The 2012 Tour de France route will be officially unveiled in Paris on Tuesday October 18 – but the race’s organisers, ASO, gave us a sneak peak by accidentally posting the route on their website.
We already knew that next year’s race would start with a prologue in Liege, before two road stages in Belgium.
From there, the text (left) paints a picture of a 3,479km route that includes four medium mountain stages (with one summit finish) and five high mountain stages (with two summit finishes).
It’s worth noting the graphic (above) details only four mountain stages and the route is yet to be finalised. However, two individual time trials are set to feature on stages nine and 19.
That makes for 90km of time trials, as well the 6.1km prologue. With relatively few mountains for the pure climbers, the route could favour riders in the mould of defending champion Cadel Evans and Bradley Wiggins.
Discuss the route in this forum thread.
UPDATE – Giro d’Italia route also leaked
In what proved to be an uncomfortable day for Grand Tour organisers, the 2012 Giro d’Italia was also leaked, according to www.tuttobiciweb.it
Details of the opening first three days had already been unveiled, with the race heading to Denmark for the first time with an individual time trial followed by two road stages.
Having transferred to Italy, there will be a 32.2km team time trial before the race turn south, visiting Assisi in Perugia and Montecatini Terme in Tuscany.
Heading back north, the peloton will spend several days in the Dolomites, including back-to-back summit finishes on stages 19 and 20, before a 31.5km individual time trial in Milan to end the first Grand Tour of the year.
May 5 – Herning-Herning ITT (8.7 km)
May 6 – Herning-Herning (206 km)
May 7 – Horsens-Horsens (190 Km)
May 8 – Rest day, transfer to Italy
May 9 – Verona-Verona TTT (32.2 km)
May 10 – Modena-Fano (199 km)
May 11 – Urbino-Porto Sant’Elpidio (207 Km)
May 12 – Recanati-Rocca di Cambio (202 km)
May 13 – Sulmona-Lago Laceno (229 km)
May 14 – San Giorgio nel Sannio-Frosinone (171 km)
May 15 – Civitavecchia-Assisi (187 km)
May 16 – Assisi-Montecatini Terme (243 Km)
May 17 – Seravezza–Sestri Levante (157 km)
May 18 – Savona-Cervere (121 km)
May 19 – Cherasco-Cervinia (205 km)
May 20 – Busto Arsizio-Lecco/Pian dei Resinelli (172 km)
May 21 – Rest day
May 22 – Limone sul Garda-Falzes/Pfalzen (174 km)
May 23 – Falzes/Pfalzen-Cortina d’Ampezzo (187 km)
May 24 – San Vito di Cadore0-Vedelago (139 km)
May 25 – Treviso-Alpe di Pampeago (197km)
May 26 – Caldes/Val di Sole–Passo dello Stelvio (218 km)
May 27 – Milano-Milano ITT (31.5 km)
