LAISSAC ! SÉVÉRAC! L’ÉGLISE "LE PUY! EN !VELAY

DISTANCE 189KM TERRAIN MED MOUNTAIN

More evidence of Prudhomme in experimental mode, here the peloton passes through the Masif Central, journeying through its southern region and the Aubrac Plateau at an altitude of over 1000m for around 50km. Undoubtedly the stage’s key moments will be on the Col de Peyra Taillade, which begins just outside the final 40km. At 7.4 per cent gradient over 8km, with a couple of double digit kilometres in the final third, its summit commences a 30km run in to Le Puyen-Velay, largely downhill but interrupted by a couple of short, stinging climbs.