From Yverdon-les-Bains, the route leaves Lake Neuchâtel and heads into the quiet countryside of Vaud and Fribourg. This is a wetter, heavier day than the stages before: grey skies, rain on the road and many small rises between fields, villages and patches of woodland. Around Payerne and Avenches, Switzerland shows a different side – less dramatic, but wide, green and rural. Towards Fribourg, the terrain becomes more shaped again. The city arrives with steep streets, sandstone façades and views down to the Sarine.
