Tour de France underway.
July 7, 2008The Tour de France, the biggest and most important cycling race in the world, got underway in Brest, the westernmost city in France, this weekend. It began not with a prologue time-trial, but for the first time in many years, a mass ride.
Today, Monday, the peleton starts in the village of St.-Malo and proceeds along a relatively flat 129.3 miles to Nantes for the final day of racing in Brittany. After two stages marked by challenging hills in the final miles, the sprinters will be blowing out the carbon on the final charge to the finish.
Tuesday will present the first real test for the big GC contenders, with a quick, 29.5 km time-trial in Cholet. This year all the time-trials are short, and that should play into the hands of the climbers
Riders will cover more than 2,175 miles during the three-week race. Geographically, the race will go counter-clockwise, with racers taking on the Pyrenees first, and the Alps in the second week. Some great stages lie ahead. Stage 10 on July 14th, Bastille day includes a finish on top of Hautacam, after the climb of the legendary Tormalet. Stage 17 features the legendary Alp d'Huez climb on July 23rd.
This year’s challengers include Spaniards Alejandro Valverde and Carlos Sastre and Australia’s Cadel Evans. Valverde wore the yellow jersey as riders began the third stage of the Tour de France today.
Along the route, millions will come out to cheer their favorites. Second best option is to watch it all on Versus (channel 65 on southern Maine Time Warner cable)...here’s the TV schedule.
