Monday 10 October 2011 at 22h09
... and about the Etape du Tour MondoVélo!
first publication on 7 September at 1.05AM, updated on 7 September at 8.14AM and 11.08AM, on 8 September at 0.09AM and at 8.24AM, at 8.59AM, at 12h45, at 2.25PM, at 3.56PM, at 4.15PM and at 10.58PM, on 9 September at 2.24PM and on 16 September at 2.15PM, on 20 September at 8.43AM (adding the map), on 21 September at 8.09AM, on 22 September at 8.00AM, on 23 September at 0.30AM, on 26 September at 8.12AM and at 11.13AM, on 27 September at 7.52AM and at 3.34PM, on 30 September at 8.15AM, 1 October at 10.35PM, 3 October at 8.47PM and 10.16PM, 4 October at 9.02PM, 5 October at 10.18AM and 10 October at 10.09PM
UPDATE 10 October 2011 : in an update which I was about to publish tonight, I planned to completely reveal the last week of the Tour de France 2012, exclusively. You must probably know by now however that ASO has been quicker than me on that by publishing, by mistake, at the usual address, the whole 99th edition of the Grande Boucle.On my side I managed to get together all the information searching everywhere I could and taking into account some of the well informed comments, especially from people like "ste fan" and "bazorch" which helped me to look in the right direction. Apparently ASO didn't want to give me this scoop ;-). I can however confirm you, based on hotel reservations, that the information which was published by ASO is apparently the correct one and that it's not an attempt by ASO to make us believe that the race course will be different from the one which will be announced on the 18th. There's also very small (if not none) chances that ASO will still be able to make any changes in this parcours ...
The other information I planned to publish in this article tonight, will be published in another article which will be online ... tonight!
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Just like previous years and since this article is highly expected, I decided to start the search for rumours about the Tour de France race route for next year: the Tour de France 2012 which will take place from 30 June until 22 July 2012.
Even though I don't know whether the result will be as good as the 2 previous years (100% correct the day before the official presentation), I know that many people are waiting for this and several people already started the first discussions on the article about the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2012 for our annual rendez-vous, the one to find the race route!
On my side I was running a bit late, especially because of my work in the Tour du Limousin and the Tour Poitou-Charentes.
What's for sure: the Grand Départ in Liège in Belgium
As I already announced on 30 November 2008, the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2012 will take place in Belgium and will start with a prologue in Liège ... A quick reminder of the prologue, the 2 first stages and the before-Tour programme:
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Wednesday 27 June 2012 - opening of the permanence and the press center
These structures will be in the Halles de la Foire Internationale de Liège (FIL), quai de Wallonie in Liège.Thursday 28 June 2012 - team presentations Tour de France 2012
This presentation will take place in Liège.Saturday 30 June 2012 - P/ prologue in Liège
The prologue of the Tour de France 2012 will take place in the city of Liège over a distance of 6.1 kilometers.The gathering location of this prologue will be in the Parc d'Avroy with the start podium in the Avenue Rogier. The race route will be completely flat and identical to the one used in 2004 when the Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara took the first yellow jersey.
The riders will than continue north on the Boulevard d'Avroy and the Boulevard de la Sauvenière before they arrive on the Quai Roosevelt following the Meuse river. They will turn left at la Batte (after a bit more than 3 kilometers) towards the Place Saint-Lambert and its Palais des Princes-Évêques. They'll than follow the Boulevard de la Sauvenière and the Boulevard d'Avroy in the opposite direction towards the finish line where they'll get after 6.1 kilometers.
