Tour de France Stage Breakdown

By Bonnie D. Ford
ESPN.com

Tour organizers always try to throw a few twists into the predictable template of the 106-year-old race, but they've outdone themselves this time.

The clockwise route starts on the Mediterranean coast, meaning the peloton will hit the road in hot, windy weather, a real contrast from the cool, wet conditions that often characterize the initial week when the race begins in the northern part of the country.

In a controversial experiment, race radio communication between team managers and riders will be banned during two midrace stages. Some cycling purists believe that audio technology has made tactics overly robotic, especially during flatter stages where breakaways are almost inevitably caught by teams looking to position sprinters for the finish.

The 2,149-mile course favors climbers over time-trial specialists, a point emphasized by the decision to scrap the customary last-weekend time trial in favor of a potentially hair-raising uphill finish on Mont Ventoux.

Get set for an interesting ride.

July 4: Stage 1, Monaco (individual time trial), 9.63 miles

A hilly, technical race against the clock long enough to be called a stage rather than a prologue. Overall contenders such as Tour of Italy winner Denis Menchov of Rabobank and Astana's Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer could make statements here, along with specialists such as Team Saxo Bank's Fabian Cancellara and Garmin-Slipstream's Brad Wiggins.

July 5: Stage 2, Monaco to Brignoles, France, 116.2 miles

A course with rolling terrain that should end in a bunch sprint.

July 6: Stage 3, Marseille to La Grande Motte, 121.8 miles

Forecast: flat and hot. Another day for the sprinters.

July 7: Stage 4, Montpellier (team time trial), 24.2 miles

No secret who will be in the mix on this loop course: Astana, Columbia and Garmin, which engaged in spirited verbal and athletic sparring in this event at the Tour of Italy, should be the teams jousting for a win that could put one of their riders in the yellow jersey for a few days.

July 8: Stage 5, Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan, 122.1 miles

A breakaway group will enjoy spectacular coastal scenery before being caught at the finish.

July 9: Stage 6, Girona, Spain, to Barcelona, 112.8 miles

This day's journey will start sentimentally for many riders, including Leipheimer and nearly the entire Garmin team, who call this beautiful Catalan city home. Some hills punctuate the middle of the course, but teams with speedsters are likely to try for one last field sprint finish.

July 10: Stage 7, Barcelona to Arcalis, Andorra, 139.2 miles

Will the overall contenders lower the hammer on the first mountaintop finish? The longest stage of the Tour distancewise could be particularly crucial for the internal dynamics at Astana, where the "strongest man" duel between Contador and Armstrong could start to play out.

July 11: Stage 8, Andorre-la-Vieille, Andorra to Saint-Girons, France, 109.7 miles

Front-loaded with two Category 1 climbs before a downhill finish, this stage is tailored for a breakaway winner.

July 12: Stage 9, Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes, 99.7 miles

Another tasty stage for a breakaway specialist, although top contenders will be mindful that a successful escape over the twin peaks of the Col d'Aspin and the legendary Tourmalet -- with a rest day looming -- could go a long way toward an eventual race win. Given last year's somewhat tentative racing on critical climbs, a risk-taker could be rewarded today.

July 13

Rest day, Limoges

July 14: Stage 10: Limoges to Issoudun, 120.8 miles

A transitional stage over unchallenging terrain on the French national holiday of Bastille Day that might be unremarkable except it will mark the first half of a notable experiment. Tour organizers have banned the use of car-to-rider race radios in this stage and Stage 13, leaving everyone to figure out time gaps and tactics as they did during the old days.

July 15: Stage 11: Vatan to Saint-Fargeau, 119.3 miles

Another transitional slog that should finish with a sprint.

July 16: Stage 12, Tonnerre to Vittel, 131.4 miles

This is officially listed as a "flat" stage but is relentlessly undulating.

