This mountainous stage began in Modane, with racing officially starting to the west at Fourneaux. In the original plans the peloton had been due to travel by the category 1 Col du Télégraphe () and the Hors catégorie Col du Galibier at (where the first rider over the summit would have been awarded the Souvenir Henri Desgrange) before the climb of the Hors catégorie Alpe d'Huez at . A route used frequently in the Tour, it has an average gradient of 8.1%.