This transitional stage links the Alps with the Massif Central between the tourist town of Bourg d’Oisans (population 3,350) and the industrial city of St. Étienne (population 180,000). There are only three climbs, none of which can be compared with the monsters the riders have faced in the Alps. After the second and most difficult climb, the Cat. 2 Croix de Montvieux (2,660 feet), the course takes a different direction than usual to a finish in the northern part of St. Etienne, not the traditional finish on the Cours-Fauriel.