'Arès at 797 meters, the challenging Col de Menté preceded by 6.9 km at 8.1% at around 1349 meters to return between Haute-Garonne and Hautes-Pyrénées to pass Mauléon-Barousse and Port de Balès at 1755 meters after a climb of 11.7 km at 7.7%. A day that will end with the ascent of the Col de Peyresourde and its 9.7 km climb at an average of 7.8%. All this to reach the Peyragudes ski resort and its altiport
already well-known to James Bond fans, having seen it in the first images of Tomorrow Never Dies. It will offer a final stretch of 340 meters long on a wall-like slope with a 17% gradient. It promises to be a spectacle!
Christian Prudhomme emphasizes that the longest stage of the Pyrenean stay requires a particularly demanding sequence. As the kilometers go by, it gets tougher with the ascent of the Col de Menté before becoming ultra-selective in the climb to the Port de Balès, transforming into calf torture in the revisited finale of Peyragudes. In the final kilometer, on the track of the only altiport in the Pyrenees, there is a 200-meter section at 16%.
Undoubtedly a key stage in the middle of the Tour de France, which will allow the contenders for the polka dot jersey, that of the best climber, to rub shoulders with the summits. And the contenders for the yellow jersey to measure themselves. A superb Tour de France in perspective
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