Tour de France offers 2015 Alpe d’Huez finale

Thursday, 23 October 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Paris (AFP): For the first time in Tour de France history the legendary Alpe d’Huez will be climbed on the penultimate stage of the 2015 edition before the final procession in Paris. That was one of several surprises unveiled on Wednesday as the official route for the 2015 Tour, from July 4-26, was announced in Paris by Tour director Christian Prudhomme.

After this year’s exciting fifth stage - in which defending champion Chris Froome crashed out with a broken hand and wrist - won by Dutchman Lars Boom, the cobbles return for a second successive year while the first part of the race pays homage to some of the greatest cycle races in the world. But perhaps the biggest shock is the lack of timetrial kilometres, something that will not favour 2013 winner Froome, who had said last month that he was hoping for more, or longer, timetrials to give him an edge on Alberto Contador, who pipped him to Vuelta a Espana glory in September. “One aspect of the race which I feel are my strengths is in the timetrials,” Briton Froome had said ahead of last month’s World Championships in Spain. “I’m quite eager to see the 2015 Tour route and whether in the time-trials I can get an advantage on him (Contador).”