The Tour de France - 2009 |
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2009
France's greatest sporting event
The Tour de
France is certainly the world's greatest cycling race; if you are
visiting France in July, it is a free spectacle that may well be coming
to a town or a road near you! Each year, hundreds of
thousands of locals and holidaymakers turn up in spots all round France
to watch not just the cyclists, but also the great "caravan" of floats,
cars, media and officals go by.....
Le Tour 2009 the route
"Le
Tour" 2009 - the route and results  The 2009 Tour de France started from Monaco on 4th July, and will finish in Paris on 26th July; riders who complete the course will cover a total distance of 3435 km., about a hundred kilometres less than in previous years. The route of the 2009 Tour de France will also take riders into Spain, Switzerland and Andorra, as well as through eleven of the French regions. The 2009 itinerary includes ten stages on the plains or gentle hilly country, and seven mountain stages. High moments of the 2009 Tour will include the stages in the Pyrenees and the Alps, and notably the long climb to the finish at the top of the Mont Ventoux on July 25th. FINAL OVERALL RESULTS - TOUR DE FRANCE 2009 Top 10 placings:
1. Alberto Contador, Spain, Team Astana, Time: 85:48:35. 2. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg, Team Saxo Bank, + 4h 11 mins.. 3. Lance Armstrong, United States, Team Astana, + 5h 24. 4. Bradley Wiggins, Great Britain, Team Garmin-Slipstream, + 6h 01. 5. Frank Schleck, Luxembourg, Team Saxo Bank, + 6h 04. 6. Andreas Kloeden, Germany, Team Astana, + 6h 42. 7. Vincenzo Nibali, Italy, Liquigas, + 7h 35. 8. Christian Vande Velde, United States, Garmin-Slipstream, + 12h 04. 9. Roman Kreuziger, Czech Republic, Liquigas, + 14h 16. 10. Christophe Le Mevel, France, Francaise des Jeux, + 14h 25. INDIVIDUAL DAILY STAGE WINNERS : 1. Mark Cavendish, Great
Britain, Columbia-High Road Team, 6 stages.
TEAM
TROPHY2. Alberto Contador, Spain, Astana, 2 stages. 1. Team Astana;
combined time 256:02:58.
2. Garmin-Slipstream, + 22 mins 35 secs. The 2009 Route:
For the record: route of the The Tour de France 2008  With almost 200 cyclists,
including many of the world's best, the Tour de France - which first
took place in 1903 - is certainly a great sporting event; nonetheless,
it is an event that has been marred - even heavily marred - in recent
years by doping scandals, with cyclists proving positive in anti-doping
tests. The 2008 race was no different from others, and at a small
number of competitors were withdrawn from the race following a positive
doping test.Yet in spite of the doping scandals, and the withdrawal in recent years of certain major teams, the "Tour" goes on, and it is difficult to imagine how it could not. This mega sporting event is worth millions of Euros in advertising, sponsorship and worldwide television rights, attracts millions of spectators, and is one of Europe's great media circus acts. For the hundreds of thousands who turn up to line the route, the cycling is actually only a tiny bit of the show: While the time-trial races may offer a more long-drawn-out cycling experience for spectators, with competitors taking part one by one, on normal race days the riders may go past in just a minute, especially in the earlier part of a day's leg, before the participants have become more spaced out. But then, the actual race is just a small part of the show. Starting some two hours before the race, the "Caravan" is a cavalcade of floats, decorated cars and other vehicles that moves along the route, throwing out goodies and free samples to the spectators; it is a massive advertising stunt. The advertising caravan, made up of the Tour's official sponsors, is followed by a long line of official cars, technical vehicles, media and motorbikes, lights flashing, horns sounding, all warming up the spectators for the actual event itself. Then, at last, the riders come by - and are gone again as quickly as they appeared, pounding uphill or downhill at speeds that can reach 50 mph or more. A bit of an anti-climax.... And with that, the day's excitement is over. Anyone wanting to watch the race in a serious manner would be well advised to do so on television; but for a day's outing, with all the fun of the crowds, the waiting, the caravan, and the atmosphere, watching the Tour go by is as good as many other events, and what's more it's free. The Tour can be watched all over France, and each year the route is different, taking in at least one leg in another country. The 2009 Tour covers a distance of 3435 km, in 21 stages. The most exciting legs of the itinerary are those that take place in mountainous regions of France, and for this reason, the mountain regions - Vosges, Jura, Alps, Massif-Central and Pyrenees - tend to get visited more frequently than some of the flatter regions of France. The 2009 Tour de France started on 4th July 2009 from Monaco. Tourists wanting to book holiday accommodation along the route are advised to do so early. Click here for holiday cottages or for bed and breakfast accommodation in France. Visit the Official site of the tour de France Tourist attractions in France, by region : Follow these links for a more detailed list of major tourist attractions in the following regions:: Paris tourist attractions Alsace tourist attractions Auvergne tourist attractions Brittany tourist attractions Burgundy tourist attractions Franche-Comté tourist attractions Tourist attractions in Languedoc-Roussillon Tourist attractions in Limousin Tourist attractions in the Midi-Pyrenees region Tourist attractions in Normandy Tourist attractions in the Pays de la Loire Tourist attractions in the Poitou-Charentes region Provence tourist attractions A brief introduction to the regions of France |
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