|
|
Gap
179 km
Wednesday 14 July
It is custom in France to hope for French fireworks at the finish line on Bastille Day, a hope that is evidently not shared by the rest of the pack… After the start from Chambéry, which also hosts the Classique des Alpes Juniors every year, the Laffrey climb and the Noyer mountain pass will be the two major hurdles on the race programme before the stage finish in Gap, the county town of Hautes-Alpes.
• Once a stage town
• Population: 57,600
• Prefecture of Savoie (73)
Chambéry often provides accommodation for the Tour caravan, but up until now had only hosted the start of a stage in 1996 that finished in Les Arcs. Luc Leblanc won there after a day in which Stéphane Heulot lost the yellow jersey to Evgueni Berzin.
The town already boasts a cycling tradition as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré was organised here 20 times. In 1989, Greg LeMond won the World Championship here, thus confirming his comeback success attained on the Tour three months earlier.
• 19 times a stage town
• Population: 40,000
• Prefecture of Hautes-Alpes (05)
Gap has been the scene of magnificent wins by riders like Géminiani, Nencini, Bernard, Zabel and Vinokourov. The Prefecture of Hautes-Alpes was also the start of legendary Tour stages that finished in Briançon, successively won by Bobet, Coppi and Bahamontes. Since then, starts from Gap have tended to finish in Alpe-d’Huez, as in 1991 (victory of Gianni Bugno) and in 2006 (Frank Schleck). The most dramatic image associated with a stage in Gap nevertheless remains that of Lance Armstrong cutting across a field in 2003, following Joseba Beloki’s fall.
