101st Tour de France Announcement

Overnight ASO announced the route of the 2014 Tour de France. The first three stage in England had been previously released so this was about what the French stages would look like. There were suggestions the race would encounter the cobbles in the north while paying tribute to the centenary of the first world war. In a hyper media world, there lacked any real surprise over the route as speculation was largely correct. So what does the route look like?
There will be 9 flat stages, 5 hill stages, 6 mountain stages with 5 altitude finishes, 1 individual time-trial stage and 2 rest days.

The race covers the eastern side of France in a clockwise ride. The stages in England are said to fancy the sprinters but there will be some rewards for puncheurs with lumpy stages. A stint in the yellow jersey is also going to ensure a nervy first week as riders fight for position on narrow roads marked on either side by rock fences. 

2014 Tour de France Grand Depart

In 2014 the Tour returns to England for the first time since the 2007 London depart. The race begins in Leeds on July 5th on a stage which could give Mark Cavendish his first yellow jersey if he doesn't pull one on this year. The race moves north from Leeds to finish in Harrogate with Stage 2 beginning in York and heads south to Sheffield on a stage which has been likened to Liège–Bastogne–Liège and should be great stage. Stage 3 is further south with the start in Cambridge and a finish in London on route yet to be confirmed.