After the second and final rest day, the race entered the high mountains with the queen stage crossing two hors catégorie climbs - the Col d'Aubisque and the Col du Tourmalet - followed by the first-category climbs of the Col d'Aspin and the Col de Peyresourde, completing the so-called Circle of Death, before dropping down to the finish in Bagnères-de-Luchon. The first rider over the Tourmalet - the highest point reached in both the Pyrenees and the 2012 Tour as a whole at - received the Souvenir Jacques Goddet.