STAGE 1
The organizers of the Tour de France have thrown a few curveballs with their 2008 route. Normally, one town or city buys the rights to the Tour's Grand Depart, showcasing itself along a short prologue course. This year, the entire region of Brittany in northwest France has bought the rights to the beginning of the race, and the Tour will spend its first three days here.
The lack of a prologue (for the first time since 1967) and the discontinuation of time bonuses (another change this year) accentuate the unpredictability of the 2008 Tour. Plus, without a defending champion at the start--last year's winner Alberto Contador and his team were not invited--everyone will be eyeing the yellow jersey and no team will take responsibility for controlling the race. This lack of order should make for extra-nervous racing on the narrow roads of the Brittany countryside. Throw in a bit of bad weather, and the 2008 Tour could get real ugly, real early.
To complicate matters, the final stretch of the first stage is anything but predictable. According to Tour organizers, the final mile into Plumelec averages 6.2 percent, a run-in likely to discourage sprinters and possibly favor the riders who break out early in the stage. The finish favors not one type of rider, but one type of tactic: good timing. The first man across the line will be wearing yellow: it doesn't get more simple--or more exciting--than that.
Editor's Note: Our preview maps were created using the stage outlines from the Tour de France organizers. In some cases, the mileage may vary since the exact start and end points were not provided by officials.
MORE TOUR de FRANCE MAPS
Stage 1 |
Stage 2 |
Stage 3 |
Stage 4 |
Stage 5 |
Stage 6 |
Stage 7 |
Stage 8 |
Stage 9 |
Stage 10 |
Stage 11 |
Stage 12 |
Stage 13 |
Stage 14 |
Stage 15 |
Stage 16 |
Stage 17 |
Stage 18 |
Stage 19 |
Stage 20 |
Stage 21
Google Earth Flyover: 2008 Tour de France
See more race coverage at
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