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Pau
196 km
Tuesday 20 July
We will follow in the wake of Eddy Merckx on this arduous succession of mountain climbs: Peyresourde-Aspin-Tourmalet-Aubisque. In 1969, in the famed stage that finished in Mourenx, Merckx waltzed away in an epic solo ride that went down in the annals of Tour history. He annihilated all contenders in the first of his five Tour victories. As often in the past, it is in Pau that riders will enjoy their second rest day.
• 50 times a stage town
• Population: 3,000
• County town of Haute-Garonne canton (31)
Future Tour winners have often triumphed in Bagnères-de-Luchon: Octave Lapize, Firmin Lambot, Ottavio Bottecchia, Nicolas Frantz, Antonin Magne, Sylvère Maes, Jean Robic, Hugo Koblet, Federico Bahamontes, Eddy Merckx and Luis Ocana. For the last quarter of a century this spa resort has often hosted stage starts: five out of six visits since 1986. This will moreover be the seventh Luchon-Pau stage since the War and this “classic” has been conquered by some truly magnificent Tour champions: Jean Robic, Federico Bahamontes and Bernard Hinault.
• 62 times a stage town
• Population: 82,000
• Prefecture of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64)
The city of Henri IV is a mainstay of the Tour: it has gracefully hosted 62 stages of the race, surpassed only by Paris and Bordeaux. The list of prize winners in Pau is a Who’s Who of the Tour. From Alfredo Binda, who set the ball rolling in 1930, to Robic, Coppi, Bahamontes, Gimondi, Hinault, Kelly, Delgado, Chiappucci and Pereiro: all have triumphed here. Only heavyweights can hope to win in the Béarn capital, even if sprinters sometimes find a way through to the front.
