[obc] 2003 Tour de France

[tim aubin]

Last week, the Societe du Tour de France unveiled the route of the 2003 Tour. The unveiling occurred with more than the usual fanfare because next year's Tour will be the centennial edition. All past Tour winners were invited to the event, and all except 1973 winner Luis Ocana attended the unveiling.

The 2003 Tour will embody tradition. It will begin and end in Paris, and it will visit the six cities of the original Tour--Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Nantes--along with many others. It will include many legendary climbs--the Galibier, Alpe d'Huez, the Izoard, the Tourmalet, and Luz-Ardiden. However, the race will visit Meaux, La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, Saint Dizier, Joinville, Sallanches, Gallac, Cap Decouverte, Saint Maixent L'Ecole, and Pornic for the first time. As the joint statement of Patrice Clerc of the Amaury Sport Organisation and Jean-Marie Leblanc of the Societe du Tour de France says, "One hundred years later, without moving away from its fundamental points of reference, the Tour de France wants to retain its pioneering spirit."

The Tour will make its first bow to tradition by beginning in Paris. After the prologue on Saturday, July 5 at the Eiffel Tower, Stage 1 will start at 3:16 pm the following day--the same start time of Stage 1 of the 1903 Tour. Stages 2 and 3 will take the riders through La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, Sedan, Charleville-Mezieres, and Saint-Dizier, and the Stage 4 team time trial will be ridden from Joinville to Saint-Dizier. Stages 5 and 6 will be rolling, and Stage 7, a 226.5-km run from Lyon to Morzine, will be a hilly ride through the Jura and the longest stage of the 2003 Tour at 226.5-km.

Stages 7 and 8 will be the first mountain stages. Stage 7 will take the riders over the Galibier to L'Alpe d'Huez, and Stage 8 will go over the Izoard. Stage 10 will go from Gap to Marseilles. The first rest day will follow Stage 10.

After the first rest day, the Tour will proceed to the Pyrenees. Stage 11 will be a sprinters' stage from Narbonne to Toulouse, and Stage 12 will be a hilly, 48.5-km individual time trial from Gaillac to Cap Decouverte. Stage 13 will be the first Pyrenean stage. It will run 197.5 km from Toulouse to Ax-Bonsacre. Stage 14 will have five tough climbs, but Stage 15 could be decisive. The 159.5-km stage from Bagneres-de-Bigorre to Luz-Ardiden will feature the Col d'Aspin, the Col du Tourmalet, and the finishing climb. The second rest day will follow Stage 15--and the riders will need a rest!

After the second rest day, Stage 16 will take the riders through some minor Pyrenean climbs, and Stages 17 and 18 should end in bunch sprints. Stage 19, a 49-km time trial from Pornic to Nantes, will sort out the podium places. Stage 20 will end with the usual cavalry charge on the Champs Elysses.

The 2003 Tour differs from other editions of the race in that there are only three mountaintop finishes. In addition, the individual time trials are shorter than usual. Moreover, the field will be chosen in a manner that is different from the past. The UCI has drawn up new rules for the three grand tours. Fourteen teams automatically qualified at the end of October 2002 based on the end-of-season UCI rankings. In January 2003, the Societe du Tour de France will choose two wild cards. On May 15, 2003, the organizers will choose four more teams. Clearly, the rule change is designed to avoid the controversy--and in one case, litigation--that has surrounded the selection process in recent years.

What do the riders and directeurs sportifs think of the centennial Tour? Five-time Tour winner Miguel Indurain said, "It's a very interesting course, built for a complete rider." Ferdi Kubler, the 1950 Tour champion, said, "With 1600 kilometers less than in my day, and with much better road surfaces, things are much easier for today's riders." Roger Legeay, Credit Agricole's directeur sportif, agrees. "This Tour is more or less 'soft,' with pretty short time trials."

Three-time Tour winner Greg Lemond should have the last word. The first noncontinental European to win the Tour says, "I find the Tour well-balanced, but it's always the same thing. No matter what the route is, it's the strongest who'll win in the end." The strongest will not be determined until next July, but for news on the run-up to the Tour and for news on riders and on other races, keep checking in at www.roadcycling.com

See you next week,

Gerald Churchill
Editor
Roadcycling.com
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Tim Aubin, member.




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