Stage 9 - Val-d’Isère to Briançon - (159.5km)

COURSE: Following a rest day at Tignes, the favorites will prepare for what should be one of the Tour’s major climbing days.

This stage features the Tour’s highest mountain pass, the Col de l’Iseran (9085 feet) right from the start, which is followed by 70km of downhill and flats before the very long ascent via the Col du Télégraphe to the rugged Col du Galibier (8678 feet). After 35km of descending from the Galibier, the 2km climb to the finish in Briançon averages almost 7 percent.

HISTORY: No less than 32 Tour stages have finished in Briançon, the most recent in 2005 and 2000. Two years ago, Vinokourov beat Colombian Santiago Botero in a two-man break 1:15 ahead of a big group, while in 2000 Botero arrived 2:30 ahead of runner-up Paolo Savoldelli after a solo escape on the Col d’Izoard.

FAVORITES: The question will be whether the strongest riders at Tignes will be the best over the Galibier — which always catches out those riders who are not 100 percent. A small group is likely to contest the victory, with men like Valverde, Klöden and Evans eager to take a prestigious win (and the valuable time-bonus seconds) on the uphill finish in Briançon.