Valverde's successful return
Movistar had won a stage of the 2011 Tour de France with Rui Costa triumphant in Super Besse but really the Spanish team was always thinking about the return of its true leader Alejandro Valverde who was busy serving a suspension last year. Now that he's back in the race, he's back on the podium. He wasn't the contender for GC honours that Movistar would have hoped for - as he's well down the rankings - but that meant he was able to put himself in an escape group and chase a victory in the final stage in the Pyrenees of the 99th edition. And it was Costa who helped set up his leader for an...
Read more Key momentsThe stage in videos
Summary of the race
Interview - Stage Winner
Image of the day
Landscape of the day
Analysis of the stage
The day's route
Magazine
Jean-François Pescheux's analysis of the...
The towns 2012 : visit Peyragudes
Through the geologist eyes
Archive - 2011
Archive - 2010
Archive - 2009
Archive - 2008
Archive - 2007
Archive - 2006
Archive - 2005
Archive - 2004
Archive - 2003
Archive - 2002
Tourist attractions
Bagnères-de-Luchon
The stage will depart from the main artery of the city, les Allées Etigny. This avenue, characterized by its row of architecturally varied buildings is opposite the Thermal Springs for which the city has been known since Roman times. Busiest station of the Haute-Garonne and the Midi-Pyrénées, Bagnères-de-Luchon, that joined the European Association of Spa Towns in 2011, originally specialised in the treatment of respiratory tracts and rheumatology. It added lombago, fibromyalgia and cures for smoking cessation. Its vaporarium, huge natural steam room, is unique in Europe. It consists of a network of galleries built underground in the late 60s and renovated in 2010. From the depths of the mountain, the water filters through the rock walls giving out a soft vapour whose heat varies between 38 and 40 degrees. In addition to their therapeutic properties, the sources have geothermal potential which, in the near future, will be used to heat the spa facility and supply a heating network.
Population: 2,700
Haute-Garonne department
Specialities : water, specialities from the Pyrenees.
Economy : hydrotherapy, tourism.
Celebrities : Edmond Rostand, Guy and Roger Lapebie (cyclists), Britt and Ingrid Lafforgue (skiers), Lys Gauty (singer).
Events : flower festival, festival of audiovisual creation.
Peyragudes
At the heart of the Pyrenees, Peyragudes is a mountain resort that offers 60 kilometres of ski pistes in the winter and a variety of mountain activities in summer. Created in 1988 following the merger of two ski resorts, the resort of Agudes and the resort of Peyresourde, Peyragudes straddles two departments, the Haute-Garonne on the Agudes side and the Hautes-Pyrenees on the Peyresourde side. In summer, many mountain activities are available such as paragliding, hiking, mountain scooters, mountain climbing and fishing while many cyclists frequent the resort to climb the surrounding legendary mountain passes like the Col de Peyresourde or the Aspin. In winter, Peyragudes is a modern ski resort with more than 1500 hectares with magnificent scenery on the highest peaks in the Pyrenees. The resort also offers many after-ski activities: discover the world of the piste-basher, have an introduction to driving sled dogs, try nights in an igloo but also relax at Balnéa, the natural spring spa located fifteen minutes away on the banks of Lake Genos-Loudenvielle.
Winter sports resort in Hautes-Pyrénées (65)
Pop; 1,200 in the community of communes of the Louron valley.
Economy : ski, tourism.
Specialties : Frênette (alcohol made from ash tree), mountain honey, cheese, black pig of Bigorre.
Sport: ski, paragliding (World Cup in 2013), longboard skate (World Cup in August 2012)
Celebrities : Baron d’Etigny.
Jersey wearers after the stage 16
- yellow jerseyWIGGINS B.SKY
- polka-dot jerseyVOECKLER T.EUC
- white jerseyVAN GARDEREN T.BMC
- the day's winnerVOECKLER T.EUC
- teamRADIOSHACK-.RNT
- combativeVOECKLER T.EUC
Key moments
- 23:00Summary of the race
- 17:14Voeckler: the prince becomes King of the...
- 16:00Interview - Stage Winner
- 11:00One last opportunity...
- 18:26Thomas Voeckler: I felt I had good legs
- 18:14Europcar and FDJ-Big-Mat in a battle of...
- 18:03Sagan: We will see what happens tomorrow
- 17:56Wiggins: We've got a good scenario
- 11:45Analysis of the stage
- 10:30The day's route
- 10:00Jean-François Pescheux's analysis of the...
Subscribe
Receive exclusive news about the Tour de France
Survey
With just 1'54" between the two at the top of the youth classification, who will wear the white jersey after stage 16?
- Tejay van Garderen69.78%
- Thibaut Pinot30.21%