After Thursday's grueling high mountains stage from Albertville to La Toussuire, the 2012 Tour de France moves to a medium mountains stage. The 226 kilometer course runs from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Annonay Davézieux, serving as the gateway to the southern France portion of the race.
Friday's Stage 12 features three climbs, but the first two come fairly early on in the day. At the 34th kilometer, the cyclists face the Col du Grand Cucheron, a Category 1 climb that last 12.5 kilometers and offers a gradient of 6.5 percent. The second peak comes at the 80.5 kilometer mark at the Col du Granier. This is also a Category 1 climb, but while it is just 9.7 kilometers long, it does come with an 8.6 percent gradient.
At the 207.5 kilometer the cyclists reach the Côte d'Ardoix, just a Category 3 climb. There will be a slight uphill finish to the stage at Annonay, but it registers as little more than an inconvenience.
Bradley Wiggins still wears the yellow jersey since capturing it over the weekend. He maintains a lead just over two minutes ahead of Christopher Froome. It is likely he will once again keep the maillot jaune.
Start time: 3:00 a.m. MT
Expected finish time: 8:48 a.m. MT
TV Coverage: NBC Sports Network has once again moved up its live coverage to an early start time and will begin at 4:30 a.m. MT.
SB Nation Denver is your source for 2012 Tour de France updates on Team Garmin-Sharp, and be sure to visit cycling blog Podium Cafe as well.
