After the well-earned final rest day in Pau and with five days still to go to Paris, the riders are not yet done with the Pyrenees, or rather, the Pyrenees are not yet done with the Tour riders. For stage 16 has four difficult climbs on the program, including the hors catégorie Port de Larrau, a steep 14.5-kilometre monster that leads the Tour for a short visit into Spain, then a finish atop the hors catégorie Col d'Aubisque.
This stage will be the last chance for riders who are looking to move up the GC ladder and look for a huge turnout of Basque fans to support their orange clad Euskaltel-Euskadi riders. If Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) takes the win atop the d'Aubisque, the Basques will cheer just the same.
Climbs:
Km 79: Port de Larrau: 14.7 km climb @ 8.1 % grade / hors catégorie (Spain)
Km 93: Alto Laza - 3.5km climb @ 6.8 % grade / 3rd Cat. (Spain)
Km 131: Col de la Pierre-Saint-Martin: 14.2 km climb @ 5.2 % grade / 1st Cat.
Km 180.5: Col de Marie-Blanque: 9.3 km climb @ 7.4 % grade / 1st Cat.
Km 218.5: Col d'Aubisque: 16.7 km climb @ 7 % grade / hors catégorie
Sprints:
Km 36: Mauleon-Licharrre
Km 200: Laruns
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