2015 Tour de France is one for the climbers
Tour de France organizers ASO revealed the 2015 parcours in Paris on Wednesday, unveiling a route that is light on time trials and heavy on climbing—to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the climber’s polka dot jersey—as it makes its way counter-clockwise around France. The race will also offer time bonuses for the first time since 2008 and another first-week stage featuring cobbles.
Act I (The Lowlands and North Coast): The race kicks off in Utrecht, The Netherlands with the only individual time trial of the 102nd edition, a mere 14 km in length. Stage 2 exposes the peloton to winds along The Netherlands’ coast, while Stage 3 finishes on the short, sharp Mur de Huy ramp in Belgium. Stage 4 throws seven sections of cobbles under the riders’ tires over 30 km. A few days for the sprinters are on offer in Normandy and Brittany, though winds might play havoc with the fastmen’s plans. An uphill finish on Stage 8’s Mur-de-Bretagne will see more punches thrown before the 28-km team time trial between Plumelec and Vannes on Stage 9.
Act II (The Pyrenees): After the first rest day in Pau after a long transfer, it’s time for the roads to tilt up. Three summit finishes in a row begin with a clamber up La Pierre St-Martin, the only categorized climb of the Stage 10. The next day’s final ascent of Cauterets is mild, but the Tourmalet hits the riders beforehand. Stage 12’s finale on the Plateau de Beille is the most fearsome of the three summit finishes. Four stages that will come as relief to the sprinters brings the race northeast to its second rest day in Gap.
Act III (The Alps): Four days in the high Alps feature three summit finishes on Pra-Loup, La Toussuire and l’Alpe d’Huez. Both the La Toussuire and Alpe d’Huez stages are short, 138 km and 110 km respectively. Alpe d’Huez comes on the penultimate day before the race wraps up on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Other notable climbs in the Alps are the Col de Glandon, La Croix de Fer, and the Col de Télégraphe and Col de Galibier on the run-up to Alpe d’Huez.
BREAKING NEWS ! #LEtapeduTour / Dimanche 19 Juillet 2015 : Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne – La Toussuire – Les Sybelles pic.twitter.com/93cNHhTPFF
— L’Etape du Tour (@letapedutour) October 22, 2014
After all the hullaballoo about riders attempting all three Grand Tours, the quartet of dominant stage racers–Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali–will be able to make more informed decisions about whether to concentrate on the more balanced Giro d’Italia or the Tour. The three French riders who crowded the top-six of this year’s Tour–Jean-Christophe Péraud, Thibault Pinot, and Romain Bardet–should find the 2015 la Grande Boucle to their liking.
