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Ax-3 Domaines
184 km
Sunday 18 July
1910-2010. The celebrations in honour of the hundredth anniversary of the Tour’s first foray into the Pyrenees will be the highlight of this 97th edition of the race. A novelty in the first of the four Pyrenean stages: two “modern” as an alternative to “historical” climbs will be tackled as the gruelling Port de Pailhères and Plateau de Bonascre in Ax-3 Domaines were not included on the race itinerary before the 21st century.
• 8 times a stage town
• Population: 8,500
• County town of Haute-Garonne canton (31)
Revel on the Tour is also the victory in 1969, in a time-trial circuit around the town, of the legendary racing phenomenon of the epoch, Eddy Merckx. The Belgian rider won his second individual time-trial of that year’s Tour there and went on to win his first Tour de France. The following day, the route followed a shortcut in comparison with the 2010 edition, arriving in Luchon, with Raymond Delisle in the lead.
• 3 times a stage town
• Population: 1,500
• Winter sports resort of the township of Ax-Les-Thermes in Ariège (09)
If Ax-les Thermes is a regular point of call on the Tour since 1933, its ski resort, Ax-3 Domaines, hosts the race since 2001. Stage finishes are held at the Plateau de Bonascre, one of the three skiing areas that make up the resort. In 2003, an impressive little Spanish climber here abandoned his usual reserve to claim the first of his three Tour stage victories: five years later, Carlos Sastre won the Tour.
