Tour De France 2010

Hello,
Okay so we have the route for next years Tour. Well at first glance it looks like we might have a cracker of a Tour on our hands. However when you scratch the surface there is the appearance of a Tour which might not deliver.
The good points: Well the use of the cobbles at the start is brilliant as is the inclusion of numerous longer but interesting stages at the beginning. It will be interesting to see if the stage to Arenberg will be raced like a classic and if so will a rider such as Devolder be able to build a big enough lead to hang on in the mountains. After all he's a talented classics rider, time trialler and climber it's a long shot but could he have a shot of at least holding the jersey to the Pyrenees.
Secondly the use of the Col du Tourmalet as a finish is an inspired choice and should provide some great action. If the Tourmalet can be used as a mountaintop finish it will be interesting to see how long before we return to the Puy de Dome for a finish.

The bad points: Again we see only one of the great mountain ranges properly used. Last year the Pyrenees were neglected in favour of the Alps this year it's the opposite. 2008 has been the best year for climbing route choices and it's a shame that Prudhomme can't return to that high.
Although this route is meant to celebrate the Pyrenees we have at least one stage (to Pau) that I can almost guarentee will have no bearing on the GC classification whatsoever. Equally thhe lack of time trialling could take some of the excitement away, especially considering that some of the best stages last year were the time trialling ones.

So, basically we have a mixed bag. The potential for great stages i.e. the Tourmalet equally we might have a boring interlude between the start and the Pyrenees. However it's a much more adventurous race than last year.

Thanks for reading. Sam