STAGE 14
Stage 14 sees the Tour arrive at the footsteps of the Alps. Though this route only includes two moderately-challenging climbs, it's a mostly uphill course that will tempt the peloton's strongmen to jump into a modest-size break and try to outlast the chasing peloton to the stage's final 6-mile descent.

The leader's team will be forced to work on the front for long stretches and negotiate the gap between them and the leadout riders. If the time gaps are manageable in the last hour or so of the race, expect to see the sprinter's teams take over the chase. If the man in yellow is a true contender in the mountains, his team may choose to minimize its efforts in order to "rest" for the big mountain days ahead--even concede the jersey to a rider in the break should hot weather tax the peloton.

The tactical scenarios are endless. In the final miles, some squads may set off a flurry of attacks, stretching the field into several pods of ambitious riders who are trying to grab the photo finish. Ahead in the breakaway, riders will balance a game of cat and mouse against the chasing peloton. A stage victory in the Tour de France is often the pinnacle of a rider's career and there are only so many stages to win in any given year. The epic stages in the Alps are just around the bend, but in the Tour, every day is big.

MORE TOUR de FRANCE MAPS
Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 | Stage 6 | Stage 7 | Stage 8 | Stage 9 | Stage 10 | Stage 11 | Stage 12 | Stage 13 | Stage 14 | Stage 15 | Stage 16 | Stage 17 | Stage 18 | Stage 19 | Stage 20 | Stage 21

Google Earth Flyover: 2008 Tour de France

See more race coverage at bicycling.com/tourdefrance.