Here’s the Tour de France route 2016, which runs from Saturday July 2 to Sunday July 24
The peloton of the 103rd edition of the Tour de France will set off on July 2 in the Manche Department.
Below is a full listing of all the stages including each route profile, as supplied by Tour de France organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).
As the 2016 Tour de France gets nearer there will be more information available in the lead-up to the start on Saturday July 2, such as the confirmed start list and a better idea of the favourites (beyond the obvious Froome-Quintana battle).
The inclusion of those time trials could help him in that quest.could help defending champion Chris Froome
Sprinters like Marcel Kittel, his German compatriot André Greipel and defending points jersey winner Peter Sagan will have the yellow jersey in their sights on stage one, but the climbers will be at the sharp end of proceedings as early as stage five, where the first of the mountains appears.The first stage will start from Mont Saint Michel in the English Channel. The Tour last visited here in 2013 when Froome came second to Tony Martin in the stage’s time trial and extended his lead over the other GC contenders.
No cobbles in 2016 unfortunately
For those who prefer the Classics, the cobbles will not feature in 2016 as they did in the two previous editions.
Despite not having a foreign start as it has done for the past two years with Yorkshire and Utrecht, the race will venture out of France on three separate occasions in 2016.
The Tour de France will visit Andorra for a stage finish on its ninth day, then the rest day and the stage 10 start – passing through Spain on the way. The Grande Boucle will also visit Switzerland on stages 16 and 17, with the second rest day taking place in Bern.
With Froome set to defend his title, Alberto Contador having foregone defence of his 2015 Giro d’Italia title to concentrate on the Tour, and Nairo Quintana aiming to better his two second place finishes, not to mention the many other riders who could contest the win, the 2016 Tour de France looks set to be an exciting three weeks.
Key info: Start list | Tour videos | Past winners | Brief history | Jerseys | Brits in the Tours | Stage-by-stage video highlights |
Previous editions: 2015 TdF | 2014 TdF | 2013 TdF | 2012 TdF | 2011 TdF | 2010 TdF
All details are open to change by the Tour de France organisers. All profiles courtesy of ASO.
Stage 1: Saturday July 2, Mont Saint Michel to Utah Beach – Sainte Marie du Mont, 188km
Different to 2015, where Rohan Dennis set a blistering time on the ITT to take the first yellow jersey, the opening stage will be a chance for the sprinters to pull on the coveted Maillot Jaune.
>>> Tour de France 2016 to roll out from Mont-Saint-Michel
Stage 2: Sunday July 3, Saint Lô to Cherbourg-Octeville, 182km
Stage two ends with a kick that will suit puncheurs. Could this be the stage where Peter Sagan ends his Tour stage drought?
Stage 3: Monday July 4, Grandville to Angers, 222km
Stage three could be another chance for the sprinters, but any time losses the day before will rule out a yellow jersey.
Stage 4: Tuesday July 5, Saumur to Limoges, 232km
This stage looks more suitable to a punchier rider or, indeed, a breakaway. If the sprinters’ teams can keep things in order then don’t rule out another bunch gallop, but after three days of chasing, controlling and leading out they might fancy an easier ride.
Stage 5: Wednesday July 6, Limoges to Le Lioran, 216km
This stage looks set to bring the GC men to the fore due to the hilly nature of the second half and the summit finish. It’s unlikely that anyone will win the Tour this early one, but some riders could certainly tumble out of contention.
Stage 6: Thursday July 7, Arpajon-sur-Cère to Montauban, 187km
The rolling parcours has got breakaway written all over it, but if the opening five stages have already seen some riders lose time then we could see the GC men bossing the front of the peloton.
Stage 7: Friday July 8, L’Isle-Jourdain to Lac de Payolle, 162km
Another summit finish, this time preceded by a longer descent, will again bring the overall contenders out to mark each other. Any riders with already insurmountable time losses may be allowed to stay up the road to challenge for stage honours.
Stage 8: Saturday July 9, Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon, 183km
When the first climb of the day is the Col du Tourmalet, the riders know they’re in for a tough stage. Three more climbs before a fast descent to the finish will mean that anyone hoping to occupy a podium step in Paris will need to be vigilant.
