HOMECOMING

Talk about colouring inside the lines! The unveiling of the Grand Départ in northern France came in the wake of three editions that got the show on the road in Denmark, Spain and, most recently, Italy. The route of the 112th Tour de France will stretch for 3,320 kilometres without venturing beyond the borders of France, taking the peloton from the Esplanade du Champs de Mars in Lille in the inaugural stage, on 5 July, to the finish on 27 July, when a powerful sense of homecoming will sweep through the peloton as the riders barrel down the Champs-Élysées in Paris for the fiftieth time. This golden jubilee is overflowing with meaning for the Tour, as 1975 also saw the introduction of the polka-dot jersey and the launch of the best young rider classification, symbolised by the white jersey. The names that stand out from the illustrious annals of French cycling will also be present along the route in the shape of brushes with history in which the stars of the peloton will be eager to shine. After a stint in northern France, where the opening salvo of the puncheur war will be fired in Boulogne-sur-Mer (stage 2), the competition will continue at the same ferocious pace in Normandy, with a stage win up for grabs in Jacques Anquetil's home town of Rouen (stage 4). A trek through Norman Switzerland culminating in Vire will dispel any lingering doubts on the ability of the region to host a stage with a cumulative altitude gain of 3,500 metres (stage 6).  

The peloton will roll through the Breton town of Yffiniac to mark 40 years since Bernard Hinault claimed his last victory, but the tribute will soon turn into a challenge with a double serving of the Côte de Mûr-de-Bretagne at the end of the day (stage 7). Right after that, the stage to Saint-Méen-le-Grand will be a blast from the past, harking back to the third consecutive victory of the local hero Louison Bobet, 70 years ago. The opening week will draw to a close on 14 July with a firework display on the leg-breaking terrain of south-central France, with a record seven category 2 climbs before the finish at the Le Mont-Dore ski resort, at the foot of the Puy de Sancy (stage 10). The Massif Central will be merely the gateway to the mountains, as a Pyrenean trilogy will quickly follow with a stage to Hautacam (stage 12), a mountain time trial leading to Peyragudes (stage 13) and, as the icing on the cake, the return to Luchon-Superbagnères (stage 14), held on a carbon copy of the course on which things started to go south for The Badger in his duel with Greg LeMond in the 1986 Tour de France.  

Another climbing fest will come in Provence, where the cream of the climbing crop will clash for a prestigious win at the summit of the Mont Ventoux (stage 16), twelve years after the last stage finish at the observatory. However, the fight for the yellow jersey will rage on in the Alps. An altitude gain of 5,500 metres awaits the peloton on the road to the Col de la Loze, which will be tackled head-on from Courchevel this time round (stage 18). If the race has not yet been decided by then, there will be a new opportunity to tip the scales in the stage to La Plagne (stage 19), at the end of an ascent where Laurent Fignon struck hard in 1984 and 1987. The slopes of the Jura on the road to Pontarlier (stage 20) are unlikely to shake up the overall podium, as is the returning finale on the Champs-Élysées, which will set up a rematch between the winners and losers of the probable sprints in Dunkirk (stage 3), Laval (stage 8), Châteauroux  (stage 9), Toulouse (stage 11) and Valence (stage 17).