Tour de France 2018 Stage 15 live stream: Watch online

The Tour de France kicks off its final week by riding through the Massif Central on Sunday. Here is how to catch all the action on the road to Carcassonne.

After the ride to Mende on Saturday, the 2018 Tour de France winds into its final week of racing with a Stage 15 jaunt into the Massif Central. Three categorized climbs await the peloton on the road to Carcassonne.

While none of the climbs are individually as daunting as those found in the Pyrenees and the French Alps, they present a different challenge for the contenders in the general classification. These climbs aren’t as steep as other mountains in the race, with few sections topping out anywhere near 10 percent.

Thus the race won’t be won on the road through the Massif Central. It could, however, be lost on Sunday.

The first climb of the day begins less than five miles into the stage. Riders will tackle the Côte de Luzençon essentially right away, with two miles of riding uphill at an average gradient of around six percent. Then the Col de Sié presents another six-plus miles of climbing.

The final climb of the day begins right after the intermediate sprint in Mazamet. The Pic de Nore is the longest of the three climbs, with more than seven miles uphill at an average 6.2 percent grade. At the summit, there are still more than 25 miles to ride before the field reaches Carcassonne.

Could a breakaway succeed on Sunday? Will any of the general classification favorites lose time in the Massif Central like they did on Stage 14? You won’t want to miss the action on Sunday morning as the route has the potential to flip the race once again.

How to watch the stage

Here is how to catch Stage 15 at the Tour de France live on July 22. The action from Millau to Carcassonne will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network. Live streaming of the action is available on NBC Sports Gold or FuboTV.

• Date: Sunday, July 22, 2018
• Start time: 7:00 a.m. ET
• Start: Millau, France
• Finish: Carcassonne, France
• TV Info: NBC Sports Network
• Live Stream: NBC Sports Gold, Fubo.TV

It won’t be too hot a day in the hills as the peloton rides its way through the Massif Central. Temperatures should remain in the 70s for most of the stage, and could possibly heat up into the low 80s by the finish. A crosswind of around 13 miles per hour will likely be sweeping across the final kilometer from right to left across the road at the finish in Carcassonne.

Next: Tour de France 2018 route breakdown and highlights

Sprinters are unlikely to be anywhere near the front of the race at this stage. Like in Stage 14, we could see a breakaway group of riders further down the general classification escape to contest the victory. That will make the general classification battle a race within the race for the stage win as each of the contenders mark their rivals and hope to avoid losing any time.