Barcelona to Montpellier

This tour runs north-east up the Mediterranean coast in seven stages, covering 582 km with just 2,005 m of climbing in total. It begins in Barcelona and finishes in Montpellier, with the only sustained hills in the middle third; the first and last days are close to flat.

Stage 1 follows the Maresme coast for 77.3 km through Badalona, Mataró, Calella and Blanes to Lloret de Mar, gaining only 239 m and topping out at 51 m. Stage 2 turns inland behind the Costa Brava headlands from Blanes to l'Escala, 94 km with 631 m of climbing: a 1.9 km rise at 4.2% from km 10.1, then a longer 4.2 km climb at 4.1% from km 18 reaching 235 m, before the run through Palamós, Palafrugell, Pals and Torroella de Montgrí.

Stage 3 is the hilliest day and the border crossing. From l'Escala the route works through Castelló d'Empúries, Vilajuïga and Espolla, then over the Col de Banyuls into France; the 3 km climb starting at km 55.4 averages 4.3% and tops the day's high point at 344 m. Two shorter ramps of 1.1 km and 1.5 km follow between Banyuls-sur-Mer, Port-Vendres and Collioure before Argelès-sur-Mer. Total for the stage: 91.5 km and 774 m.

From there the terrain flattens out completely. Stage 4 to Gruissan is 89.3 km with 71 m of gain, running along the lagoons past Canet-en-Roussillon, Le Barcarès, Leucate and Port-la-Nouvelle, never above 37 m. Stage 5 is the longest day at 101.8 km and reaches a maximum of just 14 m, passing Narbonne-Plage, Valras-Plage, Agde, Marseillan, Mèze and Bouzigues to Sète. Stage 6, 92.2 km with 54 m of gain, crosses the Camargue edge via Palavas-les-Flots, La Grande-Motte, Le Grau-du-Roi, Aigues-Mortes and Le Cailar to Aimargues. Stage 7 is the shortest at 35.6 km, running through Lunel and Mauguio into Montpellier.

Ridden in September, with recorded temperatures between 21 °C and 28 °C — warmest on the Barcelona coast and across the Camargue, coolest on the border day and the final run into Montpellier. Every stage passes 33 or more places to fill bottles or buy food, so supplies are rarely more than a few kilometres apart, but the flat, exposed lagoon stages offer little shelter and are worth starting early in warm weather.