As the Tour de France enters its third week, the race will cross over a border for the first time this year as the peloton hit the Pyrenees and arrive in Andorra. Stage 15 is a brutal test of climbing and descending featuring three category-1 climbs and a final, hair-raising drop into Andorre-La-Vielle.
Tadej Pogacar retains a comfortable lead in the general classification standings but stage 14 was a reminder of how quickly those gaps can be cut. Guillaume Martin started the day over nine minutes behind the Slovenian but leapt seven places in the standings after being part of a 14-strong breakaway from Carcassonne to Quillan and is now second overall, four minutes behind Pogacar.
The 22-year-old had a relaxed race on Saturday as he allowed the breakaway to pull away, with Bauke Mollema eventually bursting clear on the last climb of the day with 40km to go for a solo win. It could be a similar story this afternoon, with the rider who reaches the Col de Beixalis in the lead almost certain to be standing on top of the podium later on. Starting in Céret for the first time, this 191.3 km stage features a relatively gentle opening 50 km, which could present opportunities for the breakaway before the riders hit the first climb of the day to Montée de Mont-Louis, with an intermediate sprint in between.
There will be tired legs after Saturday, which was not a mountain stage but still featured five categorised climbs, but there is some respite on the horizon with a rest day scheduled for Monday. If there are any riders out there with something left in the tank, now would be the time to empty it.
Stage 15 profile
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Stage 15 map
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Prediction
The 14-man breakaway on Saturday featured several strong climbers, many of whom were involved in the battle for the King of the Mountain jersey. Wouter Poels and Michael Woods exchanged blows in collecting KOM points, and it was enough for the latter to top Nairo Quintana in the standings. The Colombian was not involved in the breakaway and dropped off the pace near the end, so could be set for a big day in the mountains here as he seeks to reclaim top spot, in what is turning out to be a competitive contest for the polkadot jersey. Quintana certainly has it in him to win a couple of climbs but the question is whether he can hold on for the stage win, or if a rider like Mattia Cattaneo can catch him on the final ascent.
Start time
Stage 15 is set to start at 11.29am BST and is expected to finish at around 4:45pm.