route of the Tour 2004

[slazer]

Last year on the official Tour website you could see the exact road route of the tour so you could plan on where to stay and watch. Does anyone know if there is a place to get this information this year? I can't find an official site this year and need to reserve rooms.
Thanks, Slazer

 

[medinabrad]

Originally posted by slazer
Last year on the official Tour website you could see the exact road route of the tour so you could plan on where to stay and watch. Does anyone know if there is a place to get this information this year? I can't find an official site this year and need to reserve rooms.
Thanks, Slazer

It's there!! Just found it today. Here is the URL -
http://www.letour.fr/2004/presentationus/infos.html
Then click the tab for route.
A time trial up Alpe de Huez!!

 

[slazer]

Originally posted by medinabrad


It's there!! Just found it today. Here is the URL -
http://www.letour.fr/2004/presentationus/infos.html
Then click the tab for route.
A time trial up Alpe de Huez!!

Thanks! This is too exciting. I've got my Michelin maps out and I'm ready to roll.

 

[patch70]

Route looks good. Can't wait for that ITT up Alpe d'Huez! Should be a close tour - at least until stage 16.

 

[luke1972]

Originally posted by patch70
Route looks good. Can't wait for that ITT up Alpe d'Huez! Should be a close tour - at least until stage 16.

Will the crowds still flock to Alpe d'Huez for a TT? Guess they would. Would be great seeing them fly up the climb as opposed to this year when half of em looked like death (after the climbs they had to endure before hitting AdH)

 

[patch70]

I read some ridiculous figure about the extra millions of tourists that go to France for the TDF. I imagine they'd get the crowds even if they made it an ITT on recumbents.

 

[luke1972]

Originally posted by patch70
I read some ridiculous figure about the extra millions of tourists that go to France for the TDF. I imagine they'd get the crowds even if they made it an ITT on recumbents.

Yer I went this year and stayed at the bottom of Alpe D'Huez. For 48hrs the traffic was bumper to bumper. At night the sky was lit up by headlights ascending AdH and on the day of the race there was 600,000 on the climb I have never seen that many people assembled in one place before.

AWESOME!

 

[patch70]

Half your luck - would love to go when tatts finally comes through with the goods...

 

[claggy]

just seen the route , got to say im very dissapointed , ok the alpe dhuez stage and the plateau de beille(sp?) look good but the rest dosent really excite me . where are all the big mountain stages going ? maybe theres some suprise hidden in the route ?

 

[Cycling expert]

I too have just checked out the route for next year's tour and i also am disappointed with the lack of mountain stages but more importantly mountain top finishes, i was under the asumption that Mont Ventoux was to be used this year but that hasn't materialised, only 3 mountain top finishes, not the recipe for another great tour like this years.

 

[pedalrun]

Originally posted by Cycling expert
I too have just checked out the route for next year's tour and i also am disappointed with the lack of mountain stages but more importantly mountain top finishes, i was under the asumption that Mont Ventoux was to be used this year but that hasn't materialised, only 3 mountain top finishes, not the recipe for another great tour like this years.

I really like the course and not having the Mt.'s and the timetrials until the very end will add suspense all the way to Paris..

And starting in Belgium... Some of the first stages are going to be on part of the famed cobbles of Paris-Roubiau(sp?).. with lots of narrow roads.. The first Mt. stage Limoges to St. Flour covers very narrow roads as well with like 3 or 4 mt's climbs, could make for a day like when beloki crashed.. followed by La Mongie, and then Plateau beille! and then they hit the Alps!! The stage before L'Alpe Huez looks pretty tough with sevaral big climbs just before the finish and 2.3k- 6% climb to the finish! Then after the Huez tt stage they climb Glandon and Madeleine, a couple of others and then Croix-fry and only 12.5km downhill to the finish... and then.... another mt. stage and then... the final tt and then...

I see lots of drama all 3 weeks.

 

[tomdavis80]

They arranged the route in a way that would make the course much tighter of a race than in years before. They want to see a Tour de France similar to last year's with lots of things happening in the last week which is what will happen. If you look up www.velonews.com, you'll see that Lance Armstrong and other cyclists have said that this route will make this year's Tour de France more exciting than years before. That's why they had 2 mountain stages in the last week, not to mention having a team time trial in the last week as well. However, the rules for the team time trial is that a team can not lose more than 2 and a half minutes in the team time trial to other teams or such which I feel is stupid due to it rewarding weaker teams.

Thomas Davis