The countryside north of the six-mile climb to the Pyrenean ski station of Plateau de Bonascre proudly proclaims its links with the Cathars, a medieval sect who were brutally stamped out by the Catholic church in the middle ages, and here yesterday Lance Armstrong proved equally implacable in the face of the first signs of unrest from Jan Ullrich.
It was Ullrich who forced the pace on the steepest part of the ascent, as soon as the leaders left the spa town of Ax-les-Thermes and crossed the river Ariege - as Armstrong's main challenger for overall victory, there really was nothing else he could do.
But the German's trouble is that, as the Texan pointed out after his decisive victory on Tuesday at l'Alpe d'Huez, he is not a rider who can produce the abrupt changes of pace which can unsettle a climber as confident as Armstrong.
All Ullrich could do yesterday was ride as fast as he could, in the hope that Armstrong might find his pace too much at the end of a 103-mile stage.
Some hope.
Armstrong was immovable, and the difference between the two riders was highlighted with a mile to go when the Texan produced the kind of effort Ullrich clearly cannot: A searing burst which left the Olympic champion yards behind within moments.
Ullrich rallied, and limited his losses to 23 seconds by the finish, but he is now four minutes behind Armstrong and the effect on his morale must have been devastating.
The American could not quite make it a hat-trick of stage wins, however, as the diminutive Colombian climber Felix Cardenas had already taken flight earlier in the stage.
He lasted out to claim a victory full with emotion given the tragedy which hit his Kelme team in March, when two of their riders, the twin brothers Javier and Ricardo Ochoa, were mown down by a car while training near Malaga.
Javier was killed instantly while Ricardo, the stage winner at the other end of the Pyrenees at Hautacam last year, has only recently emerged from a coma and begun to speak again.
Another tragedy, the Italian Fabio Casartelli's fatal accident six years ago, sprang to mind on the descents, which were narrow, hairpinned and hair-raising. On the first climb, the Col de Jau, the Dutchman Bram de Groot bounced off a rockface and over a crash barrier.
He was taken to hospital with multiple facial injuries and was later said to be in a coma although in a "satisfactory" condition.
After the same fall, Sergei Ivanov, the stage winner at Aix-les-Bains, was taken to hospital with shoulder injuries and is out of the race.
Then, as the lead bunch plunged down into the Ariege valley before the finish, the Belgian Kurt van de Wouwer lost control and slid into a stone wall, breaking his collarbone.
Nor was that the end of the casualties, who included one major threat to Armstrong. Christophe Moreau, who started the stage eighth overall and with every hope of finishing in or at least close to the top three, had begun the day unwell and climbed into his team car in a state of distress as soon as the bunch reached the lower slopes of the 4,500ft Col de Jau. He was said to be suffering from lung trouble.
Today, in the 121-mile stage to the ski station at Pla d'Adet, there are six major climbs in the final 75 miles.
The current maillot jaune, Francois Simon, is likely to see his nine-minute lead over Armstrong melt like the fresh snow on the peaks here.
STAGE 12 RESULTS
1 Felix Cardenas (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca 5 hours 03 minutes 34 seconds; 2 Roberto Laiseka (Spa) Euskaltel 13 seconds behind; 3 Lance Armstrong (US) US Postal Service 16; 4 Jan Ullrich (Ger) Deutsche Telekom 38; 5 David Etxebarria (Spa) Euskaltel 59; 6 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1:01; 7 Joseba Beloki (Spa) Once-Eroski; 8 Santiago Botero (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1:36; 9 Michael Boogerd (Hol) Rabobank.
OVERALL LEADING STANDINGS
1 Francois Simon (Fra) Bonjour 51 hours 56 minutes 14 seconds; 2 Andrei Kivilev (Kaz) Cofidis 8 minutes 42 seconds behind; 3 Lance Armstrong (US) US Postal Service 9:10; 4 Joseba Beloki (Spa) Once-Eroski 13:14; 5 Jan Ullrich (Ger) Deutsche Telekom 13:15; 6 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 16:28; 7 Igor Gonzalez-Galdeano (Spa) Once-Eroski 16:40; 8 Santiago Botero (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca 19:06.
SPRINT JERSEY OVERALL STANDINGS
1 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cridit Agricole 140 points; 2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Deutsche Telekom 127; 3 Damien Nazon (Fra) Bonjour 90; 4 Sven Teutenberg (Ger) Festina 82; 5 David Etxebarria (Spa) Euskaltel 77 6 Lance Armstrong (US) US Postal Service 76.
KING OF THE MOUNTAINS STANDINGS
1 Laurent Roux (Fra) Jean Delatour 157 points; 2 Lance Armstrong (US) US Postal Service 113; 3 Jan Ullrich (Ger) Deutsche Telekom 110; 4 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) CSC-Tiscali 106.
