Tour de France taking high road
Riders in ’10 race to tackle Pyrenees
PARIS - Defending champion Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong will play out the next chapter of their Tour de France rivalry against the majestic backdrop of the Pyrenees.
Tour organizers unveiled the 2010 course yesterday, with Armstrong and Contador attending the ceremony in Paris. The race will start with a 5-mile prologue July 3 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and a final stage on the Champs-Elysees wraps ups a 2,234-mile ride.
The pair worked together as Astana teammates during this year’s race, and the Spaniard won the Tour for a second time while Armstrong finished third.
The route of the most prestigious three-week cycling race will recreate the first crossing of the Pyrenees 100 years ago with four stages in the daunting mountains that form the border between France and Spain.
Contador and Armstrong shook hands at the Palais des Congres during the ceremony but didn’t exchange a word.
“They’re already writing the script,’’ Armstrong said of the rivalry with Contador. “It’s good for cycling. I think he and I could do without it, but I think it’s good for the event and good for our sport. For sure the buildup to the Tour, from April to May to June and to the start, it’ll be really intense.’’
The 38-year-old Armstrong left the Kazakh-funded Astana team to launch his own squad after last year’s race. The
Astana manager Johan Bruyneel, the man behind Armstrong’s seven Tour de France victories, confirmed he will join RadioShack this season. He said he was confident the UCI will deliver its license soon.
Armstrong didn’t give his opinion about the route for the July race.
“I was never one to say I like this Tour, I dislike this Tour,’’ Armstrong said. “It’s the Tour. The best man always wins and you always do the Alps and the Pyrenees and you always have some demanding time trials.’’
In 1910, Tour riders climbed the four legendary Pyrenean passes - Peyresourde, Aspin, Tourmalet, and Aubisque - a feat their modern heirs will repeat next July. The Tourmalet, one of the toughest climbs in cycling, will be scaled twice.
“With the celebration of the first crossing of the Pyrenees, it’s logical that the Pyrenees will be harder than the Alps on this Tour,’’ race director Christian Prudhomme said.
Contador says he’s looking forward to the demanding route.
“The route is better than last year’s because there are more mountains,’’ Contador said. “And finishing with the Tourmalet is great for me.’’
The last time the Tour sent the riders over all four of the Pyrenees’ most punishing ascents in that order was the 17th stage in 1969.
