Le Big Announcement: Tour de France 2014

Start in Givors; Tour de France 2013
Start in Givors; Tour de France 2013

I woke up at 5:50 a.m. this morning and my very first thought: What is the tour route?

I knew it was going to start in Yorkshire, England and I heard hints about London. The start date is July 5 and the final stage will finish in Paris on July 27.  Now I know there are three stages (of 21) in England: Leeds to Harrowgate, York to Sheffield, Cambridge! to London.  Then the route returns to France and, on the anniversary of World War I, visits many of the famous battlefields of France: Lille, Ypres, Reims.  There are three mountain ranges. This will be the most serious challenge to following the Tour in 2014 as the access to starts and finishes is limited and hotel rooms in small resort towns will be scarce. There is only one time trial, no team time trial, and two rest days.

Let the logistics planning begin!