Tour de France 2024 stage 12 preview - Sprinters return to spotlight

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Early hills should lure break attempts though flat finish delivers plenty of incentive for sprint teams to keep them in check

SAINTAMANDMONTROND FRANCE JULY 09 LR Stage winner Jasper Philipsen of Belgium and Team Alpecin Deceuninck Biniam Girmay of Eritrea and Team Intermarche Wanty Green Sprint Jersey Wout Van Aert of Belgium and Team Visma Lease a Bike Sam Bennett of Ireland and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team and Phil Bauhaus of Germany and Team Bahrain Victorious sprint at finish line during the 111th Tour de France 2024 Stage 10 a 1873km stage from Orleans to SaintAmandMontrond UCIWT on July 09 2024 in Orleans France Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
A bunch sprint at stage 10 of the 2024 Tour de France could be replicated on stage 12 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
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Stage 12 of the Tour de France is one that both breakaway specialists and sprinters will have circled in their road books since the 203.6km route was announced last year. There is a lot of climbing in the two-thirds of the stage from Aurillac, but no major ascents and the reward of a flat finish into Villeneuve-sur-Lot should invigorate the sprint teams.

From a rolling start, the first of three category 4 climbs begins 62km later with the Côte d’Autoire (2.7km at 5.9%), then after another 20 kilometres ticks by they will tackle the Côte de Rocamadour (2km at 5.8%), which will be ridden in the opposite direction to the route taken by the 2022 Tour time trial. 

The only intermediate sprint comes in Gourdon at the mid-point of the race, and 25km from the final categorised climb, the Côte de Montcléra (2km at 4.6%). That last chance for KOM points arrives with 68 kilometres to go, a long descent urging any breakaway to hit the gas as the sprint teams can begin to make inroads. 

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Tour de France 2024 Stage 12 profile
Tour de France 2024 Stage 12 profile(Image credit: ASO)

Stage 12 Sprints

  • Intermediate sprint, km 110

Stage 12 Mountains

  • Côte d’Autoire (2.7km at 5.9%), cat. 4, km 62.8
  • Côte de Rocamadour (2km at 5.8%), cat. 4, km 84.3
  • Côte de Montcléra (2km at 4.6%), cat. 4, km 135.5
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Jackie Tyson
Jackie Tyson
North American Editor

Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.

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