July 17: Stage 13, Vittel to Colmar, 124.3 miles

The second of two stages that will be conducted in radio silence. (See Stage 10.) A tricky middling-mountains ride where the overall contenders will mark each other closely but likely will be content to maintain the status quo in the standings. The peloton will be substantially whittled down by three categorized climbs, and a breakaway group should vie for victory on the downhill finish.

July 18: Stage 14, Colmar to Besancon, 123.6 miles

Last chance for the sprinters to shine until the Champs-Elysees.

July 19: Stage 15, Pontarlier to Verbier (Switzerland), 128.6 miles

The race moves into its final week with a big question -- will top riders go for it on any of these Alpine stages, or save themselves for Thursday's time trial and Saturday's Mont Ventoux climb? This is the only uphill finish in the Alps, but it's not stratospherically difficult, and this stage doesn't shape up as decisive.

July 20

Rest day, Verbier (Switzerland)

July 21: Stage 16, Martigny (Switzerland) to Bourg-Saint-Maurice (France), 99.4 miles

No one will win the Tour today, but it could be lost with even a brief lapse. A stage with similar topography cost Garmin's Christian Vande Velde his podium hopes last year. The peloton will begin by scaling the "beyond classification" 8,110-foot Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard pass. As soon as that descent ends, the climb up the Category 1 "Petit" Saint-Bernard begins. Another descent wraps up this survival-of-the-fittest stage.

July 22: Stage 17, Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand-Bornand, 105 miles

The stage profile looks like the seismograph of an earthquake, with five categorized climbs and a downhill finish. The climbing could be greater than the sum of its parts, especially if it's hot -- a pitfall day for the overall contenders.

July 23: Stage 18, Annecy (individual time trial), 24.8 miles

In a departure from recent tradition, this test, usually scheduled for the penultimate day, recedes somewhat in importance because of its placement, but still could be a critical setup for the grand finale if time gaps among the leaders are close. The course circumnavigates a picturesque lake and includes one modest hill.

July 24: Stage 19, Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas, 110.6 miles

The least exhausted breakaway specialists will contest this stage while the overall leaders conserve energy.

July 25: Stage 20, Montelimar to Mont Ventoux, 103.8 miles

All the marbles will be at stake on the windswept, barren moonscape of this geologic anomaly, where so many riders have found glory and grief. It's hard to overstate how dramatic this finish could be, as even substantial margins could evaporate.

July 26: Stage 21, Montereau-Fault-Yonne to Paris, 101.9 miles

Almost always entertaining, the parade stage could have a bearing on what is expected to be a fierce battle for the green, or top sprinter's, jersey. That honor is acutely coveted by young Columbia sensation Mark Cavendish, who will be trying to fend off rivals, including Cervelo Test Team's Thor Hushovd and Oscar Freire of Rabobank.

Bonnie D. Ford covers tennis and Olympic sports for ESPN.com. She can be reached at bonniedford@aol.com.

Boonen Banned Again

Really Disappointed at this news. I like Tom Boonen and was looking forward to seeing him compete against all of the other top sprinters. What a knucklehead!

Belgian rider Boonen banned from Tour de France

By SAM PETREQUIN, AP Sports Writer

PARIS (AP)—Tour de France organizers banned former world champion Tom Boonen from next month’s race after the Belgian rider tested positive for cocaine for the second time in less than year.

The 28-year-old Boonen’s latest positive test came in April. The Quick Step team rider previously tested positive for the drug in May 2008 and was banned by Tour organizers from last year’s event.

“Following Tom Boonen’s recent test, after a first test in 2008, the Tour de France, after meeting Quick Step team representatives, can only state that the image and behavior of Tom Boonen do not match the Tour de France’s image or the one that should be promoted by such an exceptional champion,” the Amaury Sport Organization said in a statement.

ASO said that Boonen, who was resting between the spring classics and the preparation races for the Tour when he tested positive, was entitled to take an appeal against their decision to the French Olympic Committee.

Despite the Tour ban, the ruling International Cycling Union said Thursday that it would not take any sanctions against the rider.

