The 2014 Tour de France will take place between July 5th and the 27th. Whereas last year’s ‘France only’ Tour never left our borders, 2014 will start in the UK and travel through bits and pieces of 2 other countries – Belgium and Spain.
The Tour seems to be a big mixed bag, with perhaps a lot of room for the ‘puncheur’ to shine, although that’s just my initial impression.
Peculiarities:
- Stage 5, when the peloton will revisit the pavé (9 sectors, 15 km) of northern France and Belgium. Always good for a bit of carnage.
- 5 summit finishes this year, which I think is more than usual. La Planche des Belles Filles (Vosges), Risoul (Alps) and Hautacam (Pyrenees) being 3 of note.
- No Team Time Trial this year and only 1 Individual TT.
The Tour finally comes back to my town, Nîmes, with a sprint finish in front of Les Arènes, according to Christian Prudhomme.
For amateur cyclists looking for some exercise, the Etape du Tour next year will be the Pau-Hautacam stage (more on that one, soon), and will take place on Sunday, July 20th. So, I have a conundrum, because that’s the day of the arrival in Nîmes. Well, I’ve had worse problems to solve, I suppose.
The Vicious Cycle 
Nice finnish on stage 10 – going up to 20%!
I like stage 10 too and it’s not too far from here. I may have to go tackle some of those hills. How is the bike hunting going Gerry? I was just looking at a 2013 Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi Mod, Shimano Dura Ace Di2 with upgraded wheels ridden by the owner of the bike shop for only 2000km and selling it for a massive discount. Beautiful and highly rated. I can get it for close to what I spent on the HR this year. What are the key words one must say to one’s wife??