At almost 200km, stage 14 might seem long enough to favor a breakaway, but it is virtually devoid of climbs, other than two gentle Cat. 4s. The opening 50km stretch from Nîmes crosses the flat Rhône delta before reaching Provence, where the race traverses some low hills on the way to the Durance Valley, while the final 50km is through the early foothills of the Alps. The last short climb is on a wide major highway, with a fast descent taking the riders to a flat straightaway in Digne-les-Bains (population 18,000), where roundabouts might cause a crash or split up the peloton.