Col du Tourmalet
Stage 9: Sunday July 10, Val d’Aran (Spain): Vielha to Arcalis (Andorra), 184km
image: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/Tour-de-France-2016-stage-9-Sunday-July-10-Val-dAran-Spain-Vielha-to-Arcalis-Andorra-184km_new.jpg
The whole day is pretty much either up or down, with very little flat to speak of. It was in Andorra that Chris Froome’s Vuelta a España ended due to a foot injury sustained in a crash, so he will be hoping for a better day in the small mountainous nation this time round.
>>> Tour de France 2016 to spend three days in Andorra
Rest day 1: Monday July 11, Andorra
Stage 10: Tuesday July 12, Andorra to Revel, 198km
A big climb followed by a big descent and then lumpy to the end. This stage looks set for a breakaway win as most riders will be trying to see how their legs feel after the rest day.
Stage 11: Wednesday July 13, Carcassonne to Montpelier, 164km
A number of early small climbs will no doubt see some riders head off up the road in the hope they’ll be left out there all the way to the finish, but after the gruelling days in the Andorran mountains you can expect the sprinters to be back at the front as the race charges into Montpelier.
Stage 12: Thursday July 14, Montpellier to Mont Ventoux , 185km
The expected return to the slopes of Mont Ventoux was long rumoured and has now been confirmed. One smaller climb earlier in the day will probably be irrelevant when the hammer goes down and someone looks to strike out for the stage win and a possibly decisive time gap.
With July 14 being Bastille Day, expect to see a French dominated break and probable stage winner.
Stage 13: Friday July 15, Bourg Saint Andéol to La Caverne du Pont d’Arc, 37km ITT
Although not the longest ITT we’ve seen in a Grand Tour in recent years, this one could still see big shifts in the top 10 of the GC. An uphill start could see some riders go out too hard and not have enough left in the tank to finish well on the uphill finishing slope.
Stage 14: Saturday July 16, Montélimar to Villars-les-Dombes, 208km
It’s lumpy and bumpy but looks set to end in a bunch sprint. By this time some riders could already have impressive stage win tallies and others – notably World Champion Peter Sagan – could have made strides towards the green jersey win.
Stage 15: Sunday July 17, Bourg-en-Bresse to Culoz, 159km
Back in the mountains, but with a descent into the finish, anyone still in the mix for yellow will need to be very attentive.
Stage 16: Monday July 18, Moirans-en-Montagne to Bern (Switzerland), 206km
A rolling stage, so standard breakaway? Sprint? Late break? Who knows this far into the race. What we do know is that many riders will simply be looking to cross the line unscathed before the second rest day.
Rest day 2: Tuesday July 19, Bern, Switzerland
Stage 17: Wednesday July 20, Bern to Finhaut-Emosson (Switzerland), 184km
Straight out of the rest day, and straight back to a summit finish. The race will have been tough up to this point and some riders tend to fare very differently to others off the back of a rest day, so we could see the fresher riders pushing on for victory.
Stage 18: Thursday July 21, Sallanches to Megève, 17km ITT
The uphill nature of this individual time trial will suit a range of riders, and it certainly keeps Nairo Quintana solidly in the frame – particularly after he won a similar stage on the way to his overall victory at the 2014 Giro d’Italia.
This stage shouldn’t hold much concern for Chris Froome or Alberto Contador, but might not suit Tom Dumoulin, should the Dutchman choose to ride the Tour ahead of theOlympics.
Stage 19: Friday July 22, Albertville to Saint-Gervais-Mont Blanc, 146km
Another very mountainous day. If Fabio Aru rides himself into contention over the closing days in the way he did to take second at the 2015 Giro and the overall at the 2015Vuelta a España don’t bet against him putting the other team leaders to the sword.
Stage 20: Saturday July 23, Megève to Morzine, 146km
Including the ITT, this is the fourth big climbing day in a row so don’t count on whoever came out of the rest day in yellow still being in it on the final road to Paris.
Another day that is almost completely up and down, the GC men will be hoping they haven’t burnt too many teammates before today because they’ll need all the help they can get.
Stage 21: Sunday July 24, Chantilly to Paris Champs-Élysées, 113km
The green jersey competition will probably be wrapped up before the second rest day, but that won’t take away any of the potency of this final sprint stage.
Source: Cycling Weekly
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