Next
year's Tour to favor aggressive riders
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[October 18, 2016]
By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) - Organizers have
unveiled a route for the 2017 Tour de France featuring many early
climbs in a bid to limit the opportunities for strong teams to
dominate stages and reward aggressive riders looking to shake up the
sport's greatest spectacle.
Race director Christian Prudhomme peppered the 2017 course with
steep climbs, five of them making their first appearance on the Tour
and many early in stages, which will start from Duesseldorf on July
1 and go through four countries before ending in Paris on July 23.
"We want to favor the long-range attacks," Prudhomme told reporters
before unveiling the route on Tuesday.
"We want to break the catenaccio on the race," he added, referring
to the conservative tactics top teams are able to impose on flatter
stages.
There will be only four summit finishes but attackers will get a
chance to make an early impression with two of them coming in the
first week, which will end with a grueling mountain stage in the
Jura featuring three daunting out-of-category ascents.
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Organizers hope that the top teams will not be able to impose their
rule in such a stage having seen Britain's all-powerful Team Sky in
particular often control many stages with meticulously planned and
executed group riding.
"Let's hope that some aggressive top riders will be able to break
away in the Col du Grand Colombier (the second of the three big
climbs in the stage) and hold on to their lead all the way to
Chambery. It will be difficult to control that stage," said
Prudhomme.
The course, which features two short individual time trials --
including the penultimate stage in Marseille, starting and ending at
the Stade Velodrome -- could favor France's Romain Bardet, who
finished second overall this year.
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![](../images/101816pics/sports53.jpg)
From L-R, riders Thibaut Pinot of France, Romain Bardet of France,
Chris Froome of Britain, Richie Porte of Australia, Julian
Alaphilippe of France, Tony Martin of Germany, Thomas Voeckler of
France pose after the presentation of the itinerary of the 2017 Tour
de France cycling race at a news conference in Paris, France,
October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Mar/14/images/ads/current/tires250x300.gif)
No Frenchman has won the Tour since Bernard Hinault clinched the
last of his five titles in 1985, but France have been on the final
podium of two of the last three editions with Bardet, Thibaut Pinot
and Jean-Christophe Peraud.
However, anyone wanting to win will have to find a way to beat Chris
Froome, aiming for a third successive victory and fourth in all, and
his dominant Team Sky, who have won four of the last five races.
(Editing by Mitch Phillips)
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