Mende will never forget its Tour debut, and the Tour, in turn, will never forget Laurent Jalabert’s soaring performance on 14 July 1995. At the time, Lozère’s prefecture was virgin territory for the peloton, although the riders have since grown accustomed to sashaying up the slopes of the Croix Neuve climb. Spanish riders Marcos Serrano (2007), Joaquim Rodríguez (2010) and Omar Fraile (2018) all drew on their punchy climbing style to win there. Britain’s Steve Cummings found an opening when pitted against Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot in 2015. And, during the Tour’s most recent visit to Mende in 2022, Australian Michael Matthews emerged victorious from a fierce battle between breakaway specialists, while Jonas Vingegaard resisted an acceleration by Tadej Pogačar.
