2020 Tour de France stage 7 preview

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Stage 7: Millau - Lavaur 

Date: September 4, 2020 

Distance: 168km 

Stage start: 1:25 p.m. CEST

Stage type: Hilly   

Stage 7 is a classic lumpy, bumpy route out of the Massif Central, which will be finely balanced between the break, hoping for a lull, and the sprinters’ teams. This is a classic transition stage, in which a series of hills may just give the break enough impetus to make it to the finish, without the sprinters taking exception to their efforts.

At the confluence of the Tarn and Dourbie rivers sits picturesque Millau, which will send off riders near the Millau Viaduct, the tallest cable-stayed road bridge in the world, towards a day over lots of rocky hills and “liquid” hills, otherwise known as the wind. 

Three categorised climbs are positioned in the first 100km, with the category 3 Col de Peyronnenc offering the longest ascent at 14.5km. After the Côte de Paulhe, just 1.1km in length, there is another lumpy section then 44 kilometres of leveled-out pavement into the finish art Lavaur. 

The Tour has visited Lavaur twice, in 2001 and 2011, and the score is 1-1 between the break and the bunch. In 2011 Mark Cavendish won the bunch sprint, but in 2001 a group of 25 contested the finish that was won by Rik Verbrugghe. Lavaur will launch riders towards a weekend in the Pyrenees.