Stage 16 - Mourenx to Pau >180.5km
July 19, 2005
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Course: Following the second rest day (at Pau), this final Pyrenean stage features two of the region’s toughest climbs, the Cat. 1 Marie-Blanque and hors-cat Aubisque. But after the final descent, there’s still 50km of mostly flat roads to negotiate before the finish.
History: Pau has hosted 53 stage finishes since first being included on the Tour route in 1930.
The last time a stage finished here after scaling the Aubisque was in 1993, when Italian Claudio Chiappucci saved his until-then-failed Tour with a stage win over a small breakaway group.
Favorites: This stage is likely to be anticlimactic in terms of the overall picture, but a number of riders will be hoping to pull “a Chiappucci,” particularly any of the “failed” Spaniards. Perhaps Francisco Mancebo, Heras or Valverde will fall into that category.
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