2015 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 21
The 2015 Tour de France was the 102nd edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Tour started in Utrecht, Netherlands on 4 July and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 26 July. On 21 July, between stages 16 and 17 there was a rest day in Gap. This mountainous stage began in Lannemezan, and headed south-east to an early intermediate sprint at Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges. The race then continued east through Payssous and Aspet, where it turned south. After the peloton passed through  Sengouagnet, the peloton turned east again and the climb of the category 2 Col de Portet d'Aspet at began, with an average gradient of 9.7%. The race then descended to Castillon-en-Couserans, which was immediately followed to the south-east by the climb of the category 1 Col de la Core at , with a gradient of 5.7%. The riders then descended east towards Seix, following the valley through to Massat and, turning south, where the climb of the category 1 Port de Lers at began, with an average gradient of 6%. The race then descended to the valley floor  at Tarascon-sur-Ariège to the east, which continued to Les Cabannes. The final climb was of the "Hors catégorie" Plateau de Beille at . This was a winding climb south from Les Cabannes, with a gradient of 7.9%. This hilly intermediate stage began in Muret heading east through the southern outskirts of Toulouse, with racing officially starting after passing through Venerque. Continuing through Fourquevaux and Caraman, the riders turned north to go through Lavaur and then east to travel through Graulhet, to an intermediate sprint at Laboutarie. After turning north-east and travelling through Villefranche-d'Albigeois, the hills began. First  was the category 3 climb of the "Côte de Saint-Cirgue" to . The riders then went through Valence-d'Albigeois and eventually turned north. Only apart, the next two climbs came in relatively quick succession, with the category 4 "Côte de Pomparie" to followed quickly by the category 4 "Côte de la Selve" at . From here, the route into Rodez was not flat, although the climb to La Primaube was not categorised. The descent into Rodez allowed for a fast finish. This intermediate mountain stage departed from Rodez heading south to Flavin. The race then turned east to Pont-de-Salars , before quickly reaching the category 4 climb of the "Côte de Pont-de-Salars", at a gradient of 5.8%. The race continued south-east through Salles-Curan, descending from the plateau at the Col de la Vernhette, before eventually heading east. There was an intermediate sprint on the way into Millau, where the riders then turned north-east. The race then continued through the Gorges du Tarn passing Rivière-sur-Tarn, Les Vignes and La Malène. On reaching Sainte-Enimie, the climb of the category 2 "Côte de Sauveterre", at and with an average gradient of 6%, began. The riders  then continued along a plateau, before a descent to Balsieges and a turn west. At Barjac, the riders began the climb of the category 4 at , turning east along the way. The race travelled through Mende itself; the finish line was further on, at the opposite side of the city. The riders then faced the climb of the category 2 to with an average gradient of 10.1%. The finish line was another on the plateau, adjacent to the . This hilly stage departed from Mende heading east, and immediately began the category 3 climb of the "Côte de Badaroux" to . The  race wound in a generally eastern direction through Chasseradès and Luc and continued east over the category 4 and the category 4 reaching an altitude of . The race then descended through Jaujac to an intermediate sprint at Aubenas, before turning north-east. This was followed by the climb of the category 2 to , before a descent east through Privas to Le Pouzin, where the riders began to follow the western bank of the Rhône. The race turned north-east again, heading through La Voulte-sur-Rhône and Charmes-sur-Rhône to Guilherand-Granges. Crossing the Rhône, the race then headed  through the centre of Valence to the finish line. This medium mountain stage departed from Bourg-de-Péage heading west, with racing officially starting just before reaching Granges-les-Beaumont, with racing being generally uphill for most of the day. Taking a route south through Montélier and Chabeuil to Crest, the riders turned east to Espenel and then headed north to Sainte-Croix. Heading east, an intermediate sprint took place at Die and the riders turned south-east to travel through Luc-en-Diois. The category 2 climb of the , to an altitude of , followed with a descent to Aspres -sur-Buëch. Continuing east, the race went through Veynes and La Freissinouse before descending into Gap for the first time. Heading north and east, back out of the city, the riders climbed the category 2 Col de Manse, to an altitude of . The race then descended south and then west back into Gap, to the finish line. This mountain stage began in Digne-les-Bains heading south, with racing officially starting just outside the town centre at Les Dieyes. The peloton turned south-east from Châteauredon to head along the Route Napoléon. Travelling through Barrême, the riders arrived at the  category 3 climb of the , to with a gradient of 5.3%. The race then descended to Castellane, and passed through Saint-Julien-du-Verdon before beginning the climb of the category 3 "Col de Toutes Aures" to at a gradient of 3.1%. Descending to Annot, the race turned north-west along the way to the category 2 climb of the at with an average gradient of 5.2%. The race then descended north to an intermediate sprint at Beauvezer. The riders continued through Colmars-les-Alpes and Allos before the biggest ascent of the day, the category 1 climb of the  Col d'Allos, to an altitude of and with an average gradient of 5.5%. Descending along the hillside to Uvernet-Fours, the riders then turned west to begin the category 2 climb to the stage finish at Pra-Loup, at and with an average gradient of 6.5% on the way up. It is exactly the same stage as the fifth one of the Critérium du Dauphiné, where Romain Bardet won the honours thanks to a hair-raising descent before hitting the final climb. Stage 17. Due to the change of the route on