This is, in my opinion, the best-designed stage I've ever posted in this thread.
Stage 10: Biarritz - Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, 167km
Climbs:
Gastigarlépoa (cat.3) 4,1km @ 6,1%
Col d'Arnostegi (cat.1) 16,1km @ 6,2%
Col d'Errozate (HC) 10,1km @ 9,6%
Col de Sourzay (cat.3) 7,5km @ 3,8%
Col de Bilgossa (cat.3) 2,8km @ 10,4%
Col d'Irey (cat.1) 4,5km @ 12,0%
Points:
Bastida, 139km
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (Place Charles de Gaulle), finish
The first day of the high mountains. Some of the climbs may be fairly isolated, and there are few towns in the area, but that will be compensated for by the passion of the Basque fans as we treat the Pays-Basque to a festival of climbing and give the péloton something tougher than they'll be used to in the Tour de France, with some climbing more at home with Angelo Zomegnan and his hare-brained schemes to pave ski slopes.
The stage starts by the sea, in another popular tourist and surfing destination, the sports-mad city of Biarritz on the Atlantic coast just south of Bayonne and the mouth of the Adour.
Ikurriñak are often to be found in this city, fiercely proud of its Basque heritage; the local rugby team even take to the field
dressed in Basque flags, and it is likely that we will see the same Basque passion for cycling as usual at the départ. The opening parts of the stage are not what you'd describe as typically Basque, however, as the riders head through the flat northern parts of Iparralde, including the historic French-Basque capital of Ustaritz, heading into the foothills of the Pyrénées by Itxassou as the riders head along the banks of La Nive, the final tributary to the Adour before it pours into the Atlantic. At Bidarray, the riders face their first climb, the cat.3 ascent of Gastigarlépoa. It's then a flat run along valley roads to the outskirts of Donibane Garazi, today's stage town, but the riders will not be given the chance to stop here. They will instead turn to the south of the city, and head on false uphill flat to the small border town of Arnéguy. And it is here all hell will break loose.
The first
real challenge of the day is the Col d'Arnostegi. There are several routes up this climb, all savage, but we're taking the route via Ondarolles and Elhursaro, as shown
here. Three kilometres of false flat give way to nine kilometres of sheer agony, with a maximum of 17% and two whole kilometres averaging 12,3%. The climb is also gleefully inconsistent, which makes settling into a rhythm difficult, before ending with a fairly benign final four kilometres allowing the riders to relax a little. Nevertheless, this is the first real climb of the day, and it crests just before the halfway point of the stage, so I wouldn't expect too much effort to be expended on
its cruel, exposed roads. The descent is not especially technical, which is probably a good thing given that
it's quite steep.
You may notice on that profile a marker at 3km signposting the Col d'Artaburu. This is where we're going. That's because no matter what agonies the riders felt they suffered on the Col d'Arnostegi, it is nothing compared to the pain they will suffer on the slopes of
Errozate, which doubles up as the first Hors Catégorie climb of the Tour. This is something more at home with the Giro or Vuelta, its extreme gradients punishing the riders with four kilometres of over 11%, one of which is at a leg-breaking 13,1%. The road is
exposed,
narrow and
steep, but still
scenic. Throw in the possibility of
Basque weather & this race could be absolutely blown apart from miles out on these slopes, with the summit of one of the toughest mountains ever handled in the Tour coming with a full 59 kilometres left.
It would have been possible to cut Errozate short and climb to Artaburu, then have a period of flat across the Col d'Irau to the Col de Sourzay (or Surzai in Basque). However, by taking the road all the way up to the summit of Errozate we add ourselves a secondary challenge, that being the climb to Sourzay. This climb could be treated as a sort of mini-Aprica, appended on to the Errozate playing the role of the Mortirolo, but though much shorter than its Italian counterpart, Sourzay does have a couple of more difficult stretches, as shown on
this profile, with a maximum of 11%. This is perhaps for the best as the descent from Errozate is by no means as long or difficult as that from the Mortirolo to Edolo. After this, the riders climb up to Burdincurutcheta, though from Sourzay to here is not worth categorising. In effect, therefore, we have 15 rolling kilometres with some steep patches, coming off the end of the Errozate descent. Very difficult riding, with no respite at all, meaning that if the race has been blown apart on Errozate it could be a real chase on over these smaller ascents; similarly, like how Aprica often creates gaps as big as those of the Mortirolo simply because of the pain of going uphill again, riders who went into the red to hang on on Errozate could be distanced on these lesser slopes.
From Burdincurutcheta the riders have a period of recuperation on the descent, which is mostly very straight, with just four hairpins posing technical challenge. This will give some of those riders who were distanced time to make it back, or an opportunity for a daring escape by a secondary challenger with good descending skills. The chance of any sprinters being able to contest the intermediate sprint at the base of the descent, in the village of Bastida, is pretty much nil, so these points can probably be disregarded for the points competition.
However, the riders still have two climbs left to face in the final 30km. Neither are particularly long, but they are both good opportunities for a decisive attack. The first is the
Col de Bilgossa, which is less than 3km in length, but even steeper than Errozate, coming in at a Giro-tastic 10,4%. The summit is, once again,
pretty exposed, as you can see in that photograph, as the riders sit under the shadow of the Mocorreta. The descent into Esterenguibel is tough and technical, and it will be easy for a good descender to get out of sight of his pursuers here; so even if the race has been timid to this point there will surely be some riders looking for an advantage here, at least to give them a bit of a headstart when they complete the short flat trip to Esterençuby, ready to take on one of France's unheralded monsters.
For reference,
here is the Vuelta's official profile for the notorious Xorret del Catí, a climb that has sawn riders in half, and is a category 1 climb - and justifiably so - despite its short length. 3,8km, 11,5%, maximum of 22%.
For comparison,
THIS is the final climb of the day today. The Col d'Irey is a category 1 ascent despite being just 4,5km in length. The reason? Its average gradient is a staggering 12,0%, with a full kilometre averaging 13,9%! The climb does not pull its punches, coming in with 10% right off the bat, following that up with its steepest 500m section, at 14,6%. And the best thing about it?
It is in perfectly reasonable condition to race on. If the GC contenders have soft-pedalled Arnostegi, Errozate and Bilgossa, then there will be big gaps created by nothing more than attrition as the steep gradients see rider after rider fall away. If it's mano a mano by this point (which it should be, no domestiques should have made it this far if the racing has been done properly, and given the amount of time pure climbers may have lost in stage 4, it should be), expect carnage at the Gardeccia level.
The Col d'Irey crests 15 kilometres from the stage finish, which given the difficulty of the climb is mere water under the bridge; the descent - which isn't easy - accounts for half of that, before the riders take a quick loop around Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port so as to finish in the optimum location in the unlikely event that multiple riders come to the finish together. There is always the added option, in the unlikely event that Christian Prudhomme is even more of a sadist than me, of finishing with
this beautiful cobbled climb...
Biarritz:
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port:
. Whatever happens, this should be a stage to follow from start to finish. 
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