Sunday 1st of July 2012 - 1/ Liège > Seraing - 180 km
The first stage, like this year over a distance of 180 kilometers, will also start from the Parc d'Avroy. However, as usual an official start ceremony will take place a bit further on, at the Place Saint-Lambert in front of the Palais des Princes-Évêques which the riders will have seen already the day before during the prologue (well, it's not sure they really pay attention to that during the race!).This stage's route will be hilly and will follow the roads which are usually used for the spring classics. The 180 kilometer distance is obtained by going down to the south-east limit of the Province of Liège while visiting Spa-Francorchamps where the riders will be close to the famous car race circuit. After a short visit of the Province of Luxembourg, via the Baraque de Fraiture, which is one of the highest points of Belgium with its 652 meter altitude, and Hotton, the riders will go back north towards the finish in Seraing which will be in front of the Cristalleries du Val Saint-Lambert.
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Monday 2 July 2012 - 2/ Visé > Tournai
For the second stage, on Monday 2 July 2012, ASO only indicates the start city, Visé, precising that this city has never received the Tour de France before. However, as indicated in my previous articles it is very well possible that this stage finishes in Tournai and that the stage start on Tuesday 3 July 2012 will take place Orchies in the north of France.That's also what L'Avenir said in May, the day after a visit of ASO, precising that the stage would enter the city via the chaussée de Bruxelles and that the finish would be on the boulevard Bara. Sud Presse, after having visited this website, added to this but did however indicate they were not sure about the finish of this stage.
UPDATE 8 September 2011 : Grand Lille TV just published a video about this stage on YouTube. You can watch it below:
If you'd like to find all information about the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2012, you can still read my article Detailed information about the Grand Départ of the 2012 Tour de France in the Province of Liège.
UPDATE 8 September 2011 : And if you'd like to see the advertising campaign of the Province of Liège "La Province est là", check out the website of the Province of Liège.
What follows in the Tour de France 2012, based on rumours
A city which would like to receive the Tour de France most often indicates its wish to do so to ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation). In some rare cases, ASO contacts a city to fill in a gap in the race course otherwise established based on cities which have asked for the Tour. A city which hosts a stage start pays 60,000€ for it while a finish costs 90.000€ for a city.For the following stages of the Tour de France 2012 it's definitely not ASO who will give the answers ... Well, at least that is, not before 18 October 2011, the date on which the race course of the Tour de France 2012 will officially be announced! The only thing we know right now is thus that Christian Prudhomme promised to come up with some surprises ...
There are however many other sources which allow to establish, as every year, in a pretty precise way the following race course of the 99th edition of the Grande Boucle. This edition won't have anything particular to celebrate like this has been the case in previous years and there was thus no further information about the cities which would receive the Tour based on such criteria. Today however things really start to clear up and in this article you'll thus be able to find the other stages of the Tour de France 2012.
As usual, this article will regularly be updated each time new information becomes available. These updates will be clearly indicated in the article.
Tuesday 3 July 2012 - 3/ Orchies > Boulogne-sur-Mer
For the start of this stage it was quite obvious since a long time already that it could be Orchies which sent in a request together with Tournai in Belgium.This was confirmed by L'Union on 3 September and this article mentioned a finish in Le Touquet Paris Plage or in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Even though the newspaper pretty much opts for the first, I think the finish of this stage would more logically be in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Hoewever, La Voix du Nord also indicated on 24 August that the responsible for sports in this city, Denis Caloin, told that ASO was prospecting in the seaside resort which would celebrate its 100 years with this event ... In any case, this stage will finish in the Pas-de-Calais !
UPDATE 8 September 2011 : La Voix du Nord today confirmed that it will definitely be Boulogne-sur-Mer and not Le Touquet. The mayor of Le Touquet said about this stage finish in Boulogne: I would like to congratulate them. It's good news for the region, and also for all people living here and interested in cycling who will be able to assist to this event. Furthermore, our hotels will make an additional profit with this event. We could say that we'll have the benefits of the Tour de France without having to pay for it.. Apparently, he's thus happy to take the money out of it without paying anything for it ... Not sure that his neighbor will be that happy with that!
He also confirmed the information which I had about Le Touquet: the seaside resort has never asked for a stage finish of the Tour de France 2012!
In the night of 7 September La Voix du Nord announced on Twitter that it would "exclusively" (oh, really?) announce the same information the next day ...
