Tour De France, 2007, Stage 12 Preview: Say Goodbye to the Mediterranean

The second and last transitional road stage between the Alps and the Pyrenees occurs Friday in the Tour de France with riders set for another hot day primarily along the southern coast and then a late-day deviation inland.

The field of 168 (from a starting group of 189 in London on July 7) will ride 178.5 kilometers (110.9 miles) from Montpellier to Castres. It's an ideal stage for a strong team rider to vie for a stage win with the race's first individual time trial and three mountain stages on the near horizon.

Warm weather is expected again during the stage, which will include four categorized climbs, although none of substantial concern.

Here are the climbs involved in the 12th stage, listed by their distance into the stage, name, length in kilometers, average grade and category rank:

27.5 kilometers, Côte de Cantagal: 1.6 km climb, 4.3 percent grade, category 4.
58 kilometers, Côte du Mas-Rouet, 2.4 km climb, 4.3 percent grade, category 4.
74.5 kilometers, Col du Buis: 2.6 km climb, 4.8 percent grade, category 4.
130.5 kilometers, Montée de la Jeante, 10.4 km climb, 6.1 percent grade, category 2.

Despite its category 2 status, the final climb of stage 12 ascends to an elevation of more than 3,000 feet and will be followed by 25 miles of winding back roads before what is expected to be a fast, flat and final five-mile entry into the finishing city.

Castres, which in 1991 hosted its only previous Tour stage finish, was named after the Latin word Castrum, which means "fortified place." Castres matured around the importance of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Benoit, which is believed to have been founded in 647 AD.

A city along the Agout River about an hour from Toulouse, Castres today has about 45,000 residents.

In its only tenure as a Tour finishing city, Italian Bruno Cenghialta won the 14th stage from St. Gaudens to Castres in 1991 when he emerged from a seven-rider break that finished about a minute ahead of the peloton.

If lower-classified rider or a small group of riders who aren't a threat to the overall lead builds a substantial lead in Friday's stage, the peloton is likely to let them have their day in the sun.

As such, the overall top-10 standings will likely remain largely unchanged entering Saturday's long and important individual time trial in Albi.