October 14/09 11:10 am - 2010 Tour de France Route Revealed

Posted by Editor on 10/14/09
 

ASO, organizer of the Tour de France, has released details of the Tour for next year. Running from July 3rd to 25th, the 97th edition will cover 3600 kilometres, starting with a Prologue in Rotterdam (Netherlands), and ending with the traditional circuit around the Champs-Elysées in Paris. Highlights include six mountain stages (three summit finishes) and a 59 kilometre individual time trial. For next year the Tour will follow a clockwise route around France, going through Belgium from the Netherlands before entering France. It will remain in France for the rest of the race, with no exursions into Switzerland, Italy of Spain for a change.

The biggest change is the reduction in the amount of time trialling - even though the single ITT is a long 59 kilometres (note: it is announced at 59 kilometres, but the stage detail says 51), it is the only race against the clock (except the short eight kilometre Prologue), with the team trial trial that was re-introduced last year once again out. The mountains are the important factor for 2010, with 23 Category 1, 2 and HC climbs included.

In the opening stages, riders will cover portions of the cobblestones and climbs used in the Spring Classics of Fleche Wallonne, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Paris-Roubaix.

Stages