In the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France, the riders face yet another grueling mountain stage. With nearly 5,000 meters of climbing along the way, this could very well be the day for the general classification contenders.

The stage starts on Sunday in Champagnole, in the Jura. From this picturesque village—surrounded by plenty of greenery along the Ain—the riders begin climbing almost immediately. They tackle the Mont Rivel right away, a climb 22 kilometers long but with an average gradient of only 2.1 percent. After this ascent comes a short descent leading to the Côte de Doppes (15.2 kilometers at 3.6%). This climb is also very long but again has a relatively low gradient.

Next follows a descent of roughly 50 kilometers with some short climbs, until about 60 kilometers from the finish. Here, the first truly serious climb appears: the Col de la Croissette (7.6 kilometers at 8.8%), after which approximately fifty kilometers remain to the finish.

In the finale, the Plateau de Solaison (11.3 kilometers at 9.1%) awaits as a beast of a final climb. This ascent, which was also featured a few years ago in the Dauphiné, hits hard immediately with gradients over ten percent. After that, the gradient oscillates between 8 and 10 percent all the way to the summit.