Greig Leach

Almost immediately after the intermediate sprint the peloton started climbing. It wasn't do long until they began the official ascent of the Col du Pre. It is rare to see a roadway snake up a steep climb like this. The stage had been shortened due to an outbreak of a highly contagious skin disease amongst the local cattle herds, so it was decided to shorten the route thus avoiding the area and one of the four climbs on the original parcours for the day. That had thousands of fans rushing off of that mountain to find somewhere they could watch the race. I think they all came to this beautiful stretch of roadway. I you squint you can make out the leading vehicles on the first two turns and the bulk of the peloton stretched between the third and fourth turns. Just back from them is the start of the formation of the grupetto, the group of sprinters and others who are struggling with the climbs. If the group is large enough, they won't be eliminated from the Tour even if they finished outside of the time limit for the day.