UPDATE 7 September 2011 : and that's now done with an article which doesn't provide any further information but which reconfirms the cities Orchies, Boulogne-sur-Mer and Abbeville indicating that the stage between Orchies and Boulogne-sur-Mer will visit the Flanders climbs and Saint-Omer ...
UPDATE 8 September 2011 : La Voix du Nord today once again highlights this stage's finish in Boulogne-sur-Mer and more precisely at the stade de la Libération, adding that Jean-François Pescheux was in Boulogne yesterday.
Jean-Claude Étienne, responsible for sports in the city of Boulogne would have said that the finish in Boulogne, with the climb of the Porte Gayole, will be very selective and that this scenario pleased them(ASO), adding that the press room would be in Damrémont.
In another article, the newspaper has been looking for the race course of this stage without however giving much new information but also in the comments of some local personalities and in the finish in Boulogne while 20 Minutes also takes over this information ...
Wednesday 4 July 2012 - 4/ Abbeville > Rouen or Gournay-en-Bray
On 13 July already, Le Journal d'Abbeville mentioned the wish of the city Abbeville in Picardie to receive the Tour. On 2 September the Courrier Picard confirmed this information, indicating that it would be a stage start.L'Union took over this information the next day, by adding that the finish city of this stage would be Rouen or Gournay-en-Bray mentioning that this information was found on the Internet and thus probably on this website ... The next day, Paris-Normandie clearly chooses for the finish in Rouen and mentions a stage running through the Baie de Somme, Mers-les-Bains and Saint-Valéry-en-Caux before this finish. This newspaper reconfirmed this information in a new article yesterday, mentioning a stage start the next day from Rouen or more probably from Gournay-en-Bray. In this article, the newspaper indicates that Valérie Fourneyron, mayor of Rouen, said to be optimistic; Valérie Fourneyron's whole career was marked by sport and she will thus most probably also wants to succeed this challenge to receive the Tour de France in her city.
This information was taken over today by France 3 and again by Paris-Normandie who went to visit the local shops and hotels and who also had a chat with Valérie Fourneyron concerning the place where the finish line will be drawn. It should be not far from the quays.
This visit of the Tour de France 2012 would be a mark of honour to Jacques Anquetil, the first five times winner ofd the Tour de France, born in Mont-Saint-Aignan just outside Rouen, 25 years after his death.
The hotel reservations confirm that the Tour caravan will sleep in Rouen.
UPDATE 16 September 2011: The interview with Valérie Fourneyron, mayor of Rouen, in Côté Rouen and republished by Tendance Ouest Rouen and the amount of € 150,000 mentioned in there, seems to confirm that Rouen will organise both finish and stage start the next day.
Thursday 5 July 2012 - 5/ Gournay-en-Bray Rouen > Saint-Quentin or Reims
According to these informations, the 5th stage would thus start in the region of Rouen and most probably thus from Gournay-en-Bray.For the finish of this stage, two possibilities exist:
- the one of Saint-Quentin which is mentioned most often: for example by L'Union on 31 August, taken over on 2 September by L'Aisne Nouvelle and by Courrier Picard just like France 3 the next day and again by L'Union. Paris-Normandie also talks about this on 4 September ...
- or the one of Reims, much less mentioned but vaguely present in some of these articles and maybe more logical because of their infrastructure which seems to be more adapted
UPDATE 14 September 2011: After my visit to the Grand Prix de Fourmies last weekend, I can confirm that it's indeed most probably Saint-Quentin which will receive the stage finish for this stage. The stage finish will normally take place on the the local Champs-Elysées ! This informations was also confirmed by Aisne Nouvelle on September 16th.
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Friday 6 July 2012 - 6/ Epernay Reims or Sedan > Metz
Even though the dates are not right, La Semaine des Ardennes is the first to mention this stage between Sedan and Metz, before the information is taken over by L'Avenir the next day.UPDATE 7 September 2011 : However, based on hotel reservations in Reims for the 5th, this stage will more probably start in Reims because Sedan is at about 100 kilometers further.
