2020 Tour de France preview: the course

On Saturday the 107th Tour de France launches two months late in Nice with the spectre of COVID-19 looming over the three week Grand Tour. This year’s Tour de France boasts six summit finishes and a single time trial as the final GC battle. Staying within France’s borders, the route bypasses Northern France except for the final day in Paris, running counterclockwise around the southern half of the country, with the Pyrenees arriving before the Alps. Only one stage exceeds 200 km.

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Week 1

The Grand Depart in set in Nice for the first time since 1981, with one of the few opportunities for the sprinters. Although serious climbing is in store as early as Stage 2 in the Haut Pays hills around Nice, Stage 4 ends with the first summit finish on Orcières-Merlette. The shortest road stage of the 2020 Tour, Stage 8’s finish line is set at the bottom of a descent but before that come Port de Balès (11 km of 7.7 percent) and Col de Peyresourde (9.7 km of 7.8 percent). The Peyresourde’s peak will be one of the eight summits in the 2020 Tour that offers time bonuses of 8, 5 and 2 seconds to the first three riders to crest it. The Pyrenees might disappoint some with no summit finishes.

Week 2

Week 2 utilizes the Massif Central, with Stage 13 finishing on the Pas de Peyrol among the extinct volcanoes of the Auvergne. Ending the second week, the formidable Grand Colombier summit finish (17.4 km of 7.1 percent) is tackled after two ascents over 8 percent: Montée de la Selle de Fromental and Col de la Biches. The last time the race went over the Colombier in 2018, Julian Alaphilippe summited first before swooping down the other side for his first stage victory.

Week 3

The final week kicks off with a trip into the Jura mountains before heading into the Alps. Stage 17 hurls 17.1 km, 8.4 percent Col de la Madeleine at the riders before the 21.5 km, 7.8 percent Col de la Loze summit finish. It’s a new climb for the race and the highest point of the 107th edition. The GC battle will come down to Stage 20, the race’s only time trial, on Thibaut Pinot’s home roads, the 36-km route ending with a clamber up the 6-km La Planche des Belles Filles climb. Riders like Tom Dumoulin and Primoz Roglic will make up time on the mountain goats.

Who will win September 20’s finale on the Champs-Élysées in Paris? And who will wear yellow, green, polka dots and white at its conclusion?

Tour de France 2020
Stage 1: Saturday August 29, Nice to Nice, 170 km
Stage 2: Sunday August 30, Nice to Nice, 190 km
Stage 3: Monday August 31, Nice to Sisteron, 198 km
Stage 4: Tuesday Sept. 1, Sisteron to Orcieres-Merlette, 157 km
Stage 5: Wednesday September 2, Gap to Privas, 183 km
Stage 6: Thursday September 3, Le Teil to Mont Aigoual, 191 km
Stage 7: Friday September 4, Millau to Lavaur, 168 km
Stage 8: Saturday September 5, Cazeres to Loudenvielle, 140 km
Stage 9: Sunday September 6, Pau to Laruns, 154 km
Rest Day Monday September 7
Stage 10: Tuesday September 8, Ile de Re to Il d’Oleron, 170 km
Stage 11: Wed. Sept. 9, Chatelaillon-Plage to Poitiers, 167 km
Stage 12: Thursday September 10, Chavigny to Sarran, 218 km
Stage 13: Friday Sept. 11, Chatel-Guyon to Puy Mary, 191 km
Stage 14: Sat. Sept. 12, Clermont-Ferrand to Lyon, 197 km
Stage 15: Sun. September 13, Lyon to Grand Colombier, 175 km
Rest Day Monday September 14
Stage 16: Tues. Sept. 15, Tour du Pin to Villard-de-Lans, 164 km
Stage 17: Wed. September 16, Grenoble to Meribel, 168 km
Stage 18: Thurs. Sept. 17, Meribel to La Roche-sur-Foron, 168 km
Stage 19: Fri. Sept. 18, Bourg-en-Bresse to Champagnole, 160 km
Stage 20: Sat. Sept. 19, Lure to La Planche d. Belles Filles, 36 km
Stage 21: Sunday September 20, Mantes-la-Jolie to Paris, 122 km