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Aurillac
208 km
Wednesday 10 March
Saint-Junien, a first-time stage town for Paris-Nice, will perhaps bring back memories to competitors who have already taken part in the Tour du Limousin. The infrastructure for the start will once again, in keeping with tradition, be set up on the Champ de Foire fairground site. There will be significant change in terrain as the pack approaches the Cantal and Aurillac. The finish will be identical to the one used in the French Championships in 2007, with the climb up the slopes of the Côte de la Renaudie, whose summit is located 3 km from the finishing line. A puncher could break out of the pack, in a similar way to Christophe Moreau when he took the opportunity to grab the French National Championship jersey.
Saint-Junien is the second biggest town in the Haute-Vienne after Limoges and the third leading economic centre in the Limousin region. It owes its reputation to the leather gloves that have been made here since the Middle Ages and which account for 60% of French production of this garment. Leather-working, enamel crafts and the porcelain industry have gained it the “Arts and Crafts Town” label. Located at the gateway to the Périgord-Limousin regional nature park, it is at the heart of a preserved natural environment in keeping with its rich cultural and historic heritage. One of the finest examples is the Collegial Church, built in the 11th and 14th centuries, where the tomb of Saint-Junien can be found. Its constantly growing population of 12,000 inhabitants enjoys an excellent living environment, especially in terms of cultural, sporting and leisure facilities. Saint-Junien is also a sporting town, as demonstrated by its clubs that bring together 3,500 sportspersons who take part in forty different disciplines.
The capital of the Cantal department, Aurillac has a population of 30,000. After being designated the sportiest town in France by daily sports newspaper “L’Équipe” in 1987, it has not ceased pouring its efforts into promoting sport and providing facilities. It boasts top-level clubs with Stade Aurillacois Cantal Auvergne in rugby’s ProD2 division, Aurillac Foot Cantal Auvergne in the CFA amateur league or even Aurillac Handball Cantal Auvergne in division 1. However, it also caters for sport for the masses with 70 clubs, more than 10,000 licensed sportspersons and an impressive array of facilities that includes the recent opening of the water park, built by the urban community authorities. Furthermore, Aurillac possesses a genuine passion for cycling. Following the inter-federation cycle touring week in 2003, the Tour de l’Avenir in 2005, the French road championships in 2007 and, in July 2008, the return of the Tour de France, Aurillac is proud to welcome the “race to the sun”.
