Pau Peyragudes

The Tour hits the Pyrenees, with the tough Port de Balès en route to the second summit inish of the race

Peyragudes was the backdrop for a scene in the 1997 Bond movie

Tomorrow Never Dies, but tomorrow (and its three climbs) is the least of the peloton’s worries as they contemplate a long day in the saddle and a summit finish today.

Pau’s ‘Gateway to the Pyrenees’ tag certainly applies today. But rather than heading straight for the mountain range, half of stage 12 is a teaser before the real action begins.

Tarbes, which hosted a Tour finish in 2009 (another Fédrigo win to add to his two in Pau), is the biggest early waypoint as the race crosses the Adour valley. Then there’s a crescendo of climbs which increase in difficulty: a cat-four, then a two, a one and an HC - the Port de Balès. Finally, the Peyresourde and Peyragudes climbs close the stage, providing a fearsome finish to the longest Pyrenean stage of the Tour

The second-category Col de Menté is sandwiched between the early foothills and the formidable closing trio. The mountain has featured 18 times and is famous for the events of 1971. It was on the stormy descent of the Menté that Luis Ocaña crashed out of the race. Until then, he had been on track to break Eddy Merckx’s Tourwinning streak, having led at one point by seven minutes.

Peyragudes returns as a finish for the second time. The stage carries a similar look to 2012’s finale, with the Balès, Peyresourde and Peyragudes trio. Peyragudes is also famous for the only real suspense of the 2012 Tour – should Chris Froome have carried the acceleration which dropped his team leader and yellow jersey Bradley Wiggins? His wife Michelle, on Twitter, suggested yes, but he contented himself with a passive-aggressive-looking freewheel and ostentatious glance back for his faltering team-mate.