The route for the 2013 Tour de France has been unveiled at a glitzy ceremony in Paris.
Centenary edition going out with a bang
The route for the 2013 Tour de France has been unveiled at a glitzy ceremony in Paris and will see the race culminate with a floodlit finale down the fabled Champs-Elysees.
The 3,360km parcours will begin for the first time on the Mediterranean island of Corsica on Saturday 29 June and culminate with a final stage from Versailles, arriving in the French capital at sunset.
Three time-trials - two individual and one team - have been included in the 100th edition of the race, as well as four summit finishes - not least a climb to Semnoz on the penultimate day which is likely to determine the winner.
Sprinters will get a golden opportunity on day one, with a relatively flat run from Porto-Vecchio to Bastia giving them the first chance to don the yellow jersey since 1966.
The race switches to the mainland after finishes in the Corsican towns of Ajaccio and Calvi with a 25km team time-trial around Nice which promises to shake up the overall standings.
The race then winds its way along the French Riviera, taking in Marseille and Montpellier, before the climbers are given the first chance to show their credentials in the Pyrenees on stage eight.
A nasty 15km climb awaits the pack at Port de Pailheres before the first summit finish at Ax 3 Domaines.
There is then no let up on stage nine, with five climbs littered across 165km of racing between Saint-Girons and Bagneres-de-Bigorre, before a well-deserved rest day on 8 July.
The continues towards north-western France, when it resumes with a scenic run towards the port of Saint Malo before a crucial 33km individual time-trial between Avranches and Mont-Saint-Michel.
The route again heads south through central France, taking in Tours, Montrond and Lyon, before a showpiece Bastille Day stage that includes the legendary Mont Ventoux.
A second rest day preceeds the final time-trial of 32km, before a stage which features not one, but two ascents of the fabled Alpe d'Huez, one which should prove crucial in determining the 2013 champion.
Stages 19 and 20 will provide more opportunities to attack the race leader and two more summit finishes at Le Grand-Bornand and Semnoz before the final day run to Paris starting with the start line at king Louis XIV's chateau at Versailles.
Reaction to the route announcement from Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish can be found right
HERE.
Tour de France 2013 stages:
Saturday 29 June - Stage one: Porto Vecchio to Bastia - 212km
Sunday 30 June - Stage two: Bastia to Ajaccio - 154km
Monday 1 July - Stage three: Ajaccio to Calvi- 145km
Tuesday 2 July - Stage four: Nice to Nice (TTT) – 25km
Wednesday 3 July - Stage five: Cagnes-sur-Mer to Marseille – 219km
Thursday 4 July - Stage six: Aix-en-Provence to Montpellier – 176km
Friday 5 July - Stage seven: Montpellier to Albi - 205km
Saturday 6 July - Stage eight: Castres to Ax 3 Domaines - 194km
Sunday 7 July - Stage nine: St Girons to Bagneres de Bigorre - 165km
Monday 8 July - Rest day
Tuesday 9 July - Stage 10: St Gildas des Bois to St Malo - 193km
Wednesday 10 July - Stage 11: Avranches to Mont St Michel (TT) - 33km
Thursday 11 July - Stage 12: Fougeres to Tours - 218km
Friday 12 July - Stage 13: Tours to St Amand Montrond - 173km
Saturday 13 July - Stage 14: St Pourain sur Sioule to Lyon - 191km
Sunday 14 July - Stage 15: Givors to Mont Ventoux - 242km
Monday 15 July - Rest day
Tuesday 16 July - Stage 16: Vaison la Romaine to Gap - 168km
Wednesday 17 July - Stage 17: Embrun to Chorges (TT) - 32km
Thursday 18 July - Stage 18: Gap to Alpe d'Huez - 168km
Friday 19 July - Stage 19: Bourg d'Oisans to Le Grand Bornand – 204km
Saturday 20 July - Stage 20: Annecy to Annecy Semnoz - 125km
Sunday 21 July - Stage 21: Versailles to Paris – 118km
