July 15, 2022
The Tour hits the Massif Central for a very hilly stage culminating in the spectacular steep climb to the airfield above Mende
Tour de France 2022, stage 14
Distance: 192.5km
Start location:Saint-Étienne
Finish location: Mende
Start time: 11.15 BST
Finish time (approx): 17.05 BST
Before he became famous as the author of Treasure Island and Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson achieved low-level renown with his 1879 work Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes. Stevenson researched his travelogue, which chronicled his north-to-south journey between Le Monastier in the Haute-Loire and Saint-Jean-du-Gard in the Parc National des Cévennes, very diligently. His travelling companion for the 12-day journey was an intransigent and wilful donkey called Modestine, and Stevenson faithfully recorded the stubborn beast’s reluctant progress. To this day, the GR70 walking route, the Chémin de Stevenson, tracks the same route.
The cyclists of the 2022 Tour de France will trace a similar journey on stage 14 of the race, though starting a little further north than Stevenson and finishing in Mende, which Stevenson passed on day seven of his odyssey. However, they will take a lot less time, though by this point in the Tour there will still be tired legs and a few reluctant passengers. Early on, Stevenson recounted being brought close to tears by Modestine’s refusal to budge; perhaps some team directors will experience similar situations with tired riders.
Read more
– Tour de France 2022 route: everything you need to know about the 109th edition
– Tour de France standings: the latest results from the race
– How to watch and live stream the Tour de France 2022
Stage 14 is one of the toughest stages of the Tour, and there will be a lot of riders who are not looking forward to it. The showcase climb is the final one, the short but very very steep ascent to the airfield above the Massif Central town of Mende, the Côte de la Croix Neuve. The climb has two kilometres which average almost 11 per cent, though it descends a little then flattens out in the final kilometre. It was the setting for one of the Tour’s most famous ambushes, the Laurent Jalabert and ONCE team’s assault on Miguel Indurain in the 1995 race, an event which is commemorated in the climb’s other name, the Montée Laurent Jalabert. The race has been a regular visitor in the last decade, stopping here in 2010, 2015 and 2018, and…