The route for Le Tour 2006 (link) has just been released.
Plenty of time left to choose the new DVD/HD recorder, get in heaps of popcorn and No-Doz, and save up heaps of vouchers from the Pizza shop.
The race is over 20 stages that have the following profiles:
* 9 flat stages,
* 4 medium mountain stages,
* 5 mountain stages,
* 2 individual time-trial stages,
The towns
P Saturday, July 1st 7 km
Strasbourg (TT)
1 Sunday, July 2nd 183 km
Strasbourg > Strasbourg
2 Monday, July 3rd 223 km
Obernai > Esch-sur-Alzette
3 Tuesday, July 4th 216 km
Esch-sur-Alzette > Valkenburg
4 Wednesday, July 5th 215 km
Huy > Saint-Quentin
5 Thursday, July 6th 219 km
Beauvais > Caen
6 Friday, July 7th 184 km
Lisieux > Vitré
7 Saturday, July 8th 52 km
Saint-Grégoire > Rennes (TT)
8 Sunday, July 9th 177 km
Saint-Méen-le-Grand > Lorient
R Monday, July 10th
Rest day - Bordeaux
9 Tuesday, July 11th 170 km
Bordeaux > Dax
10 Wednesday, July 12th 193 km
Cambo-les-Bains > Pau
11 Thursday, July 13th 208 km
Tarbes > Val d'Aran - Pla-de-Beret
12 Friday, July 14th 211 km
Luchon > Carcassonne
13 Saturday, July 15th 231 km
Béziers > Montélimar
14 Sunday, July 16th 181 km
Montélimar > Gap
R Monday, July 17th
Rest day
15 Tuesday, July 18th 187 km
Gap > L'Alpe d'Huez
16 Wednesday, July 19th 182 km
Bourg d'Oisans > La Toussuire
17 Thursday, July 20th 199 km
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Morzine
18 Friday, July 21st 193 km
Morzine > Mâcon
19 Saturday, July 22nd 56 km
Le Creusot > Montceau-les-Mines (TT)
20 Sunday, July 23rd 152 km
Antony-Parc de Sceaux > Paris Champs-Élysées
TOTAL 3,639 km
A lot of riding to do yet before "couch potato" time arrives.
Cheers
Hugh
Insert witty, smartarse or vapid comment here