“This is typically the stage 100% dedicated to sprinters”, announces the race director Thierry Gouvenou. “For backpackers, this is the last chance but it will be very hard to resist the return of the peloton given the profile of the course”.
Shortly after the start of Mourenx, forever in the history of the event since the feat of Eddy Merckx in 1969, the small hill of Bareille presents a springboard for attackers. Further on, it is the long crossing of the Landes forest, a classic of the Tours of yesteryear.
In the end, the route takes a wide road for the last 6.5 kilometers, practically in a straight line on a ring road to reach the sub-prefecture of the Gironde, city-stage for the fourth time.
Libourne (25,000 inhabitants), Olympic and Paralympic base camp in 2024 for rowing, canoeing and shooting, has not received the Tour since 1992, during a time trial won by the Dutch team Panasonic .
Departure from Mourenx at 12:20 (launched at 12:30 p.m., 10:30 a.m. GMT), arrival at Libourne around 5:19 p.m. (3:19 p.m. GMT, time calculated as an average of 43 km / h).
