This is very much a transitional stage after two days in the hills of the Massif Central; the Tour now heads south towards the high mountains of the Pyrenees. The stage has two distinct halves: the first half features four climbs – two third and two fourth category – while the second is mostly flat as the roads descend into the lowlands of the Midi. There are two unclassified bumps in the final 25 kilometres, but not enough to stop the sprinters getting their trains organised in this, their last chance before the roads get really steep.
Figeac has featured in the Tour twice before, most recently when locally raised Cofidis star David Moncoutié won a solo breakaway victory. The town's big claim to fame is as the birthplace of Jean-François Champollion, the man credited with being the first man to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics.
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