The 2009 course

I think Poseur always groans when I lead off Tour previews with a look at the course. Too bad, this stuff is important. This course is really, really interesting, and I like it a lot.

Highlights:
A team time trial.
Seven mountain stages; eight if you count stage 13.
No prologue, but two individual time trials.
The penultimate stage is Mt. Ventoux.



That last one is totally awesome and changes the dynamic of the race, as we’re really accustomed to the last showdown being a time trial, not a climb. Ventoux is no ordinary climb, and putting it at stage 20 is torture. We often say a 60-90 second lead is what the leader needs as a good cushion heading into the final time trial. For Mt. Ventoux a 4 minute lead is no guarantee.

That said, while it looks like a very mountain-heavy Tour, the mountains won’t dominate as much as it seems (except Ventoux at stage 20). Of the remaining mountain stages, only two actually (stages 7 & 15) end on a mountain top. The others have a lot of km between the last climb and the finish, so the effect of the climb may be muted. The days following stage 15 will be interesting. Stage 15 is the first day in the Alps, and has a mountain finish. The next day is a day off. Stage 16 has two colossal climbs followed by a technical 30 km descent with hairpin turns out the wazoo. Stage 17 is similar, only the descent isn’t as long or twisted. While stage 15 may separate the contenders, stages 16 & 17 aren’t likely to do so, despite 6 category big climbs. That’s right—in 5 days they go Alps, day off, Alps, Alps, time trial. A schedule like that makes the challenge more than the sum of its parts. Stages 18 & 17 will leave everyone FUBAR for the time trial on the next day. The stage 18 time trial course makes a circuit around a lake that is in Alp foothill country. It’s flat, except for a category 3 climb three-quarters of the way through, but the wind could be a huge factor on the course. Then there is Ventoux.

And before all that stuff happens, there are a couple key dates in week 1. Stage 7 ends with a big climb in the Pyrenees. Stage 1 could be big too. Instead of having a prologue, stage 1 is a 15 km time trial in Monaco, but the course is treacherous with a ton of turns. I’ll be surprised if all the cyclists make it to the finish—someone is going to break a collar bone on day one.