UPDATE 10 October 2011 : finally it's Epernay which will organise the stage start for this stage. Epernay is at about thirty kilometers from Reims, so that's still a logical choice based on the hotel reservations.Saturday 7 July 2012 - 7/ Tomblaine > Gérardmer or Belfort or La Planche des Belles Filles
The L'Alsace newspaper mentions a stage which would start in Tomblaine and finish in Gérardmer for Saturday 7 July. However, when you think about the surprises mentioned by Christian Prudhomme and the promotion of other massifs than the Pyrenees and the Alps, we can not imagine that this stage will forget to visit the Ballon d'Alsace. If this is the case, the stage finish could well be in Belfort after a visit of Gérardmer and the Ballon d'Alsace!The next day, Vosges Matin also mentions the Tour de France 2012 in Gérardmer and mainly talks about the finish of this stage.
UPDATE 8 September 2011 : L'Est Républicain today takes over the information concerning this stage (making a mistake about the number of the stage, it will well be the 7th stage and not the 8th) and says that the stage start in Tomblaine would be at the Stade Marcel Picot.
UPDATE 16 September 2011 : Le Pays today again mentions the rumour, already mentioned in this video of La Presse de Vesoul, about a finish in La Planche des Belles Filles (mountain top finish), indicating the stage would go through the Milles-Etangs area. I didn't really believe in this rumour but apparently it's now coming back again today ...
UPDATE 26 September 2011 : based on the local hotel reservations, I finally choose La Planche des Belles Filles anyway for this stage finish!
UPDATE 3 October 2011 : In a video which was published tonight by La Presse de Vesoul, you can discover a bit more details about the place where the finish line of this stage will be drawn and the durable modifications which are necessary to receive the Tour de France 2012 in perfect conditions:
UPDATE 5 octobre 2011 : this morning Le Pays published an article which summarises the three stages in the Franche-Comté region, presenting the possible race course for this stage, Sunday's stage and Monday's stage.
Sunday 8 July 2012 - 8/ Belfort > Porrentruy
Porrentruy is probably the finish city of this 99th Tour de France which has been mentioned the most in the different articles concerning the 2012 edition of the Grande Boucle. On 11 February already, RFJ mentioned this when talking about the venue of the Tour de l'Avenir which is currently ongoing. TSR also mentioned this on 22 July, just like again RFJ which than mentions the hotel reservations.On 13 August, L'Alsace again mentions this stage and is taken over by France Bleu Belfort Montbéliard on 14 August while Le Pays confirmed on 1 September the information it gave on 13 August.
This last newspaper explains that despite the short distance between the two cities, this stage should be about 200 kilometers long. It also indicates that the finish line would be drawn in the straight line between Porrentruy and Courtedoux. The next day it mentions this information once more in an article about the Tour de l'Avenir, just like RFJ.
In all the articles which mention the start of this stage, Belfort is mentioned for this start.
UPDATE 8 September 2011 : As expected, the Est Républicain newspaper publishes a new article today, because of the venue of the Tour de l'Avenir in Porrentruy, mentioning that the big brother of this stage race is also organised by ASO. In this article, Christophe Moreau, who lived in Belfort from 14 till 29 years old and now lives in Porrentruy in Switzerland, commented this stage: If, like rumours say, this stage would connect Belfort to Porrentruy, this would be very nice for me. These are the two cities I love, but it also mentions the preceding and following stages.
UPDATE 9 September 2011 : in an article called Porrentruy a réussi son examen de passage avant la Grande Boucle, Le Pays relates the seduction operation the Swiss city organised at the occasion of the venue of the Tour de l'Avenir.
UPDATE 16 September 2011 : Le Pays again mentions this stage today, talking about the race course which should be very tortuous in the Haut-Doubs and the Franches-Montagnes with in the final part of the stage, the climb of the col de la Croix, above Saint-Ursanne, which was the final climb in the stage of the Tour de l'Avenir on 7 September. We can imagine that when the peloton leaves Belfort it will go to the Haut-Doubs via the Pays de Montbéliard ....
