It doesn't come much tougher than this - one Hors Categorie, four cat 1 cols and one cat 2 climb that adds up to 54km of climbing and an average gradient of 7.96% - that also adds up to plenty of pain! Riders will pass the monument to Fabio Casartelli, killed on the Col du Portet d'Aspet in 1995, where the peloton will most likely slow down to pay its respects as it rides past. It's then on to the Col de Mente, Portillon, Peyresourde, Val-Louron Azet before finishing up Lat-d'Adet in St-Lary - Soulan. The climbs are evenly spaced out, and it's pretty clear to see what everyone is in for - plenty of mountains that don't necessarily reach great heights, but do so very quickly.
Stage 15 will probably serve as the ultimate selection day, and look for Armstrong, Ullrich, Basso, and maybe Rasmussen to fight it out for the stage and GC honours.
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All the new WorldTour team kits for 2026 – UAE Team Emirates, SD Worx-Protime, NSN Cycling and more
Rounding up all the reveals and new designs so far -
Biniam Girmay shows off new NSN Cycling Team kit on New Year's Day
Tour de France green-jersey winner wears new kit ahead of team's debut season after the rebranding of the former Israel-Premier Tech -
X2O Trofee Baal-GP Sven Nys: Mathieu van der Poel dominates to secure seventh consecutive season win despite crashing in thick mud
Emiel Verstrynge takes second after strong performance ahead of Thibau Nys in third on New Year's Day -
Zwift 'New Year Sale' pushes Kickr V6 trainer and Zwift Ride bundle to their lowest-ever prices, just in time to kickstart your 2026 training
Wahoo Kickr V6 with Zwift Cog and Click is almost half price and an incredible $450 off, while the Kickr Core 2 has just been cut further in the UK and EU with as much as 26% off
