Tour de France Stage 12: Bourg-de-Peage to Mende
Hilly Stage
Fri, July 16—starts at 1145 local time
About Stage 12
By Chris Brewer
A tough day today, a more difficult up-and-down day than stage 4 was. “Unrelenting” is a good word to describe the day as each uphill leads right into a downhill, repeated at least six times non-stop to the tough Cat 2 finale with only 1500m to the line after the summit.
About Bourg-de-Péage
Bourg-de-Péage, population 10,000, is located in the Drôme department of Southeastern France. Its name comes from the town's bridge, built over the Isere River during the Middle Ages. In the 19th century, Bourg-de-Péage was a center for the production of felt hats, made from rabbit fur.
Visitors are attracted to Bourg-de-Péage for its foresty backdrop. Besides the basic outdoor sports such as hiking and kayaking, Bourg-de-Péage offers more unusual leisure activities such as donkey treks, paintballing, go-karting and mini golf. And although this is the first time Bourg-de-Péage is a stage town for the Tour, it has previously hosted two stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.
About Mende
This is the third time Mende has been a stage town for the Tour. Located in the Lozere department—a protected wild area of 550,000 hectares— in the south of France, the town has twice been elected the "most sporting town in France." Indeed, every two years Mende hosts the Fete du Sport, a sports festival of all of the clubs in the region, and each year the famous semi-marathon Marvejols/Mende is held there.
Mende is part of a group of municipalities that have been awarded the Land of Art and History label, due to its rich heritage. Visitors are drawn to the town for its 14th century gothic cathedral, which houses art that dates back to the 12th century, as well as for the 13th century Notre-Dame Bridge and the 12th century Penitents' Tower.
-- City descriptions by Rachel Horn
Tags:
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de france s12
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