Blazin' Saddles: 2016 Tour de France route special
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Updated 20/10/2015 at 16:02 GMT
A gruelling Bastille Day ascent of Mont Ventoux, two lumpy time trials and some fresh tracks in both Andorra and the Alps will make the 103rd edition of the Tour de France an unpredictable affair next July.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme presents the itinerary of the 2016 Tour de France cycling race during a news conference in Paris, France, October 20, 2015
Image credit: Reuters
For the majority of the world, Tuesday 20th October was only ever going to be about the latest trailer for the forthcoming Star Wars film.
But for cycling's awakening force on social media and the Jedi warriors of the World Tour - not to forget the storm-troopers gathering around Team Sky's infamous Death Star - all eyes were on a very different sneak preview.
In front of a crowd of 4,000 people - including reigning champion Chris Froome and Dimension Data new signing Mark Cavendish - the 2016 Tour route was unveiled at the Palais de Congrès in Paris.
Starting at the stunning Mont-Saint-Michel in the Manche region of Normandy, the anti-clockwise route runs a total of 3,519 kilometres - 159km longer than last year but 145km shorter than in 2014 - and visits three foreign countries in Spain, Andorra and Switzerland. Half of the stage start or finish towns are fresh to the Tour with 16 new locations along the way.
Nine flat stages are balanced out by nine mountainous slogs, which include four summit finishes (one less than the previous two editions) and four finishes at the foot of final taxing climbs. There's one intermediate stage and two individual time trials with a combined distance of 53km - meaning there's no space for a prologue or a team time trial.
A flat opening day finish at Utah Beach will give the sprinters a chance to wear the race's first yellow jersey - a feat achieved twice by Marcel Kittel in Corsica in 2013 and Yorkshire in 2014.
With the exception of the Col du Tourmalet and Mont Ventoux - which will be visited for the first time since Froome's memorable win in 2013 - the race is relying on a selection of lesser-known peaks in the Massif Central and the Jura as well as the Pyrenees and Alps.
After three further long stages that will suit the sprinters with finishes in Cherbourg, Angers, and Limoges, the battle for GC will intensify as early as stage 5 with the first mountain-top finish in Le Lorian ski resort in the Cantal department of the Massif Central.
The pick of the Pyrenean tests is stage 9 to Andorra Arcalis, the race's highest finish at 2,240 metres, where Brice Feillu won when the Tour last came to town in 2009. Stage 7 finishes beside the stunning Lac de Payolle while stage 8 includes both the Tourmalat and Peyresourde ahead of a downhill finish in Bagnères-de-Luchon, where Mick Rogers won in 2014.
Following a rest day in Andorra the sprinters will return to the fray with long stages to Revel and Montpellier ahead of the fearsome up Mont Ventoux on the French national holiday on 14th July.
The 13th stage comes on a Friday and will be unlucky for many: a twisting 37km ITT into the picturesque Gorges de l'Ardeche valley that is not exactly one for the specialists - but certainly one for sightseeing spectators.
The race's second time trial comes just six days later with a short but sharp 17km largely uphill time trial to swish ski resort of Megève - the location for the classic 1963 film Charade, starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant.
Neither of the chrono parcours particularly excite multiple former time trial world champion Tony Martin, who struggled to hide his dismay while discussing the route with Eurosport anchor Ashley House.
"I was hoping for some more classic-style stages and more classic time trials," said Martin, who crashed out of last year's race while in yellow following his victory on the cobbles of northern France.
"The two ITTs are looking pretty tough - not what I was hoping for or expected - but I will deal with it and look for my chances."
Before that second race against the clock, the riders will sweep up into the Jura mountains before crossing the border into Switzerland for a finish (and subsequent rest day) in Bern, the hometown of Fabian Cancellara, whose illustrious career will no doubt be celebrated in the same manner as that of Raymond Poulidor, whose hometown is passed through in stage 5.
A brand new summit finish beside the breathtaking Emosson dam after the steep Col de Gueulaz overlooking Mont Blanc - where Alberto Contador attacked Froome during the 2014 Critérium du Dauphiné to take the leader's jersey.
The towering Mont Blanc will provide the backdrop for the race's final trio of stages, with the time trial followed by the fourth summit finish at Saint-Gervais-Mont Blanc (where Froome beat Tejay Van Garderen in the 2014 Dauphiné) and the penultimate stage to Morzine, which culminates in slight ramp following a zippy descent after the final climb of the race, the Col de Joux Plane.
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Riders including Chris Froome of Britain (2ndL) , Tour de France 2015 overall leader, Andre Greipel of Germany (3rdL) and Mark Cavendish of Britain attend the presentation of the itinerary of the 2016 Tour de France cycling race during a news conference i
Image credit: Reuters
Defending champion Froome described the route as "challenging" when asked of his first impressions at the launch.
"There's a lot to consider in this next edition of the Tour de France. I think it's a great route with a winner who's going to have to do a bit of everything," he said.
"I don't think it's specifically a course that suits a time triallist or a climber or a classics rider. It's going to have to be a very all-round rider who takes on this route."
While the stage to Andorra will give the Team Sky rider a chance at redemption following his withdrawal after the queen stage of this year's Vuelta, Froome admitted that he was bent on becoming the first rider in Tour history to win twice on the Bald Mountain.
"Personally I have my eye on Mont Ventoux again," he said. "It's a special climb for me and I think it's going to be one of the pivotal stages in next year's Tour."
The race concludes with the traditional sprint finish on the cobbled Champs-Elysées of Paris, where British sprinter Cavendish will have his heart set on a career fifth victory.
"It's hard, so hard," Cavendish said when quizzed about the route. "For 21 days it's going to be full gas - I'd quite like to be a climber for this Tour. But there will be opportunities for the sprinters."
With only four stages north of the Loire, the fierce heat of the French summer could also be a factor.
Time bonuses will be maintained after last year's introduction, with 10/6/4 seconds up for grabs for the first three riders of each stage.
A shake up in the polka dot jersey competition will see points doubled not only for the four summit finishes but for final climbs for the four stages where the finish comes at the foot of the final ascent.
Despite current world champion Peter Sagan running away with the green jersey for the fourth consecutive time last July - and once again without a stage victory - there will be no further changes in the points classification.
Greipel, winner of four stages this year, told Eurosport that the green jersey would not be a priority for him. Instead, the German veteran - like sprint rival Cavendish - is targeting a victory on the opening day that will see him take a maiden yellow jersey.
"Stage wins is the biggest target," he said. "Peter may love the world champions jersey so much he doesn't want the green - but I don't think so."
Not present at the Tour presentation was double Tour champion Alberto Contador, who has made the race his priority in what was thought to be his final season before retirement.
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Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme presents the itinerary of the 2016 Tour de France cycling race during a news conference in Paris, France, October 20, 2015
Image credit: Reuters
But speaking on the eve of the launch, the Spaniard suggested that he could well continue riding beyond the end of his current contract with Tinkoff, should the opportunity arise.
"If I fall off or if I have to abandon [the 2016 Tour], I would come back in 2017 - or if I manage to set up my own team outside of Tinkoff, given my contract with them ends in 2016," Contador told the Spanish press.
"Whether or not it's my last Tour is something I will decide. And that freedom to decide prevents me from feeling sad about it. But I would like a last good Tour to have a good ending to it all."
The 2016 Tour de France starts at Mont-Saint-Michel on Saturday 2nd July and finishes in Paris on Sunday 24th July.
Who do you think will win the race? And what do you think of the course? Have your say below...
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