The Tour enters fully into the Pyrenees already in the fifth stage. The fireworks are over. The first special category and First category climbs arrive, with the ascents of Col du Soudet and Col de Marie Blanque, at the top of which bonuses are also distributed.
The last six kilometers of the Soudet are very hard but it is too far from the finish line. Instead, the distance from the Marie Blanque is perfect for a great offense. The climb begins when there are 30 km left to Laruns and its final part is very steep and very constant, always above 10% percentage.
Tadej Pogacar knows this well, who on September 6, 2020 achieved his first stage victory in the French round in Laruns. The stage is almost traced. The Slovenian attacked at Marie Blanque and went with Roglic, Bernal and Landa, whom he beat at the finish line with his good sprint.
It is only the fourth time that Laruns has appeared on the Tour map but he has two high-carat winners. In 2020 he defeated the aforementioned Pogacar and two years before his compatriot Primoz Roglic raised his hands there.
In Nay, half an hour’s drive from Laruns, Victor Fontan, winner of two editions of the Volta a Catalunya, was born. The first, in 1926, was won by Mució Miquel and in the second, in 1927, he defeated Mariano Cañardo, two key men in the history of the Volta.