UPDATE 23 September 2011 : as if we really still needed it, RFJ confirmed once again the stage finish in Porrentruy based on an announcement by the mayor of the city, Gérard Guenat, during the City counsil meeting on Thursday who stated he received an invitation for the official presentation on 18 October. In the article, RFJ mentions the stage Belfort > Porrentruy and the stage start in Besançon but the newspaper says that the rest day would be in between those two stages ...
The Swiss newspaper Le Temps also publishes this information, adding further information about the race course and finish location of this stage: The stage will come from the Franche-Comté and enter Switzerland, most probably in Biaufond. It will climb to Mont-Crosin, descend back to Bellelay, climb again the difficult Côte de Saulcy (...) and will finish with the very selective climb of the Col de la Croix – short but steep –, between Saint-Ursanne and the Ajoie, at about ten kilometers from the finish. A finish which can not be in the city of Porrentruy. It will be alongside the former airport of Porrentruy-Courtedoux. The newspaper adds that the stage will have no single flat kilometer.
Le Temps also mentions a stage finish on Saturday in Belfort, the Belfort > Porrentruy stage on Sunday, the rest day on Monday and a stage start from Besançon on Tuesday ...
Monday 9 July 2012 - 9/ time trial Arc-et-Senans > Besançon or Besançon > Mâcon
UPDATE 7 September 2011 : With hetel reservations in Mâcon (see below) and as indicated by Le Pays, this 9th stage could well take place between Besançon and Mâcon.UPDATE 27 September 2011: today L'Est Républicain published on a part of its website to its subscribers an article about a time trial (necessarily individual because of the time it occurs in the race route) between Arc-et-Senans and Besançon. If this information would be right, this would be followed by a huge transfer to Mâcon ...
UPDATE 5 octobre 2011 : in today's article of Le Pays this time trial is again mentioned for the stage on Monday 9 July ...
UPDATE 10 October 2011 : the information concerning the time trial turned out to be correct and it will thus indeed be followed by a long transfer towards Mâcon.CONTINUE READING AFTER THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Tuesday 10 July 2012 - R1/ rest day in Mâcon
Several articles, including those in the Journal de Saône-et-Loire (also the next day) and in the Bien Public newspaper (also taken over by Le Progrès) mention a stage finish in Mâcon. Creusot-Infos however indicates that Mâcon should wait until 19 July 2013 to receive the Tour.The hotel reservations on 9 and 10 July 2012 could thus correspond to the chambers which are necessary for the finish of the 9th stage and the first rest day of the Tour de France 2012.
UPDATE 27 September 2011 : Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire published another article tonight, confirming the rest day and the stage start in Mâcon, indicating that there would be no stage finish in this city.
Wednesday 11 July 2012 - 10/ Mâcon Villars-les-Dombes (Parc des Oiseaux) > Bellegarde-sur-Valserine Le Grand-Bornand Chambéry
After the Critérium du Dauphiné and according to Radio Scoop, the Parc des Oiseaux would like to receive the Tour de France and it's well possible that this will be the case in 2012. This stage could finish in or around Chambéry based on hotel reservation, but since there's a gap in my planning of the Tour here, based on the information I currently have, I'm not able to confirm that this stage will take place as such and on which date ...Le Progrès mentions a stage similar to this, but puts the finish in Bellegarde or at Le Grand-Bornand and chances are that the finish will indeed be in Le Grand-Bornand ...
UPDATE 26 September 2011 : early tonight, Le Progrès comes back on this stage, indicating that the finish of this stage would be in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, adding that the stage start would not be in the Parc des Oiseaux. If this information gets confirmed, the start of this stage might be in Mâcon, except if Le Progrès comes up with new information tomorrow ...
