It’s not a mountain stage and it won’t be a particularly long day, but that’s the way it is in the Tour de France. Stages that don’t appear overtly difficult can prove problematic.

In the stage 7 on Friday, July 11, the field will ride 159 kilometers (98.7 miles) from Brioude to Aurillac on a route with few flat sections. It will feature five categorized climbs spread throughout the route and some long, narrow descents.

The day begins in a small ancient city (population 7,000) and will progress across the hills and valleys of the Cantal region. The first climb (category 3) arrives after only 10 kilometers.

A category 4 climb awaits 25 miles later and then two category 2 and a category 3 are on the horizon in the final 40 miles and
en route to the finish in Aurillac.

Aurilllac has a unique industry. It manufactures more than half of the umbrellas in France. And it has also been the site of a half-dozen Tour stage finishes. The weather can be unpredictable. An Aurillac stage finished in 100-degree temperatures in 1959 and in cold rain in 1968.

Aurillac hasn’t been part of the Tour for 23 years. In 1985, Eduardo Chozas of Spain, a breakaway specialist, rode to a 10-minute solo win.

While the peloton took more than seven hours to finish, it was the first of four career stage wins for Chozas. Yet, his inaugural win was overshadowed by what would become the last of legendary French rider Bernard Hinault’s fifth and final Tour de France title.

And who would have known it at the time? Hinault’s final Tour title was the last by a rider from the race’s host country.