Tour de France 2019 route (1) infographic
Graphic shows route of the 2018 Tour de France.
GN38468EN

CYCLING

Tour de France 2019 route

By Jordi Bou

July 6, 2019 - July 28, 2019 - The route of the 2019 Tour de France will feature 30 categorised climbs, five mountain finishes in what the organisers are promising will be “the highest Tour in history”, and which they have set to up encourage breakaways and attacks. The total race distance is 3,460km, with the Grand Départ set for Brussels on 6 July and the finish in Paris on 28 July.

The 2019 Tour de France celebrates the 100th anniversary of the showcase race's iconic yellow jersey.

With France emerging from the carnage of World War I, the Tour offered its beacon of hope to the war-ravaged nation. In 1919, the race leader's yellow jersey — which has become cycling’s most iconic symbol — was introduced.

The race begins in Belgium with a flat stage for sprinters around Brussels and stays there the next day for the 27km team time trial.

Once in France the Tour snakes through the Champagne and Lorraine regions. Stage 4 for sprinters starts in Reims — the Champagne-producing city where 25 French kings were crowned in its cathedral.

Stage 7 is the longest at 230 kilometers (143 miles) and made for sprinters. The next day's stage is a hilly one, with several short but sharp climbs from Macon to Saint-Etienne.

The first rest day is July 16 in Alb, followed by a sprint stage before the Tour enters the high Pyrenees. Stage 14 on July 20 finishes with a climb up the Tourmalet pass, one of the most famed in Tour history.

Riders tackle three days of Alpine climbing on stages 18-20, featuring an ascent up the famed Galibier and imposing Iseran – standing 2,770m – and culminating with a relentless 33.4km trek up to the ski resort of Val Thorens.

After the weary peloton is flown toward Paris, the race ends the next day with its processional showcase stage on the Champs-Elysees.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 20/06/2018; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
Advertisement