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Stage 14- Mazamet to Plateau de Beille (197km)
Start: 11:40 a.m. (5:40 a.m. U.S. EST) - Estimated Finish: 4:56 p.m. (10:56 a.m. U.S. EST)
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COURSE: Following right after the time trial, this is the first of three demanding stages in the Pyrénées. It opens with an immediate 9km climb over the Black Mountains, but the first real obstacle is three hours down the road: the hors-catégorie Port de Pailhères climb (17km at 7.2 percent).
Then, following a tumbling descent to Ax-les-Thermes, the riders race 16km down the Ariège valley before reaching the fi nishing climb to Plateau de Beille (16km at almost 8 percent).
HISTORY: The only men to win Tour stages atop the Plateau de Beille have been Lance Armstrong (in 2002 and 2004) and Marco Pantani (1998), both of whom went on to win the Tour.
Also, in the 2002 Route du Sud stage race, Leipheimer won a TT up this dead-end climb that gives access to a vast cross-country skiing area. FAVORITES: All the big guns, including Valverde, Klöden, Evans, Leipheimer, Rasmussen, Mayo, Contador and Sastre, will be in action on what is the most difficult summit finish of the race. Given the climb’s history, the stage winner could be standing on top of the podium in Paris.
