October 20/10 17:27 pm - 2011 Tour Route Unveiled

Posted by Editoress on 10/20/10
 

ASO, organizers of the Tour de France, unveiled the 2011 route for the Tour in Paris yesterday. Covering a total of 3,471 kilometres over 21 stages, the race is made up of 10 flat stages, a Team Time Trial, one individual time trial, six mountain stages (four with summit finishes) and three transition stages (what the organizers call 'medium mountain' stages).

2011 will be the 100th anniversary of the Tour going through the Alps (starting with the Col du Galibier in 1911), so the race is heavily weighted towards the final stages in the Alps, including two ascents of the Galibier in back-to-back stages, and the highest finish in Tour history (2,645 metres) for the 18th stage. Alpe d'Huez is also back on the route.

The biggest reduction is the amount of time trialling, only 64 kilometres in total. The 23 kilometre TTT is too short to open up any big gaps, and the 41 kilometre individual time trial, coming on the penultimate day, is unlikely to have a significant impact, after all the climbing in the previous days.