2008 Tour de France Route: Worthy of a Winner
Riders wind through the Galibier Pass during Stage 16 of the 2006 Tour de France.
AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati
By Bruce Hildenbrand
For Active.com
At first glance, the 2008 Tour de France route looks a bit on the light side. The first of two individual time trials is a paltry 18 miles (30 kilometers), and there are only four mountain-top finishes.
The race seems to visit the Pyrenees only as an afterthought, though the stages in the Alps do look to present lots of difficulties. Upon closer inspection, however, there are enough teeth in the route to produce a worthy winner, and come Paris the yellow jersey rider can wear the tunic proudly.
There is no prologue in 2008. The first stage is a 120-mile (197.5km) romp in the rolling hills of Brittany, from Brest to Plumelec. There is a small hill about 1.5 miles before the finish, but I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the most exciting rider in the pro peloton, Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia, will win the stage and claim the first yellow jersey. If not, then maybe Paolo Bettini. And the best part? The Tour will be finally underway with 23 days of unbridled excitement before us.
The sprinters will rule the first three days; and the overall contenders won't be part of the mix until the 18-mile (29.5km) individual time trial at Cholet on Stage 4. Don't look for too many fireworks—with such a short effort, it will not shake up the standings too greatly. In fact, look for a time-trial specialist like Fabian "Spartacus" Cancellara to dominate.
Elevating the Suspense
Stage 6, with its uphill finish to the ski station at Super-Besse, will definitely shake up the overall. The 8-mile, 2,000-foot climb to Col de la Croix-Morand will soften things up. This is closely followed by the 7-mile, 2,000-foot ascent to the finish. These two moderately difficult climbs will surely provide the race's first fireworks.
The race spends only two days in the Pyrenees, but that will be enough to separate a bit more wheat from the chaff. Stage 9, from Toulouse to Bagneres-de-Bigorre, crosses the oft-used Peyresourde and Aspin mountain passes, but the 15-mile downhill and flat run into the finish will allow for a bit of a regrouping. Look for a small group of Spaniards who can't time trial to fight it out for the honors.
The next day, Stage 10, includes both the massive Tourmalet and Hautacam climbs and will be the first real test for the general classification (GC) riders. The mountain-top finish to Hautacam launched Lance Armstrong's second tour victory in 2000 and will likely be the springboard for one of this year's hopefuls. Spaniards, especially the Basques who live just over the border, have always ridden well here.
There are three tough days in the Alps, beginning with Stage 15 from Embrun to Prato Nevoso in neighboring Italy. The Colle d'Agnello (pass of the sheep) is the fourth-highest paved pass in Western Europe; and while it is not particularly steep, it is both high (9,100 feet), long (15 miles) and has a huge elevation change (6,000 feet).
Look for a group of 40 to 50 to crest the Agnello in front then fight it out on the final day's summit, Prato Nevoso. This 12-mile, 3,000-foot climb has a real kick at the end and has never been used in the Tour. This is a day for the Italian riders to shine. If 2004 Giro d'Italia winner Damiano Cunego is out of overall contention, look for him to be shooting for the stage win.
After the Tour's second rest day on July 21, the peloton tackles another big day in the mountains starting with the Col de la Lombarde and finishing with the Cima Bonnette, the highest paved road in Western Europe, at 9,300 feet. The 15-mile, 6,500-foot climb only averages 6.5 percent, but it seems to go on forever (and forever...and forever).
It is a sharp, 14-mile descent to the finish in Jausiers, so unless a rider goes off the road, time gained at the summit should still be in hand in Jausiers. This stage is tailor-made for a rider like Juan-Mauricio Soler, who won the King of the Mountains jersey in 2007.
Contesting the Overall
The action doesn't let up as next day is the queen stage of this year's Tour. Starting for the second time in Embrun, the riders will pass over the Galibier and the Croix de Fer before tackling the legendary Alpe d'Huez. A small group will most likely unhinge itself on the run up the Galibier, but all the GC men will be together at the base of the Alpe to duke it out for the overall. Cunego has ridden well here in the past, but others like Cadel Evans and Denis Menchov have had their tough times. Alejandro Valverde has never ridden this climb in the Tour so he is the big unknown.
The final time trial from Cerilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond is a respectable 32 miles (53km), so it should provide a good test for the overall contenders. Look for Evans and Valverde to be the best GC men against the watch. This just may be where the yellow jersey is decided between the two of them.
When you break it down, there are enough opportunities for the big guns to shine, so any doubts about the difficulty will be forgotten once Evans, Valverde, Menchov, Carlos Sastre, Cunego, and the rest of cycling's big guns start to fire. We may have to put an asterisk next to Oscar Pereiro's name for 2006, but the Tour always seems to produce a worthy winner.
