Friday, July 3

Le Tour

The 21 stage, 2,200 mile Tour de France begins tomorrow in Monte Carlo with a very challenging individual time trial. On the way to the finish on the Champs Élysées, the Tour will not only run through France but through the Principality of Monaco, the Kingdom of Spain, the Principality of Andorra, and the Republic of Switzerland. The first stage is quite technical with multiple steep climbs. It should provide a test, right from the start, for the General Classification (GC) riders. And with Lance Armstrong riding in his eleventh Tour, this could be one of the most exciting race in years.