2016 Tour de France route unveiled
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The route for the 2016 Tour de France was unveiled at a glitzy ceremony in the French capital Paris on Tuesday.
The 103rd edition of cycling’s most prestigious race begins at Normandy’s iconic Mont Saint-Michel on the July 2.
The race will then weave its way anti-clockwise around France.
It will feature 28 categorised climbs, brief visits to Spain and Switzerland and include two time trials.
The sprinters will have more chances to shine with seven stage finishes designed for the speedsters, but next year’s Tour looks set to be dominated by the climbers once again.
On July 14, Bastille Day, the Tour will return to the gruelling Mont Ventoux climb — a crippling 22.7 km ascent at an average gradient of 7.2 percent — representing the edition’s Queen stage.
It is the same climb that Chris Froome dominated three years ago to effectively seal his first title.
In total the riders will complete some 3520 kilometres spread out over 21 stages.
The race, as usual, will end with a mad dash down up the Champs-Elysees in Paris.