2004 Tour de France

dcholly

From Inside Track Tours website:

The exact race itinerary will only be disclosed at the end of October, 2003. We do know that the race will start in Liege, Belgium on July 3rd 2004. As usual, the race will finish in Paris on the 25th of July 2004. The race will be run in counter clockwise, passing through the Pyrenees mountains before reaching the Alps.

The opening prologue will be held in the city of Liege, Belgium, site of Tyler Hamilton's crushing win in the 2003 Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic. The tour organizers expect over 1 million people to be lining the roads of the first few stages which will be raced entirely on Belgium soil, through the hills of the Ardennes. These early stages should be difficult enough to create a few changes in the overall general standings. The Tour will then cross the French border and include a few stages in the north and north west regions of cycling crazed France before making a halt and rest day in south west France. Next will come the Pyrennes mountains where we can expect to see some climbs not included in the 2003 Tour such as the Aubisque and perhaps the Hautacam?

We can expect another rest day after these stages before attacking the Alps and certainly the Mont Ventoux and Joux Plane climbs which were not included in this year's tour. The last few days will need to include an individual time trial - perhaps in Madine lake area, famous for Greg Lemond's win, years ago or why not in the eastern Alsace region, which the tour has not visited in recent years...all speculation but certainly a recipe for another vintage year of cycling!

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Holly Marie
Americans@the Tour de France
www.TDFamericans.us