Stage 13: Agen - Pau, 165.3k.
The penultimate sprint opportunity, although there are once again some hills to deal with.The route
A short transfer has brought the peloton to Agen, capital of the Lot-et-Garonne department in which they already finished the prior stage. Located on the Garonne halfway between Toulouse and Bordeaux, it was already a sizeable place in the Roman era, with a theatre that could hold at least ten thousand. It flourished in the Middle Agesz but was hit relatively hard by both the Hundred Years’ War and Huguenot attacks. After a resurgence in the 18th century, it was rather left behind by the Industrial Revolution and even today, the economy relies more strongly on agriculture and associated industries than one would expect of a city in this location. This will be its fifth time hosting the Tour, and the third in a row as the stage start the day after a finish in Villeneuve-sur-Lot.
The first 45 kilometres are rolling, so if the baroudeurs feel like they have a chance, it will be a hard start. This section culminates at the edge of the Landes, but unlike the previous two years, which featured long sections through the endless pine plantations, the riders turn away from it to head south. This makes for a somewhat more exposed day than the previous stage, but this is not an area where the wind tends to blow. The next point of interest is the intermediate sprint in Nogaro. Unlike last year’s stage finish on the motor circuit, it’s in the centre of town.
The main hilly section comes between 50k and 20k from the line, but there’s nothing too tricky here. The first KOM, Côte de Blachon, is the final 2.0k of the profile below.
Next up is Côte de Simacourbe, the final KOM.
After a final hill (uncategorised, 800 metres at 6.6%), the final 20 kilometres are pretty flat. As you see, there’s nothing to bother any but the most onedimensional sprinters, courtesy of ASO’s ongoing policy to avoid interesting hills like the plague in any of the eight sprint finales. The final kilometres are the same as usual, identical to the 2017 and 2018 stages (the most recent road stages to finish here – the 2019 TT took a different approach).
Pau is on the route almost every year, in fact this will be the 75th edition since its first appearance in 1930 to have a start and/or finish here, meaning it will likely draw level with Bordeaux as the most-visited city other than Paris next year. It was a relatively unassuming place until the kings of Navarra (who had lost Navarra itself by that point) moved their capital here in 1512. The French throne fell to the kings of Navarra in 1589, starting the Bourbon dynasty, and after unification in 1620 France was formally known as the Kingdom of France and Navarra until the French Revolution (the name was restored during the brief restauration of the House). The city became both a global centre of aviation and a favoured tourist destination among the British elite in particular in the 19th century, but after the First World War it lost some of its status. It grew rapidly after the Second World War when a (now-depleted) gas field was discovered in nearby Lacq. However, the aerospace and fossil industries have endured here, and together with the university and location as the main gateway to the Pyrenees, there is plenty to keep the city afloat.
What to expect?
Just like the previous stage, it just isn’t hard enough to stop the sprinters from being favoured.