stage 20, announced on 25 June, the "Souvenir  Henri Desgrange" was awarded at the Col d'Allos. Stage 18. This mountainous stage departed from Gap heading north with an immediate climb over the category 2 Col Bayard, at a gradient of 7%. The race then descended to Chauffayer along the Route Napoléon, before heading north-west to the category 3 climb of the Rampe du Motty, a climb of 8.3% ascending to . After a gradual descent through Corps and La Salle-en-Beaumont, the riders then ascended the and 7.5% climb of the category 3 "Côte de La Mure", to . This climb to a plateau was followed, to the  east, by the category 3 Col de Malissol to at an average gradient of 8.7%. Then, the riders headed north through Lavaldens to the climb of the category 2 Col de la Morte, to at an average gradient of 8.4%. The descent to the valley floor at Séchilienne was followed by an intermediate sprint in , where the riders headed north-east through Allemont before beginning the biggest climb of the day. The climb of the "Hors catégorie" Col du Glandon to , with an average gradient of 5.1%, was followed by a descent, with few hairpin turns, to Saint-Étienne-de -Cuines. Here, the race made an abrupt turn south-east and began the final climb of the day: This was a climb of the category 2 Lacets de Montvernier, at an average gradient of 8.2%. The riders then descended to Hermillon, before a ride to the stage finish at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Stage 19. This mountainous stage began in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, with racing officially starting to the north at Hermillon. The peloton immediately began the climb of the category 1 at , with an average gradient of 6.3%. The riders then descended to La Chambre to the west , and followed the Arc river to an intermediate sprint at Épierre to the north. After crossing the Pont d'Épierre, the riders turned south along the other side of the Arc river and continued through the valley to Saint-Étienne-de-Cuines. From here the riders turned south-west to begin the climb of the "Hors catégorie" Col de la Croix de Fer at , with an average gradient of 6.9%, passing the uncategorised Col du Glandon and turning south-east on the way. With a partial descent to Belleville in the commune of Saint-Jean-d'Arves, the riders then began to  re-climb, this time north-east on the climb of the category 2 Col du Mollard at , with an average gradient of 6.8%. The race then descended north, nearly returning to where it started the day at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, before beginning the final category 1 climb west to La Toussuire. This final climb of the day has a gradient of 6.1%, and ascends to an altitude of . Stage 20. This mountainous stage began in Modane, with racing officially starting to the west at Fourneaux. In the original plans the peloton had been due to travel by the category  1 Col du Télégraphe () and the "Hors catégorie" Col du Galibier at (where the first rider over the summit would have been awarded the "Souvenir Henri Desgrange") before the climb of the "Hors catégorie" Alpe d'Huez at . A route used frequently in the Tour, it has an average gradient of 8.1%. However, on 25 June, it was announced that due to the expected resulting in the closure of the Chambon tunnel on the Briançon-Grenoble road, the route of stage 20 would be changed, bypassing the Col du Galibier. Instead of using the Télégraphe, the riders would continue along the  valley to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne rather than Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, where they would start the long "Hors catégorie" Col de la Croix de Fer. The climb was used for the second day in a row, although a different side was used. This one is less steep, averaging 5.2%. From there, the peloton used the route of stage 18's ascent as a descent towards Le Bourg-d'Oisans, where the planned intermediate sprint was held, before the Alpe d'Huez, also as scheduled. The distance of the stage remained intact. Stage 21. The final stage departed from Sèvres heading west , with racing officially starting on the at Ville-d'Avray, before doubling back to take the , back through Sèvres. The riders then headed south-east, going over the category 4 "Côte de l'Observatoire", through Meudon and east to Issy-les-Moulineaux. The race then took a circuitous turn west to cross the Seine at the , over the northern point of Île Saint-Germain. The race crossed into Boulogne-Billancourt and followed the Rive Droite to the Longchamp Racecourse, where the riders passed around the northern side, before crossing the Bois de Boulogne to the Palais des congrès. The race headed up  the Avenue de la Grande Armée, to reach the Arc de Triomphe, and then headed down "Avenue Marceau", back towards the Seine. The peloton turned right onto the "Avenue de New York", then turned left and crossed the Seine at the Pont d'Iéna. After crossing the bridge, the riders turned left again, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, along "Quai Branly" and turned onto "Avenue Bosquet". This was followed by the "Avenue de Tourville" and the "Boulevard des Invalides". The race then crossed through the gardens of Les Invalides reaching the "Quai d'Orsay" and turning right. On reaching the  Pont du Carrousel, the race crossed the Seine for the final time. The race passed the Louvre and turned left to travel along the Rue de Rivoli, through the Place de la Concorde and onto the Champs-Élysées. The race then began ten circuits around central Paris, heading up the Champs-Élysées and, as has been the case since 2013, around the Arc de Triomphe on the Place de l'Étoile. The riders returned down the opposite side of the Champs-Élysées, and around the Jardin des Tuileries. Finally, back along the Rue de Rivoli, and through the Place de la  Concorde, to the finish line on the Champs-Élysées. Because of poor weather conditions in Paris before the start of the stage (and during the La Course women's race), the race organizers decided that all general classification times would stop upon the first crossing of the line on the Champs-Élysées, which meant that Chris Froome's victory was secured. The riders would still have to complete all 10 laps of the circuit to complete the full race distance.