The presentation of the Tour de France route is always a spectacular event, with 4000 guests, local mayors, riders, team managers and directeurs sportifs packed into the Palais des Congres not far from the Arc du Triomphe and the Champs Elysees where the Tour de France ends in July.
The unveiling of the 2016 edition followed the usual script with a presentation of the Grand Depart stages, followed by race director Christian Prudhomme revealing the map of the 2016 Tour de France and then details of each stage. The 103rd edition of the Grand Boucle includes 16 new stage starts and finishes but also celebrated its history with visits to Raymond Poulidor’s home town and to Sallanches in the Alps, where Bernard Hinault won the world title in 1980.
The race route always takes centre stage at the Tour de France presentation, with the riders only called on stage afterwards to pose for photos. They then share their thoughts on the route with the media back stage after the presentation has finished.
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2015 Tour de France winner Chris Froome was the star of the highlights video of this year’s race and the Briton was on the front row of riders at the presentation, flanked by Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and German sprinter Andrei Greipel (Lotto Soudal). Mark Cavendish rubbed shoulders with Greipel, as he will be hoping to do in next year’s race when he rides for Team Dimension Data. Notable by their absence were world champion Peter Sagan, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, Fabio Aru and Nairo Quintana.
Cavendish was one of the smartest dressed riders, wearing a suit and tie, while Pinot and Greipel went for a more casual look. Romain Bardet showed his individuality in a bow tie. Also in Paris were 2015 stage winners Zdenek Stybar and Tony Martin, while Daniel Teklehaimanot flew the flag for Africa and was praised for wearing the climber’s polka-dot jersey in this year’s race.
Froome described the Tour de France route as challenging.
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