Despite not being a mountainous stage – and only featuring two fourth category climbs – at the end of this stage, the Tour will arrive in the Alps. Although those two climbs are the only ones to count, the altitude rises steadily from 46 metres at the start in Nîmes to 599 metres at the finish in Digne les Bains. The route crosses Provence and the Luberon wine area between Mont Ventoux and the Côte d'Azur before finishing in the spa town in the shadow of the high mountains that divide France form its neighbour Italy.
Digne les Bains is a fairly regular host to the Tour, having been a stage town eleven times before. Last time – in 2005 – David Moncoutié took the second of his two career stage wins after attacking the break on the road from Briançon to the north.
-
Classic Brugge-De Panne Women - LIVE
Peloton tackles 152.7km from Bruges to De Panne in mid-week Classic -
Volta a Catalunya stage 4 Live - Primož Roglič takes early bonus seconds on Queen Stage
Peloton tackles 188.7km from Sant Vicenç de Castellet to Montserrat Mil·lenari summit -
Christophe Laporte misses out on cobbled Classics due to cytomegalovirus
'The frustrating part is that you can't predict how long it will take' says Frenchman, who has yet to race in 2025 -
Coppi e Bartali: Jay Vine holds off chase to take solo stage 3 victory
Magnus Sheffield second, Simone Velasco third in Cesena