“The UCI Management Committee has decided not to institute disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Tom Boonen for having allegedly taken cocaine out of competition, after the Belgian rider supplied a number of elements in his defense,” the UCI said in a statement.

Boonen only resumed cycling this month and raced in the Dauphine Libere criterium last week.

In advance of the Tour verdict, Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevre had threatened to take legal action and seek financial compensation if Boonen were to be excluded from the prestigious three-week race held from July 4-26.

Boonen is one of the world’s best sprinters and one-day classic riders. In 2007, he won the Tour’s green jersey as best sprinter. He has already proved his form this season by winning Paris-Roubaix for a third time.

The Giro or "le Tour"

Pink versus Yellow

Thomson Bike Tours

Paul Rogen reviews the differences between the Giro and the Tour de France and tell us why he loves them both! Paul has already published several articles on cycling, his latest was an account 'Wounded in Venice' about the opening stage of the 2009 Giro.

I am just back from the Giro and the snowy steeps of the Dolomites. I am now taking my daily dose of the Italian grand tour nightly at 9PM on, get this, channel 249. Thanks for Universal Sports or I would be stuck with race snippets on the internet and my regular morning NY Times report and it is not even from Sam Abt who seems to be retired. (Sam Abt covered the Tour de France and the Giro for over thirty years for the NY Times.) This was my second trip to the Giro and I have been taken by many things about the race and the way it is presented.

Lance in the Pyrenees in 2005

Beyond the obvious difference of the colors of the overall leader’s jerseys, I was taken with the comparative simplicity and purity of the Giro. It is a three week bike race that happens to come through a series of historic towns and variegated geographic regions. That is it, no more, no less. I was again able to score a press pass so I got behind the scenes and saw enough to give me a good comparison to the Tour de France. The TDF is still the granddaddy of all the world bike races, but the Giro is more intimate. I ran into Marc Cavendish just before he went off and won the opening team time trial and donned the maglia rosa. I was able to chat with him easily just as he started his warm-up with his Highroad Columbia mates. Needless to say the crowds are smaller, much smaller- probably 60-80% smaller. This means all the logistics and access are much easier. The crowds are also much less international. You do not see the Belgians, nor the Basques in their orange Euskatel regalia, nor the French families setting out moveable feasts. Here the crowds are local and seemed to be more intent, more focused, less whacky or rabid. Primarily the tifosi are males in small bunches on Bianchi and Colnago bikes climbing up the mountains to get a good viewing spot.

Pink or Yellow? Both races are worth the wait

There are far fewer cycling clubs edged along side the race routes picnicking their way through the day waiting for the peloton or grupetto. Banners are few, road painting is minimal. Five years ago on the Mortorolo, just after Marco Pantini left this earth, there were endless tribute signs to him. Some were elaborate and included shrines and memorials of mixed media. This time I saw just a few Pantini white-washed on the pavement. Now and then I saw a Basso, but that was it. I did not see an Armstrong or a Levi sign either on the road or a banner. (The Texans are surely coming back, but they must be waiting for the TDF in July. They don’t take to the dicey May Italian mountain weather.) As one gets toward the stage finish the roadside barriers start, but in the Giro they are mostly ignored by the crowds.

On Alpe de Suisi, Thomson Bike Tours tents were located two kilometers below the finish on a perfect inside switchback. We had barriers, but the course was only cleared just before the leaders arrived and fans jumped back over the barriers as soon as the peleton passed but well before all riders went up. The tifosi get out front of them or lounge on them in knowing clumps. In the Tour, gendarmes would be posted along the barriers every 100 meters and no one would be allowed in front of the barriers. Alors!

Arriving early in the Pyrenees to "book" a place at the Greatest Show on Earth

And the commercial caravan is different at the Giro. At the Tour, the Caravan is long and vigorous- it takes over half an hour to pass with a varied lot of characters in garish colors accompanied by noise galore. It never skips a kilometer of the entire race route and fans jump out for the merest trinket. Fans scramble and jostle for the booty of a Champion polka dot hat, a Credit Lyonnais key chain, a coffee packet or bottle of water like it is the entire reason they somehow got themselves up 2,000 meters of rugged mountain.

