Stage 7

The scenic Col des Saisies out of Albertville means big climbing from the start and the first half of the stage hardly offers any rest with the Aravis and Colombière climbs. After the high speed descent to Cluses comes the “Côte d’Arâches” which, pending the map publication, looks like tahe scenic cliff climbing road on the way to the Flaine ski resort before taking a balcony road across. The finish is a “new” climb, the town of Samoëns is better know as the start of the dreaded Joux-Plane but instead of going north, here it’s south and up a tough road to a ski station; this climb is often known as the Plateau des Saix and it’s a tough climb, forums abound with adjectives like “terrible”, “wild”, “infernal” and some locals say it’s harder than the Joux-Plane.