Strong mix of stages should produce plenty of exciting racing
A couple of hours after the announcement of the details of the 2011 Tour de France, riders and teams alike will be analysing the route announced today and working out what is likely to happen next July. The organisers have unveiled a parcours which should appeal to all except, perhaps, the time trial specialists who would prefer to have more kilometres against the clock.
The climbers should be satisfied, though, and so too the sprinters, who have several good opportunities to chase success. Breakaway riders are also catered for, although it remains to be seen how the new intermediate sprint details will impact on what groups are giving space to get clear.
VeloNation has gathered more details of the route, outlining some of the considerations that the competitors will keep in mind as they look towards the race.
Next year’s race begins on Saturday July 2nd with a 191 kilometre race from Passage du Gois to the Mont des Alouettes, called the Alpe d’Huez of Brittany. The finishing climb is just two kilometres, but is both long and steep enough to make a bunch sprint an unlikely prospect.
Day two is a 23 kilometre team time trial starting and finishing in Les Essarts and that, twinned with the tough finish the day before, could push the general classification contenders to the fore early on.
The sprinters should have it more their way on stages three, with a completely flat route awaiting them on the 198kilometres from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon. The profile is less conducive to a bunch finish the following day, though, as the 172 kilometre leg from Lorient to Mûr -de-Bretagne could see the general classification contenders test themselves against each other.
“It will provide us with a summit finish which has a steep incline where the pretenders to the Champs Élysées podium may get involved in the fight for the stage victory,” suggests race director Christian Prudhomme.
A different type of obstacle should be found on stage five to Cap Fréhel, with the sea-bordering 158 kilometre leg being exposed to the kind of winds which could split the bunch into echelons and lead to significant time gaps. Teams such as Quick Step, Rabobank, Saxo Bank and RadioShack are likely to turn the screw, seeking to shake things up and put their rivals on the back food. Alberto Contador and several other big guns lost time in 2009 on a similarly exposed leg to La Grande Motte.
The longest stage of the 2011 Tour follows one day later. In theory the 226 kilometre leg should lead to a bunch sprint, but a steep climb just over one kilometre from the finish in Lisieaux could act as a springboard for a rider such as recent Tour of Lombardy victor Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma Lotto).
A big gallop is more likely on the stage to Chåteauroux, where Mark Cavendish triumphed just over two years ago. The puncheurs and climbers should again be favoured on stages eight and nine, with the first of these ending atop the climb of Super-Besse, and the second bringing the peloton through the Massif Central before finishing in Saint Flour.
Prudhomme said that the idea of the opening period of the race was to provide a little bit of something for everyone. “The route has been designed so that all kinds of riders will be able to make their presence felt during these first days,” he said. “The favourites should already be apparent, especially in the Mûr-de-Bretagne, with an atmosphere and with an enthusiasm that we can already imagine.”
Second phase – the high mountains beckon:
That first period of the Tour will set the scene for what is ahead, offering hints as to who is in form, but it will be the high mountains before the possible overall winners of the race will really show their cards. Following the rest day in Le Lioran on July 11, they will take a back seat for a little while longer on the stages to Carmaux and Lavaur.
The sprinters and breakaway riders will have their own battles there, then take a step backwards on stage 12. Three major peaks will be scaled: the new Hourquette d’Ancizan, the famed Tourmalet and then the summit finish to Luz-Ardiden, which is reappearing in the race for the first time in eight years.
The stage takes place on Bastille Day and a flurry of attacks from French riders and teams will make a tough stage even harder.
The Col d’Aubisque is on the menu on the July 15th, but is the only significant climb on the 156 kilometre race to Lourdes. The famous pilgrimage town has only been used once before for a finish, back in 1948, and the run-in is twisting enough for attackers to try to emulate the then-winner Gino Bartali.
The final big Pyrenean mountain stage takes the riders across six major summits, namely the Col de Portet-d’Aspet, the Col de la Core, the Col de Latrape, the Col d’Agnes, the Port de Lers, and then the fifth-ever finish on the Plateau de Beille. The previous winners there – Marco Pantani, Lance Armstrong (2) and Alberto Contador – all went on to win the Tour in the year in question, and so the more superstitious contenders will do their utmost to also triumph.
The last stage before the second rest day is a 187 kilometre race from Limoux to Montpellier, after which the riders will take a short, but well-earned, break.
Third phase – the showdown:
Following a day in Drôme, just six stages will remain. Four of these will be crucially important for the general classification, while stage 16 to Gap is lumpy enough to shake things up.
The next day’s race to Pinerolo will create more significant time gaps due to the trio of the Col de Montgenèvre, the Col de Sestrières and the Pra’Martino, which comes just before the drop down to the finish. Whatever cracks are opened there will be blown apart one day later, with the 189 kilometre 18th stage to Galibier – Serre being the toughest of the race.
It includes three major climbs, namely the Col Agnel, the Izoard and the Galibier itself, and is noteworthy to statisticians for one two counts. The first climb is the highest of this year’s Tour, cresting at a staggering 2744 metres in altitude, while the third marks the first time for the Tour to ever finish on top of the Galibier and, with that, will be the highest summit finish ever.
Those climbs are clearly a platform for battle to be waged amongst the general contenders, and that uphill scrap will persist on stage 19. It is just 109 kilometres in length and so will be fought out from the very drop of the flag, making it a short but very difficult day in the race.
The Col du Télégraphe is the first major obstacle, and will be followed by the Col du Galibier and then the legendary summit finish of Alpe du Huez.
The final general classification of the Tour will be almost determined by that point, but if gaps are tight, those in contention for the podium places must dig deep in the penultimate day time trial. Starting and finishing in Grenoble, it is an undulating 41 kilometre test which should provide a gripping showdown prior to the final stage to Paris.
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2011 Tour de France, July 2 – 24 :
Stage 1, July 2: Passage du Gois – Mont des Alouettes 191km
Stage 2, July 3: Les Essarts – Les Essarts 23km
Stage 3, July 4: Olonne-sur-Mer – Redon 198km
Stage 4, July 5: Lorient – Mûr -de-Bretagne 172km
Stage 5, July 6: Carhaix – Cap Fréhel 158km
Stage 6, July 7: Dinan – Lisieaux 226km
Stage 7, July 8: Le Mans – Chåteauroux 215km
Stage 8, July 9: Aigurande – Super-Besse Sancy 190km
Stage 9, July 10: Issoire – Saint-Flour 208km
Rest day at Le Lioran
Stage 10, July 12: Aurillac – Carmaux 161km
Stage 11, July 13: Blaye-les-Mines – Lavaur 168km
Stage 12, July 14: Cugnaux – Luz-Ardiden 209km
Stage 13, July 15: Pau – Lourdes 156km
Stage 14, July 16: Saint-Gaudens – Plateau de Beille 168km
Stage 15, July 17: Limoux – Montpellier 187km
July 18, rest day at Drôme
Stage 16, July 19: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux – Gap 163km
Stage 17, July 20: Gap – Pinerolo 179km
Stage 18, July 21: Pinerolo – Galibier Serre Chevalier 189km
Stage 19, July 22: Mondane – Alpe d’Huez 109km
Stage 20, July 23: Grenoble – Grenoble 41km
Stage 21, July 24: Créteil – Paris Champs Élysées 160km