Survival for the fast men

The twelfth stage of the Tour de France is exactly the opposite of the previous day. While stage eleven was filled with climbing in the finale, the route from Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot starts with several uphill sections. After 204 kilometers, it's questionable if all sprinters will still be in contention, although most of the obstacles are overcome after ninety kilometers. The remainder of the stage is not entirely flat but much more manageable.

Aurillac is the starting point for stage twelve. In this city on the Jordanne River, riders at least don't have to fear the weather. Located in the Cantal department, Aurillac is renowned as the capital of the umbrella industry. During the Industrial Revolution, entrepreneurs here surpassed those in Paris in umbrella production. To this day, more than half of the umbrellas in France are made here.

From the city of umbrellas, the riders head towards Villeneuve-sur-Lot. However, it's not cycling but rugby that dominates here. The local club, Léopards d'Aquitaine, has won the French rugby league championship nine times. Villeneuve-sur-Lot has been included in the Tour three times, with Erik Dekker triumphing here in 2000.

Despite being classified as "flat" by the ASO, sprinters are likely to face challenges in the first ninety kilometers of the race. The Côte de Saint-Mamet-la-Salve (3.6 km at 3.9%) quickly presents the first obstacle, followed by a rolling section and a ten-kilometer descent leading to the Côte de Saint-Médard-de-Presque (4.2 km at 5.3%).

For the sprinters, there's still some gritting of teeth required. The rolling roads also include the Côte de Rocamadour (2.1 km at 5.5%) and the Côte de Couzou (1.7 km at 6.3%). After these, they can breathe a bit easier. While the remainder of the stage isn't entirely flat, the toughest climbs are behind them.

Relatively flat roads lead the riders towards the finale, where a sprint finish is certainly possible. However, there's a challenging bump of about two kilometers at 3% gradient in the final stretch. This is followed by a short descent towards the last five flat kilometers. Will a breakaway manage to stay ahead of the peloton? It happened in 1996 and 2000 in Villeneuve-sur-Lot.

18 Jun 2000	Route du Sud - Stage 2
17 Jun 2000	Route du Sud - Stage 1a
17 Jun 2000	Route du Sud - Stage 1b

11 Jul 2024	Tour de France - Stage 12
8 Jul 2000	Tour de France - Stage 8
17 Jun 2000	Route du Sud - Stage 1a
17 Jun 2000	Route du Sud - Stage 1b
15 Jul 1996	Tour de France - Stage 15

Villeneuve-sur-Lot(Lot-et-Garonne)