TDF 2009

[Graham O]

Hilly Prologue in Monaco...
Stage into Barcelona...
Team Time Trial Stage is back..
Finale on the Ventoux the day before Paris..
Only 55k of individual TT..

How cool is that !!

[Graham O]

http://www.letour.com/2009/TDF/COURSE/u ... cours.html

[-Adam-]

Didn't Lance do the whole ''Will I, won't I'' thing in 2004/5 also!?

And yes, millions of newspapers and magazines were sold as a result!

[Graham O]

I guess the route is a bit like this years giro. The climb of the zoncolon (or something) was hyped up to be the deciding point of that race, and I seemt o remember that it lived up to this.

This route is very similar...

There's an interesting switch in the last week..it will be up to the time trialers to make up time in the 40K time trial on the thursday. Then they will be attacked on the Mountain top finish on the ventoux on the Saturday...It plays to the strengths of the open road racers....which is cool...

The other thing is that the prologue is likely to bring out the big guns as will the team time trial...This will set up the first mountain stages pretty well..

I really like it.

[-Adam-]

If Astana are allowed in, which I think they will be, there will be almost no contest for the TTT. Although Garmin and maybe CSC may be able to compete, but I doubt it.

So what price for Contador then?

I reckon his odds will be shorter than Armstrongs ever were.