Paris - The winner of the 2009 Tour de France, which was
presented Wednesday in Paris, will above all have to be a first-rate
climber, because next year's course comprises 20 difficult mountain
peaks and passes.
Arguably the most difficult climb, up the legendary Mont Ventoux
at the edge of the Alps, has been scheduled for the next-to-last
stage, the first time in the history of the Tour that a mountain
stage has been programmed the day before the finish in Paris.
The approximately 3,445-kilometre course also includes the first
team time trial in four years and two unusually short individual time
trials, which will serve to make the mountain stages even more
important to the outcome of the race.
The 96th running of the world's most prestigious cycling event
starts on July 4 in the principality of Monte Carlo with an arduous
15-kilometre time trial through the hilly city of Monaco, and ends on
July 26 on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
Prince Albert II of Monaco, who attended Wednesday's presentation,
said the start of the 2009 Tour in Monaco represented a large step in
his desire to 'make the principality a world capital of sports.'
In all, next year's race will run through four countries - France,
Italy, Spain and Switzerland - and the principalities of Monaco and
Andorra.
The city of Barcelona will host a stage finish and a stage start,
on July 6 and 7, respectively, only the third time the Tour has
visited the Catalonia capital. According to Tour director Christian
Prudhomme, Barcelona marks 'the southernmost destination in Tour
history.'
But the plans and expectations of riders and spectators will no
doubt be focused on the penultimate stage, and the climb up to the
1,912-metre-high peak of the Mont Ventoux.
An ascent of 21 kilometres at an average slope of 7.6 per cent,
with strong, often violent winds on its final section, the mountain
has been the scene of dramatic moments in past Tours. In 2009, it
will almost certainly be the decisive stage in the race.
The organizers of the Tour de France are no doubt counting on an
exciting race to counter the effect of the doping cases that have
plagued the event in recent years.
The issue was not addressed in any detailed manner on Wednesday.
Prince Albert said he had 'confidence in the organizers to put an end
to this plague,' while Prudhomme said that the cyclists caught doping
last year 'have no place in the big book of the Tour.'
However, with five 2008 Tour stage winners and the winner of the
King of the Mountain championship caught using banned substances, and
the German television stations ARD and ZDF cancelling plans to show
the race live, organizers will be under more pressure than before to
catch the cheaters.
In addition, the possible participation of the now-unretired
seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong remains controversial. His
name was not cited once on Wednesday.
Suspected by many of having doped during his unprecedented
championship run, though he was never caught, the 37-year-old Texas
native would not be welcomed with open arms by everyone if he did
decide to ride in next year's Tour.
Former French sports minister Jean-Francois Lamour, currently
vice-president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, recently called
Armstrong's possible presence in the race 'a return to the dark
years,' and described him as 'a troublesome guest of the Tour.'
However, 2007 Tour winner Alberto Contador of Spain will be back,
after sitting out this year's race because of the sins his Astana
team committed.
His contest against the 2008 champion, fellow Spaniard Carlos
Sastre, may make fans forget all about Armstrong, whether he is there
or not.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story