2008 Tour de France route

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  • 53x25
    53x25 Posts: 2
    http://www.letour.fr/2008/TDF/COURSE/us ... _2008.html

    The stages Stage Type Date Start and Finish Distance Details
    1 Plain Saturday 5 July BrestPlumelec 195 km
    2 Plain Sunday 6 July AuraySaint-Brieuc 165 km
    3 Plain Monday 7 July Saint-MaloNantes 195 km
    4 Individual time-trial Tuesday 8 July CholetCholet 29 km
    5 Plain Wednesday 9 July CholetChâteauroux 230 km
    6 Medium mountains Thursday 10 July AigurandeSuper-Besse Sancy 195 km
    7 Medium mountains Friday 11 July BrioudeAurillac 158 km
    8 Plain Saturday 12 July FigeacToulouse 174 km
    9 High Mountains Sunday 13 July ToulouseBagnères-de-Bigorre 222 km
    10 High Mountains Monday 14 July PauHautacam 154 km
    R Rest Day Tuesday 15 July Pau
    11 Medium mountains Wednesday 16 July LannemezanFoix 166 km
    12 Plain Thursday 17 July LavelanetNarbonne 168 km
    13 Plain Friday 18 July NarbonneNîmes 182 km
    14 Plain Saturday 19 July NîmesDigne-les-Bains 182 km
    15 High Mountains Sunday 20 July Digne-les-BainsPrato Nevoso 216 km
    R Rest Day Monday 21 July Cuneo
    16 High Mountains Tuesday 22 July CuneoJausiers 157 km
    17 High Mountains Wednesday 23 July EmbrunL'Alpe-d'Huez 210 km
    18 Medium mountains Thursday 24 July Bourg-d'OisansSaint-Étienne 197 km
    19 Plain Friday 25 July RoanneMontluçon 163 km
    20 Individual time-trial Saturday 26 July CérillySaint-Amand-Montrond 53 km
    21 Plain Sunday 27 July ÉtampesParis Champs-Élysées 143 km
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    Looks good. The main route looks like the sprinters should stay at home.

    Just two climbs for the Etape? I know they're good ones but...

    It looks like it'll clash with the Marmotte anyway, the real man's cyclosportive.
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    Kléber wrote:
    Looks good. The main route looks like the sprinters should stay at home.

    Just two climbs for the Etape? I know they're good ones but...

    It looks like it'll clash with the Marmotte anyway, the real man's cyclosportive.

    yep. easy one this time round!
  • flattythehurdler
    flattythehurdler Posts: 2,314
    Is it possible that the organisers got flak from the local hostelries over the huge DNA rate last year, because the stage was so hard?
    Dan
  • Radsman
    Radsman Posts: 122
    No, just look at the Tour, there aren't any 5 col stages this year, the most I see is three which is the Alpe Huez stage which they surely werent' going to repeat so soon for the L'Etape.
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    08 will be my first Etape, glad I chose this year and not 2007! Anyone here ridden the Tourmalet or Hautacam? They both look pretty evil! Would it be worth tackling one in early June? Myself and my 2 friends have never ridden in mainland Europe before so have no idea what to expect.
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    If you can ride the route before, then give it a go. The Tourmalet is a pig but once you get to the top of it, you'll finish as Hautacam is hard but not so long. It's nasty though but you have a giant warm up. A shame they didn't add the Soulor en route, would have been more fun.

    So aim to ride it a couple of times if you want, regardless of whether you're riding the Etape the Pyrenees are beautiful cycling territory. Also, many can climb the slopes, you just slog away, but the descents are useful to know, not to memorise every hairpin bend but to just learn the feeling of descending fast.
  • ContrelaMontre
    ContrelaMontre Posts: 3,027
    53x25 wrote:
    19 Plain Friday 25 July RoanneMontluçon 163 km

    Hmm, interested to see the details for this stage. I was in Roanne for my hols this year and would hardly have called the Monts de la Madeleine 'plain'. The route looks like it crosses these.

    We cycled up the Pic de Rochfort and although I have no definitive stats for it like gradient and length etc, it was definitely a mountain - over 1000 metres ASO. I know it's hardly alpine category but still goes to show something - like the lack of British passes over 1000m! Or the amount France has that they don't even qualify for 'mountain' category!

    Also, goes to show how I (a mere mortal) compare to a pro perhaps!
    Rule No.10 // It never gets easier, you just go faster
  • 007stucumber
    007stucumber Posts: 671
    Time to dust off the 12-34 again.

    The Tourmalet is a bitch to climb, but has a great descent, providing you don't crash into any goats.
    http://ciclismo.sitiasp.it/altimetria.a ... 116&id=363

    Hautacam looks similar to the Aubisque (which is a lovely climb).
    http://ciclismo.sitiasp.it/altimetria.a ... 116&id=219

    Bon chance, mes braves!
  • jhop
    jhop Posts: 369
    Maybe I will think differently on July 6th but from here this does not look as tough as 2006 and 2007 which were definitely harder than my earlier 2 etapes so guess I am in again as well!
  • 007stucumber
    007stucumber Posts: 671
    Doh - wrong profile for the Tourmalet - bit of an odd roundabout route they're taking:

    http://ciclismo.sitiasp.it/altimetria.a ... 116&id=364

    Still, it's easier from that side.

    It's only 40k back to Pau, too - mostly downhill!
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    It's very refreshing to see ASO create a route that differs from the formulaic ones they've come up with for the past 15-20 years. This one should see the GC riders close to top form from the off and the difficulties towards the end of the race will make the timing of that form crucial.

    The riders make the race but as routes go this one looks like it'll offer up an exciting race.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    It's almost as if the Giro organisers designed a Tour de France route. Lot of middle mountain stages, starting quite early, the high mountains are very hard with a couple of really hard stages packed in at the end.

    It will be either great or lame.

    I wish it could be 4000km with a prologue, 2 flattish TT's and a mountain TT. And 5 mountain top finishes - That's a race! :P
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • sing_for_absolution
    sing_for_absolution Posts: 1,908
    iainf72 wrote:
    It's almost as if the Giro organisers designed a Tour de France route. Lot of middle mountain stages, starting quite early, the high mountains are very hard with a couple of really hard stages packed in at the end.

    It will be either great or lame.

    I wish it could be 4000km with a prologue, 2 flattish TT's and a mountain TT. And 5 mountain top finishes - That's a race! :P

    Nah. If it was the Giro organisers, then they'd have a very early rest day so that there isn't one during the last week and they'd include some ridiculously long and difficult stages that end up with dodgy test results afterwards. :P

    On this route, it looks good. Delighted to see changes to the overused template of the last decade or so.

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