Route and Landscape
The Tour de France
Course 1 · Chapter 7 · The Route and the Landscape
No two Tours are the same, because the route changes every year. The route decides which riders can win, which regions are shown to the world, and where the crowds gather. This chapter explains how the route is designed and sold, the kinds of stage that make up a Tour, the climbs that have become landmarks, and the traditions of the start and finish. Names, dates and figures are from general knowledge and flagged "check".
Designing a Tour
Who decides
The organisers (ASO, Chapter 1) design the route, led by the race director, and announce it in the autumn before the race (check). They balance the sport (a route that keeps the contest open until the last week) with the television audience, the regions and the budget.
Who pays
Towns and regions bid to host a stage start or finish, and pay a fee to the organisers, often a sum in the tens or hundreds of thousands of euros (check). In return they receive a day of national television and a great deal of publicity. A hosting bid is a political and commercial decision for a local council.
The rules of thumb
The route usually runs round France in a loop, clockwise or anticlockwise, with the Alps and Pyrenees included, though each year the mix of flat, hilly and mountain stages differs (check). It always finishes in Paris. A route with many time trials favours one kind of rider and one with many summit finishes another.
The Kinds of Stage
| Stage type (check each) | What happens | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Flat stage | Usually ends in a bunch sprint, with a breakaway often caught in the last kilometres. | Sprinters |
| Hilly stage | Short climbs and rolling roads, where breakaways often succeed. | Attackers and puncheurs |
| Mountain stage | Several long climbs, often with a descent finish or a summit finish. | Climbers and overall contenders |
| Individual time trial | Riders race alone against the clock, one after another. | Time-trial specialists |
| Team time trial | Teams race together against the clock; the time of a certain rider in the team counts. | Strong, balanced teams |
| Prologue | A short opening time trial, used in some years to decide the first yellow jersey (check). | Time-trial specialists |
Climbs are classified by difficulty, from fourth category to first category and then the hardest of all, hors catégorie ("beyond category"), with points for the King of the Mountains awarded in proportion (check). There are also intermediate sprints, bonus seconds and a daily prize for the most combative rider.
The Great Climbs
- Fans on the mountain. Spectators camp for days, paint riders' names on the road, run alongside the riders in costume and cheer through the whole afternoon. A well-known figure is the "Devil", a German fan in a red outfit who has appeared along the route for decades (check).
- The cobbles. Some Tours include stages over cobbled roads in northern France, borrowed from the spring classics such as Paris–Roubaix and a hazard for the overall contenders (check).
- The landscape on television. Helicopter cameras show vineyards, châteaux, sunflower fields and medieval villages, so each stage is also an advertisement for French tourism.
Start and Finish
| Tradition (check each) | Note |
|---|---|
| The finish in Paris | The Tour has ended in Paris since 1903. Since 1975 the last stage has finished on the Champs-Élysées, with a circuit round the Arc de Triomphe. The last stage is by custom a ceremonial ride until the final laps, when the sprinters compete. |
| The Grand Départ abroad | The Tour has started outside France many times, beginning with Amsterdam in 1954 (check), and the places have included Brussels, San Sebastián, London in 2007, Rotterdam, Liège, Leeds in 2014, Utrecht, Düsseldorf, Copenhagen, Bilbao and Florence (check). Foreign cities pay for the honour. |
| The neutralised start | Each stage begins with a parade through the host town before the official start, so the crowds can see the riders (check). |
What the Route Does for Towns
Hosting the Tour is expensive and brief. Supporters say that it brings visitors, hotel bookings, television pictures and civic pride, and that a start or finish town can see lasting gains in tourism (check). Sceptics note that studies of the economic benefit are mixed, that the costs of road works and security fall on the town, and that the effect of one day is hard to measure (check). Evidence to look for includes the council's own accounts, hotel occupancy and independent studies, which do not always agree with the claims of the organisers.
Exercises
Design a 21-stage Tour: list the mix of stage types you would use, where it would start and finish, and which kind of rider your route favours.
Explain how climbs are categorised and how they affect the King of the Mountains competition and the overall result.
A town council is deciding whether to bid to host a stage finish. List the likely costs and benefits and the evidence the council should ask for before deciding.
Quick Reference
- Route: designed by ASO each year; towns pay to host; always ends in Paris
- Stages: flat, hilly, mountain, individual and team time trial, prologue
- Climbs: categories 4 to 1 and hors catégorie
- Landmarks: Tourmalet, Galibier, Ventoux, Alpe d'Huez, Puy de Dôme
- Traditions: the Champs-Élysées finish (from 1975), the Grand Départ abroad