Professional Cycling For the Fans - 2005 Tour de France route

What do you all think of the 05' route. I think its going to be more free for people who are good all around riders. The mountains seem to be interesting. I would like to have seen Mt. Ventoux on the list of climbs, but there is always 06'.

Any Opinions????

where can i find this info?

You can find the race route at www.letour.com
Just make sure you click for english in the bottom right corner

i'm having a little trouble with the french flash routes, but as far as i can tell, there is no individual time trial climb this year. I find this to be very dissapointing, but like i said, maybe i'm reading it wrong.

You mean an ITT climb like Alpe d Huez in 2004? I doubt we'll see that again for a long time.

No mid-race ITT at all in 2005. Just the opening prologue and the ITT on the day before the Champs Elysees.

Here is the route Notice the lack of mountain finishes?

LE TOUR DE FRANCE 2005
S1 Time-trial: Fromentine-Noirmoutier (19km)
S2 Challans-Les Essarts (182km)
S3 La Chataigneraie-Tours (208km)
S4 Team time-trial: Tours-Blois (66km)
S5 Chambord-Montargis (179km)
S6 Troyes-Nancy (187km)
S7 Etape Luneville-Karlsruhe (225km)
S8 Pforzheim-Gerardmer (235km)
S9 Gerardmer-Mulhouse (170km)
S10 Grenoble-Courchevel (192km)
S11 Courchevel-Briancon (173km)
S12 Briancon-Digne les Bains (187km)
S13 Miramas-Montpellier (162km)
S14 Agde-Ax Trois Domaines (220km)
S15 Lezat/Leze-Saint Lary Soulan (205km)
S16 Mourenx-Pau (177km)
S17 Pau-Revel (239km)
S18 Albi-Mende (189km)
S19 Issoire-Le Puy en Velay (154km)
S20 Time trial: Saint-Etienne (55km)
S21 Corbeil-Paris (160km)

Chris

The 2004 TDF had 141km of time trials if you count the TTT, and 76.6km of ITT.

The 2005 edition will have 140km of time trials including the TTT and 74km of ITT, so next years TDF will have roughly the same amount of time trialing, but instead of 3 individual time trials there will be only 2 ITT with no mountain time trial. The prolog has been eliminated and replaced with one of the 2 ITT.

I can't recall a tour exactly like this, although I think it has had prologs up to 12 km in the past.

Don't even want to start analyzing how this will affect the race, but this looks like a good start for the all rounders like Lance, Jan, Vino, Tyler(I hope), and Beloki and the like, and a bad start for the climbers like Heras, Mayo, and Basso.

I wont miss the mountain stage TT, it ruined the Alpd d Huez stage this year. I want to see actual racing and riders attacking each other.

Yea I had mixed feeling about the Alpd d Huez time trial. It was cool, but not that cool. But I will miss a mountain time trial. What stage is the Alpd d Huez in the 2005 tour. I couldn't find it-

I can't recall a tour exactly like this, although I think it has had prologs up to 12 km in the past.

Don't even want to start analyzing how this will affect the race, but this looks like a good start for the all rounders like Lance, Jan, Vino, Tyler(I hope), and Beloki and the like, and a bad start for the climbers like Heras, Mayo, and Basso.

Well, 2000 was a bit similar, right? Though the mountain stages were quite different.
I think you're right - not good for the pure climbers. Their only day is the Pla d'Adet stage.
Triple-Ax Dominaes and Courchevel really suit an all rounder with good time trialing - a bit similar to that climb to Andorre that Ullrich won on in 1997.

Hopefully the weather will be miserable on the Galibier.


Yea I had mixed feeling about the Alpd d Huez time trial. It was cool, but not that cool. But I will miss a mountain time trial. What stage is the Alpd d Huez in the 2005 tour. I couldn't find it-

It's not in the 2005 race.