After ignoring the Tarentaise for what seemed like absolutely ages, the Tour de France returns this coming summer for the second year in a row. This time it will be right at the end of the race, and it could be Tarentaise tarmac that determines who wins.
Following on from Geraint Thomas' victory in La Rosiere, the Tour will be visiting Tignes for a stage finish on 26th July, having first claimed the 2,700m Col de l''Iseran (from the Maurienne side). The tour last visited Tignes in 2007 when the stage was won by the soon-to-be-disgraced Michael Rasmussen - more here.
And then the next day - the last one before Paris - the Tour will start at Albertville, pass through the pastoral delight that is the Beaufortain and then drop into Bourg St Maurice en route to the long drawn out final climb to the summit finish at Tignes.
In Bourg the best place to watch may be by the roundabout at foot of the Cormet de Roselend.
Full route details here.
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