Col de la Croix Saint-Robert
Many cyclists in the Tour de France peloton must be slightly relieved that they're leaving the crowded, lowland farm roads behind them as they attack some hills in Stage 8.
The 117-mile (189km) stage from Aigurande to Super-Besse Sancy is an ever-climbing route into the Massif Central on Saturday.
It includes two Category 4 climbs, a Category 2 climb at Col de la Croix Saint-Robert and a Category 3 summit finish at Super-Besse Sancy.
Cycling the Alps
As it's unlikely that yellow jersey holder Thor Hushovd can keep his one-second lead in this terrain, it will be interesting to see how challengers Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador, and the brothers Schleck do on this stage.
Dutch bicycling enthusiast Dennis Wegewijs has a website — Cycling the Alps — that profiles all the major climbs in Europe, including the four in Saturday's stage. Links for all the remaining stages can be found here.
Above is the “streets view” tour of the bike ride the peloton will take to the summit of Col de la Croix and the ride back down. Below is a 3D tour of that same summit in Stage 8 (you'll need Google Earth to view it). Dennis also has a link to a standard climb profile of that mountain as well as a 3D “game”, in which you control a virtual bicycle with your keyboard.
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