UPDATE 27 September 2011 : le journal de Saône et Loire also publishes this information this morning, including the possible stage start in Mâcon I suggested here yesterday night ... Le Progrès publishes a new article without any new information on its web site, insisting mainly on the climb of the Grand Colombier ...
UPDATE 27 September 2011 : Le Dauphiné wrote an article tonight in which it also mentioned this stage finish in Bellegarde and insists particularly on the climb of the Col du Grand Colombier. The newspaper asked Mickaël Buffaz and David Moncoutié (Cofidis) to comment on this climb and Moncoutié declared: I think this is fully deserved. The Grand Colombier has contributed to the popularity of the Tour de l'Ain in the previous years. It thus deserved to be shown on a world-wide scale.
Thursday 12 July 2012 - 11/ Albertville > La Toussuire
Le Dauphiné seems to have found the right information about the 11th stage of the Tour de France 2012 on the 4th of September (even though the newspaper mentions another date). This would be a stage from Albertville, of which the mayor Philippe Masure would have confirmed he's invited to the official presentation on 18 October, to La Toussuire.For Albertville this would be the perfect occasion to celebrate (...) the 20th anniversary of the Olympic Games of 1992, with a largely mediatised sports event which benefits of global visibility in the city which already received a stage start of the Critérium du Dauphiné this year, on the 6th of June.
Friday 13 July 2012 - 12/ Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Valence or Annonay
Still according to Le Dauphiné there would be a stage between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Annonay even though the same newspaper mentioned technical problems only a few days earlier, explaining that it is difficult to find a long straight road which is large enough for a stage finish in Annonay. Again according to this newspaper, Pascal Terrasse, deputy and president of the conseil général de l'Ardèche, would have confirmed a stage finish in Annonay.UPDATE 8 September 2011 : Today, Le Dauphiné confirmed this stage finish, indicating that it was officially confirmed yesterday. One of the people reading this web site also informed me of the fact that the information had been confirmed by the Conseil Général and the sous-préfecture of Tournon.
Finally, the Réveil Vivarais reconfirmed this information today, based on what the mayor of Annonay, Olivier Dussopt, said about it.
Furthermore, I know that there are hotel reservations which have been made the day after the stage finish in Bourg-lès-Valence in 2010 in Valence for the finish of this stage ... which could thus
UPDATE 9 September 2011 : concerning the finish of this stage, this would be on the north side of the city, coming from Serrières, Peaugres and Davézieux. Coming from the Rhône, this up-hill finish could thus be more adapted to a puncher than a sprinter ...
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Saturday 14 July 2012 - 13/ Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux ? > Cap d'Agde
The stage start for this Saturday could thus be in Valence based on the information provided above. For the night of the 14th there are some hotel reservations in Béziers, not by ASO but those are quite serious hotel reservations anyway ... but the Campanile hotel in Foix has been booked as well ... Anyway, there will most probably be an important transfer at the end of this stage ...UPDATE 26 September 2011 : this morning France Bleu Drôme Ardêche announces a stage Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux > Cap d'Agde. While the finish in Cap d'Agde seems to be possible with hotels being booked in Béziers for the night of the 14th, coming back to Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux after the rest day and the stage start towards Gap in 2011 seems less probable. This stage could thus well start south of Valence and go towards Cap d'Agde.
UPDATE 6 October 2011 : this morning Le Dauphiné again mentioned this stage, mainly talking about the stage start. The newspaper again mentions Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux which would this time have been asked by ASO to become the stage start for this stage ... Even though this didn't seem logical, there's a chance it might become truth anyway ...
UPDATE 10 October 2011 : the publication of the parcours by ASO today, indeed confirmed the stage start from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux.Concerning the finish, Midi Libre today confirmed that it would indeed be in Le Cap d'Agde.
Sunday 15 July 2012 - 14/ Foix > Toulouse or ??? > Foix
Still based on hotel reservations, the 14th stage could take place between Foix and Toulouse.UPDATE 30 September 2011 : this morning La Dépêche seems to confirm that the Tour de France 2012 will come to Foix. The newspaper mentions a stage finish in this city but doesn't at any time a potential stage start city for this stage.