At the Giro, the caravan did not even come up the last 10 kilometers of the Tappa 5 Alpe di Suisi. They left it pure for just the racers and the fans. It was like very good TV without the commercials. Pine tangy mountain air served up raw for panting pro climbers. Finally, the roads at the Giro are a bit narrower. They often are not more that 3-4 meters across. Just as at the Tour de France, they are usually in very good condition. Often they have been recently paved and are what we New Englanders call “black powder.” The surface is wonderful for climbing and makes for surefire descents. But it is the climbing that defines the Giro. The Dolomites are filled with climbs that scatter 10+% gradients throughout the mix. This is what I discovered at Mortorola in 2004 when Damiano Cunego became the “little prince” winning maglia rosa at such a young age with his dauntless climbing. After I saw him pass, the chase group and the grupetto went on up. Then came the stragglers screaming at the tifosi, “ spinge!” When I asked what they wanted, an Italian friend explained, spinge means “push me.” Now that I have been over a passel of big climbs in the Dolomites, I know just what they mean. Spinge!

The Pyrenees: Sunshine and quiet roads

But I will still go back to the Tour de France this summer. I need to see just how this race season plays out. The Americans and Astana seemed to be done in on Monte Petrano in the heat of Tappa 16 yesterday (27/05/09). Lance looked very good however, and those Texans will be looking for him in the Pyrenees in eight weeks. Ah, the Pyrenees, now that is home. July and the snow is gone, the hills all turn golden brown just like summer in California. And the sun pounds down forever. And the descents go on for kilometer after kilometer with just a smidgen of traffic. The Col d’ Aspin never has traffic and is only averages 6.5% gradient. The Tourmalet has wonderful switchbacks and gets way above tree line and is 7.4% average gradient. Now that is reasonable riding in some of the most beautiful mountains in the world. The Pyrenees in July sound just right to me. I will not even need a push.

Epic stages of the Tour de France and the Giro are recreated annually by Thomson Bike Tours. Check availibility for the Tour de France!

Spaces now being booked up for the 2010 Grand Tours now! Click here to LINK TO 2010 ADVANCED BOOKING PAGE for reserving a spot on the Giro or the Tour de France 2010

Let's Get Ready to Tour (de France, that is)

WoW!! It's been way too long since my last post. Been very busy on my wine blog and remodeling my unfinished basement. Actually missed the Tour of California and only saw bits and pieces of the Giro. Had to set priorities and my cycling blog came in last. Now, I think I'm ready.

What I did see and by the results of the Giro and the U23 Paris-Roubaix makes me just that more excited about the upcoming Tour de France. Team Astana has shown that they are the team to beat and very suprisingly Team Columbia - Highroad is taking up that challenge. Great job done by Team Columbia in the Giro.

And how about Denis Menchov. Although a big Levi and Lance fan, I was very happy to see Menchov win. He has consistanly been one of the great riders on the pro tour. I now have to consider him as a podium finisher in "le tour", although beating Contador will be a gigantic task.

And how about the 'old man.' Go Lance!! 12th in the Giro. Honestly, especially after the crash and injury, I was just wishing he would finish the race. Is he ready for the Tour? Oh yeah! This is going to be great month of July. I lived for the Armstrong/Ulrich rivalry, but I think this years Tour will go down as one of the best ever. And before I forget, welcome back Ivan Basso. One of my all-time faves. Why did you ever juice up, your a winner without it.

Ok, time for my podium picks. (another change)

Yellow Jersey: Contador wins with Sastre and Leipheimer on the podium! Not a bad guess for now. I know I once said you won't see Sastre on my picks, but he is slowly making a believer out of me. This guy got determinatioin and heart, if he gets the team behind him, he can very well upset Contador.