At a glitzy shindig with guests including Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, race director Christian Prudhomme revealed the route of the 2010 Tour de France, which looks to make for a dramatic race.
The Tour will start on 3 July in Rotterdam with an 8km prologue. The 97th edition of the race will then head south into Belgium where sections of cobbles used for the famous Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Paris-Roubaix spring classics will strike fear into the riders.
“We don’t put cobblestones for riders to fall, but to make a selection,” Prudhomme said. “There will be 11 kilometres of cobblestones in the last 30 kilometres. There will be some damage.”
The highlight of the 2010 route is the series of stages through the Pyrenees. To celebrate 100 years since the Tour first included the mountains of Pyrenees, many of the most notable climbs that have been the scene of great racing moments will be included, such as the Peyresourde, Aspin, Aubisque and Tourmalet on stage 16. But not content with just sending riders over the Tourmalet, they’ll turn around after the rest day and tackle stage 17 with a mountain top finish on the Tourmalet.
On paper it looks to be a route that suits a natural climber, a fact not lost on reigning champion Contador. “This is a tour for climbers. It looks harder than last year, but I like the profile,” the Spanish rider commented.
There’s the notable absence of a team time trial, a fact that Lance Armstrong has noted with dismay through Twitter. There is however an individual time trial of 51km distance on stage 19, the penultimate day of racing, before the riders roll down the Champs Elysees.
Will the route put Lance Armstrong at a disadvantage when he attempts to control Contador in the mountains? The Texan will undoubtedly think not, saying: “The summit finish (at Tourmalet) near the end of the race keeps everyone guessing as to who is going to win and keeps the riders sharp.”
Whatever happens, it shouldn’t fail to be an exciting race.
The route in detail
July 3: Prologue – Rotterdam, 8 km
July 4: Stage 1 – Rotterdam – Brussels, 224 km
July 5: Stage 2 – Brussels – Spa, 192 km
July 6: Stage 3 – Wanze – Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, 207 km
July 7: Stage 4 – Cambrai – Reims, 150 km
July 8: Stage 5 – Epernay – Montargis, 185 km
July 9: Stage 6 – Montargis – Gueugnon, 225 km
July 10: Stage 7 – Tournus – Station des Rousses, 161 km
July 11: Stage 8 – Station des Rousses – Morzine Avoriaz, 189 km
July 12: Rest day – Morzine Avoriaz
July 13: Stage 9 – Morzine Avoriaz – St Jean de Maurienne, 204km
July 14: Stage 10 – Chambery – Gap, 179 km
July 15: Stage 11 – Sisteron – Bourg les Valence, 180 km
July 16: Stage 12 – Bourg de Peage – Mende, 210 km
July 17: Stage 13 – Rodez – Revel, 195 km
July 18: Stage 14 – Revel – Ax 3 Domaines, 184 km
July 19: Stage 15 – Pamiers – Bagnes de Luchon, 187 km
July 20: Stage 16 – Bagneres de Luchon – Pau, 196 km
July 21: Rest day – Pau
July 22: Stage 17 – Pau – Col du Tourmalet, 174 km
July 23: Stage 18 – Salies de Bearn – Bordeaux, 190 km
July 24: Stage 19 – Bordeaux-Pauillac, individual time trial 51km
July 25: Stage 20 – Longjumeau – Paris Champs Elysees, 105 km
Route breakdown
- 1 prologue,
- 9 flat stages,
- 6 mountain stages and 3 summit finishes,
- 4 medium mountain stages,
- 1 individual time-trial stage (59 km).