UPDATE 10 October 2011 : finally this stage will take place between Limoux and Foix.16/17/18 July 2012 - the Pyrenees and a rest day in and around Pau
On 16, 17 and 18 July 2012, hotels are booked in Pau. This will most certainly be the base camp for the Pyrenean stages and a rest day on Tuesday 17 July.Monday 16 July 2012 - 15/ Samatan > Pau
On Monday 16 July, the stage would start in Samatan and for the finishUPDATE 10 October 2011 : it'll finally be the city of Pau which has already received the Tour de France quite often.CONTINUE READING AFTER THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Tuesday 17 July 2012 - R2/ Pau
As announced previously, the second rest day will also be in Pau.Wednesday 18 July 2012 - Pau > Bagnères-de-Luchon
UPDATE 1st October 2011 : two sources informed me that the hotels in Pau have been cancelled for the 18th of July. This means that the Pyrenees programme might be changed and maybe even that the stage on Wednesday 18 July would be used to go quicker back north. This "last minute" change would than be due to a change in situation in La Pierre Saint-Martin which would finally have said "no" to ASO. Except if there's another logical explanation? In any case, as far as I know there have not been any new reservations yet for the 18th of July ...
UPDATE 10 October 2011 : finally, bazorch's comments were correct because this stage will start in Pau and finish in Bagnères-de-Luchon.Thursday 19 July 2012 - 18/ Bagnères-de-Luchon > Peyragudes
UPDATE 10 October 2011 : still with bazorch's comments, we knew that there would be a stage finish in Peyragudes. From there, it hasn't been very difficult to find out that the start of this stage would also be Bagnères-de-Luchon, and that's probably why the hotel reservations in Pau have been cancelled for the 18th, probably because ASO felt that was too far from Bagnères-de-Luchon. The start and the finish of this stage will thus be quite close, but in the Pyrenees, ASO must have found a stage route which will make this a pretty hard stage ...Thursday 19 Friday 20 July 2012 - Blagnac > Brive-la-Gaillarde
On Thursday 19 July, the hotels are booked in Brive-la-Gaillarde. I don't have any other detailed information about this stage.UPDATE 22 September 2011 : According to Radio Totem yesterday, André Pamboutzoglou, in charge of sports in Brive, would have confirmed that Brive will receive a stage finish of the Tour de France 2012. The article also indicates that the date of this stage and the place where it starts are still to be determined. It will be on the 18, 19 or 20 July and the stage would connect the Auvergne to Corrèze. The stage would visit a tourist place which remains secret for now (Chasteaux?). The finish would be in the Avenue Léo Lagrange and would follow a mean climb.
The website brive.maville.com published an article based on the La Montagne newspaper which presents the same information. La Montagne also reminds in a short article that it's hardly impossible to have a stage finish on the Puy de Dôme.
UPDATE 3 October 2011 : at the end of the afternoon France 3 Limousin announced that the hotel reservations in Brive (just like in Pau for the 18th) have been cancelled as well ... What the TV station didn't say however was that rooms have been booked in the Mercure Hôtel in Limoges for the nights of 19 and 20 July and that those have not been cancelled. One call showed that these rooms have been booked by A.S.O. Even though France 3 thus considers the stage finish in Brive-la-Gaillarde no longer possible, this could mean that there won't be any changes in the programme for 19 and 20 July (Brive-la-Gaillarde > Limoges is less than 100 kilometers and to go to the Lac de Vassivière, Limoges is quite a good location as well). The question remains where the stage on 21 July would take place in that case because it doesn't seem logical for A.S.O. to stay in Limoges while they have also booked rooms in Chartres? Together with the cancellation of hotel rooms in Pau for the 18th this could also mean that the whole programme for the last week of the Tour will be changed at only two weeks from the official presentation ... Finally it could be that the programme with Brive and the Lac de Vassivière will be one day earlier than planned ... New rumours will most probably bring more information on all this in the next few days!
