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The route of the 2019 Tour de France has been presented in Paris, with race ASO celebrates the 100th anniversary of the race leader's race with a jersey and a road that features 30 categories climbs, five mountains finishes and only 54 kilometers of time trialling .
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The 2019 Tour de France will be a battle in thin air, with three of the five mountain-top finishes above 2000 meters.
The 106th edition of the Tour de France starts in Brussels, Belgium, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first of Eddy Merckx's five victories, and then heads south of France via the Vosges and the Massif Central to first tackle the Pyrenees, with a finish at the top of the Tourmalet, an individual time trial around Pau, and then a final mountain stage over the steep Wall of Peguere before the finish Foix at Prat d'Albis.
The route then transfers to the south of France via a second day in Nimes for a triple whammy of Alpine courses that include the Izoard Pass, the Col du Galibier, and the 2770m-high Col d'Iseran – the highest paved road in Europe.
The final winner of the 2019 Tour de France will be decided on the final 33.4km climb up to the 2365m-high finish at Val Thorens on stage 20, with the winner of the 2019 yellow jersey, as per tradition, crowned in Paris the day after.
The total race distance is 3460km, with the three weeks of racing Saturday July 6 and Sunday July 28.
Five-time Tour de France winners Eddy Merckx, Bernhard Hinault and Miguel Indurain were all present in Paris for the road presentation, as was Raymond Poulidor, who finished on the podium at eight times but never managed to win the yellow jersey.
Poulidor joked: "Between the four of us, we won the Tour de France 15 times!"
Also at the presentation were 2018 winner Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome, who is hoping to win a fifth Tour de France in 2019.
The Grand Départ in Belgium
The Grand Départ in Brussels will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Eddy Merckx's first yellow jersey in 1969 with an opening road course on the Cannibal's local roads. The 192km internship will head to Charleroi via the cobbled Muur van Geraardsbergen climb and even includes a visit to Sint-Pieters Woluwe, where Merckx won the first of its 111 yellow jerseys – if split-stages are included.
It's the second time Brussels hosts the Grand Départ, with the road course likely to see a sprinter take the first yellow jersey of the 2019 race. Time bonuses of 10, six and four seconds will be awarded on every road stage.
The overall contenders and the strongest teams will have their combined strength for the 28km team time trial on stage 2, which finishes in the shadow of the Atomium building.
Stage 3 heads south from Binche in Belgium to France for a finish in Epernay and stage 4 is also a day for the sprinters with a finish in Nancy. However, the race hits the Vosges mountains on stage 5 to Colmar and intensifies again on stage 6 to The Plank of the Beautiful Girls, with race director Christian Prudhomme confirming the addition of a dirt-road final kilometer and 20 percent at the top of the climb. The stage also includes the Ballon d'Alsace, making it a first day in the mountains, just a week into the race.
A stage via Chalon-sur-Saone, and hilly rides via Macon, St. Stephen, Brioude – Romain Bardet's home town and Albi take the riders to the Pyrenees. They will be chances for breakaways but also for the team and the team.
Celebrating yellow in the Pyrenees
Eugène Christophe was the first rider to wear the yellow jersey in the 1919 Tour de France and the race will celebrate his famous mechanical on the slopes of the Col du Tourmalet with a finish atop the mountain on stage 14.
Before then, the riders face another tough mountain stage to Bagnères-de-Bigorre and a rolling 27km individual time trial around Pau.
The Tourmalet is at just 117km but the climb to the summit via Super Barèges is 19.4km long at 7.4 per cent. The combination of the reduced distance, coming after the time trial, could cause some unexpected problems.
A final stage in the Pyrenees takes the riders to Foix via the Wall of Péguère (9.3km at 7.9 per cent) and up to the finish at Prat d'Albis with an 11.8km climb at 6.9 per cent.
The final in the Alps
The final week begins with a transfer to the Alps via Nimes, which hosts the second rest day, and Gap.
The decisive mountain courses begin with the 207km stage 18 to Valloire. It includes the Col de Vars, Col d'Izoard, Col du Galibier – all three over 2000m of altitude. It ends with a long fast to the finish of the 2019 Tour de France.
Stage 19 to Tignes is again a short one, but includes the 2770m-high Col d'Iseran -12.9km at 7.5 per cent. The lack of oxygen will make it feel better. The finish is above Tignes, with a final 7.4km climb at 7 per cent.
The final mountain stage of the 2019 Tour de France is also short at just 131km but the mountains and long climbs make up for the lack of distance. The stage climbs the Cormet of Roselend, the Coast of Longefoy and then the never-ending road to Val Thorens – 33.4km at 5.5 per cent.
Whoever pulls on the yellow jersey in Val Thorens will ride in the Paris after the winner of the 2019 Tour de France.
Tour de France 2019 internships
Stage 1, July 6: Brussels – Brussels, 192km
Stage 2, July 7: Brussels Royal Palace – Brussels Atomium, 27km (TTT)
Stage 3, July 8: Binche – Epernay, 214km
Stage 4, July 9: Reims – Nancy, 215km
Stage 5, July 10: Saint-Dié-Des-Vosges – Colmar, 169km
Stage 6, July 11: Mulhouse – The Planche Des Belles Girls, 157km
Stage 7, July 12: Belfort – Chalon-Sur-Saone, 230km
Stage 8, July 13: Mâcon – Saint-Étienne, 199km
Stage 9, July 14: Saint-Étienne – Brioude, 170km
Stage 10, July 15: Saint-Flour – Albi, 218km
Rest day 1, July 16: Albi
Stage 11, July 17: Albi – Toulouse, 167km
Stage 12, July 18: Toulouse – Bagnères-De-Bigorre, 202km
Stage 13, July 19: Pau – Pau, 27km (ITT)
Stage 14, July 20: Tarbes – Tourmalet, 117km
Stage 15, July 21: Limoux – Foix, 185km
Rest day 2, July 22: Nimes
Stage 16, July 23: Nimes – Nimes, 177km
Stage 17, July 24: Pont Du Gard – Gap, 206km
Stage 18, July 25: Embrun – Valloire, 207km
Stage 19, July 26: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne – Tignes, 123km
Stage 20, July 27: Albertville – Val Thorens, 131km
Stage 21, July 28: Rambouillet – Paris Champs-Elysees, 127km
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