The peloton, and all their support vehicles, will travel 178.5 kilometres from Carcassonne to Foix.
It will be hot, it will be beautiful, and the final 40km will be a lot less painful on the couch than on a bike. Here's what to watch out for from the temperature-controlled comfort of your living room.
1. The beauty of the Pyrenees
In comparison to the more moderate gradients and rockier landscapes of the high Alps, the Pyrenees thrills with steeper climbs on narrower, more technical roads. You can also expect to see a lot more trees.
A map of Stage 16 of the 2022 Tour de France
2. The Mighty Mur de Péguère
'Mur' is French for 'wall', which is an apt way to describe tonight's final climb. While the average gradient is only 7.9 per cent, the road will get noticeably steeper as riders approach the top. In fact, this is one of the steepest climbs of the Tour this year, with some sections reaching a leg-busting, face-contorting 18 per cent gradient.
Stage 16 profile
3. Make or break attacks
The Mur de Péguère certainly sets the stage for a dramatic finish and some hold-on-tight-and-don't-look-back attacks. This stage is ripe for another breakaway. We can also expect some more bold moves from the general classification riders as they try to shake each other off the overall podium.
With 15 stages in their legs already, tension will remain high as riders and viewers alike will be taking their best guesses at who will crack, who will attack, which attacks will stick, and for how long.
4. The final 27 kilometres
Hold on tight for the final hard pedal to the finish line tonight. If anyone's made it over the Mur de Péguère with a less-than-massive gap to the field, they will have to activate full hero-riding mode as they charge down the descent and pedal with everything they have to the end of the stage.
Meanwhile, the peloton will be doing everything they can to mow down any escapees with a perfectly paced overtake creating another opportunity for the sprinters...provided they've managed themselves well in:
5. The scorching heat
With a forecast of 36 degrees, tonight's stage is going to be another hot one. Especially for riders from countries with milder summer temperatures, and especially on roads made of materials prone to melting a little while waiting for the peloton to arrive.
Heat and hydration strategies are going to be a major factor in which riders go well over this phase of the Tour.
Heat and hydration are equally important for the Australian #couchpeloton as they shiver their way through the middle of winter and try to look peppy when turning up to work the morning after another late night stage.
We see you. We salute you. Keep up the great work too!
Tune in for all the action tonight with the SBS SKODA Tour Tracker from 8:20pm (AEST). The SBS and SBS On Demand broadcast begins at 9:30pm (AEST).
