The route of the 104th Tour de France, to be held in July 2017, has been unveiled before an audience of almost 4,000 people at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, and immediately stands out for its atypical mountain stages.
Although there will be fewer climbs than usual, the steeper gradients will separate the men from the boys. From the time trial in Düsseldorf to the one in Marseille on the eve of the finish, there are plenty of hat-tips to tradition and bursts of inspiration for the brave.
Key points:
- 30 years after the 1987 Grand Départ in Berlin, the Tour will start in the German city of Düsseldorf and later head to Belgium and Luxembourg.
- The course of the 2017 Tour de France will feature France’s five mountain ranges. Tour favourites will go head-to-head on steep gradients. The Izoard will host the last summit finish.
- Exceptional locations such as Marseille’s Stade Vélodrome and the Grand Palais in Paris will roll out the red carpet for the peloton.
France’s Five Major Mountain Passes
Vosges, Jura, Pyrenees, Central Massif and Alps — the route will tackle France’s five major mountain ranges in this order. 1992 was the last time this mountainous grand slam was in the race. The new features that will be rolled out this time, though, will raise a few eyebrows for sure.
The queen stage will tackle the Jura mountains between Nantua and Chambéry. These are the Col de la Biche, the Grand Colombier, and Mont du Chat, for a massive total altitude gain of 4,600 m.
Those hoping to roll into Paris in the yellow jersey on the final day will have to go head-to-head in the Pyrenees in a 100 km stage from Saint-Girons to Foix.
Sections approaching a 20% gradient will provide fertile ground for further attacks on La Planche des Belles Filles and Peyragudes, and the race will more than likely be decided in a spectacular climax on the infamous Izoard, a fabled climb which will set the scene for the concluding mountain showdown in its first ever stage finish.
Mountain goats, however, will not have all the fun as they will have to fight for the yellow jersey in a time trial on the Mediterranean coast, with the finish line right in Marseille’s Vélodrome stadium. The last time a stage finished in a football ground was in Bordeaux’s Parc Lescure in 1979.
Less than 24 hours later, the peloton will be in Montgeron —start of the 1903 Tour— for the final stage, which will see them ride indoors in the prestigious Grand Palais. The Champs-Élysées will see a fast-man apotheosis to cap a series of sprints which will start in Liège and probably continue in Vittel, Troyes, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Romans-sur-Isère.
One thing is certain, there are plenty of opportunities to settle old scores on the 2017 Tour de France route.
via Bicycling » Tour de France http://ift.tt/2e4u66F
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