The focus of this stage will be the legendary Col d'Aubisque, which represents the final hors categorie climb of the Tour - the mountains aren't finished yet, but Aubisque represents the end of some 'extreme' climbing for riders. Armstrong took the yellow jersey on the back of this climb in 2002 - this occurred earlier in the race, and he went on to dominate the remainder of the Tour after hitting his competition hard in these opening mountain exchanges. In 2005 the situation may well be different, or we could find Armstrong placing a stranglehold on the overall lead leading to a seventh victory - who knows? Either way it's going to be a fight amongst the main GC contenders with a couple of strongmen thrown in; the German has been quiet since his early season success and is primed for a strong Tour performance.
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'Not feeling fit enough to continue' – Pauline Ferrand-Prévot withdraws from La Vuelta Femenina
Frenchwoman out of race after losing 26 seconds on hilly stage 4 -
Chasing stage wins or a potential GC bid? – How Tom Pidcock will attack his Giro d'Italia debut with Q36.5
'A stage win would be a success. If I really dream, I hope for a top five in GC' says Brit's coach, but Pidcock insists he's 'not interested' -
USA CRITS: Robin Carpenter wins College Park Criterium as Luke Fetzer secures Speed Week title
Colombian Valeria Cardozo-Cabrera earns second win in three days while La Grange winner Holly Breck best in Speed Week -
'The pink jersey is more dream than reality' - Wout van Aert scales back ambition of taking early Giro d'Italia lead
Visma-Lease a Bike rider says he's had only one good training day since Amstel Gold Race
