Stages Overview 2019

The crash with the broken collarbone marked my end at this tour, nevertheless I want to present the already prepared stage reports, which I could no longer experience live here briefly.

Stage 4 – Pessac nach Capbreton (June 19)

First we go through the Médoc wine region, then back toward the coast through another nature reserve, the forested Landes de Gascogne. At Parentis-en-Born, home of the great Lac de Biscarosse, a reservoir for missile testing, seaplane construction, and the country’s largest oil reserve, we meet the Vélodyssée again. Our lunch stop today is Mimizan, center of the rich natural forests, dunes and wetlands of the Landes and the routes of Santiago de Compostela. From Mimizan, we’ll ride lightly through the ponds and dunes before arriving in the surfing and sailing town of Capbreton, known for its long sandy beaches and historic Napoleonic jetty.

Stage 5 – Capbreton – Saint Jean-Pied de Port (June 20)

Now it also makes sense to start with the elevation profiles. Until today we had only flat topographies, but from now on it’s uphill.

Stage 6 – Saint Jean Pied de Port – Eaux Bonnes (June 21)

We continue in the Pyrenees and enjoy beautiful rides in to less known climbs. Our first climbs, the twin butts of Burdincurucheta (1135 m) and Bargargiak (1327 m), first introduced in the 1986 Tour de France, will bring us back near the Spanish border and into the remote village of Larrau. From here we cross the border on remote roads and climb for the first time over 1500 m the Gorges de Kakuetta in the Pyrenees National Park before descending to Sarrance and climb Col de Marie Blanque(1035 m), the first of the more famous Pyrenean mountains, drt has been in the Tour de France 14 times.

First resting day in Eaux Bonnes (June 22)

Sleep in, bathtub, thermal spa (if it is still open) and 3 times eat properly. Tomorrow is rest day in Eaux Bonnes a former spa at a thermal spring from another time. Today, however, it rather mutes the charm of that past, an abandoned Grand Hotel, abandoned houses and a casino that operates only sometimes. Nevertheless, Eaux Bonnes is always in the spotlight through cycling, as the entrance to the famous Pyrenean mountains – just before the Col du Ausbique – every kind of cyclist stops here and every few years the great Tour de France comes through here.

Stage 7 – Eaux Bonnes – Luchon – (June 23)

Now we are going to the great and famous Pyrenean mountains.

Stage 8 – Luchon – Pamiers – (June 24)

Over 160 km and only two mountains, Col de Menté (1349m) and Col de Portet d’Aspet (1069m) we arrive in Pamiers.

We spend most of tomorrow losing altitude and leaving the Pyrenees. But first, take two more cols. On the first, the Col de Menté (1349 m), the great rivals crossed the summit together in 1971, Eddy Merckx ‘ great rival Luis Ocana led in the overall standings for more than 7 minutes before he crashed during a rainy descent. The second, the Col de Portet d’Aspet (1069 m), was of course the tragic scene of the death of Fabio Casartelli in 1995.