For now I keep the information in the table below and in the map as is, as long as I don't have any new information ...
UPDATE 10 October 2011 : so it was indeed the stage finish in Brive-la-Gaillarde which has been moved forward one day, and the stage start of this stage will be in Blagnac. This was the stage start I was waiting a final confirmation for, today, to be able to publish my update tonight ...CONTINUE READING AFTER THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Friday 20 July 2012 - 18/ individual time trial Lac de Vassivière???
UPDATE 7 September 2011 :UPDATE 16 September 2011 : A reliable source just confirmed me that this stage will take place as an individual time trial around the Lac de Vassivière in the Limousin region.
UPDATE 4 October 2011 : the La Montagne newspaper (the article is currently not available online) today published an article in which it indicated that Paris-Nice 2012 would have a stage finish at the Lac de Vassivière on Tuesday 6 March 2012, probably coming from Vierzon (passing through Guéret and Bourganeuf) before a stage start the next day from Brive. The newspaper added that the stage start in Brive remains to be confirmed, adding that the Lac de Vassivière will probably not receive the Tour de France in July!
Saturday 21 July 2012 - 19/ Dreux Bonneval > Chartres, time trial
For the 20th and 21st of July 2012, hotels are booked in Chartres, which could mean that the UPDATE 16 September 2011 : there have also been some vague rumours about the city Dreux and this stage could thus well take place between these two cities (this stage could be between these two cities in the other direction as well) and visiting for example my training roads in the Vallée de Chevreuse !
In any case, the last two stages of this Tour de France 2012 will be stages in line.
UPDATE 21 September 2011 : in L'Echo Républicain today the Tour's visit of Chartres is mentioned, but the journalist apparently didn't really put much energy in this article. She doesn't really provide any new information and fills up the article with some useless text, while mentioning an individual time trial while this stage will most probably be run as a stage in line!
UPDATE 26 September 2011: the same journalist of L'Echo Républicain now did some additional efforts in finding new information and comes up with a time trial between Bonneval and Chartres! Not really probable however if there's a time trial the day before at the Lac de Vassivière. That's why I think Bonneval could indeed be the start of this stage but not like Michel Robic, responsible for sports in Bonneval and apparently at the origin of the multi-year agreement between ASO and the department about the start of Paris-Tours in the Eure-et-Loir, thinks for a time trial but for a stage in line between the two cities distant of a bit more than 30 kilometers.
With the time trial around the Lac de Vassivière finally maybe being cancelled, this might be a time trial anyway between Bonneval and Chartres on the forelast day ...
UPDATE 10 October 2011 : and this information also got confirmed by my research and also today with what ASO published ...Sunday 22 July 2012 - 20/ Chartres Rambouillet > Paris Champs-Elysées
The table of stages of the Tour de France 2012
Underneath you can find a table which summarises the different stages based on these rumours.| # | date | départ | arrivée | remarques |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Sa. 30 June 2012 | Liège | Liège | 6,1 km |
| 1 | Su. 1er July 2012 | Liège | Seraing | 198 km |
| 2 | Mo. 2 July 2012 | Visé | Tournai | 207 km |
| 3 | Tu. 3 July 2012 | Orchies | Boulogne-sur-Mer | 197 km |
| 4 | We. 4 July 2012 | Abbeville | Rouen | 214 km |
| 5 | Th. 5 July 2012 | Rouen | Saint-Quentin | 197 km |
| 6 | Fr. 6 July 2012 | Epernay | Metz | 210 km |
| 7 | Sa. 7 July 2012 | Tomblaine | La Planche des Belles Filles | 199 km |
| 8 | Su. 8 July 2012 | Belfort | Porrentruy | 154 km |
| 9 | Mo. 9 July 2012 | ITT Arc-et-Senans > Besançon | 38 km | |
| R1 | Tu. 10 July 2012 | rest day in Mâcon | ||
| 10 | We. 11 July 2012 | Mâcon | Bellegarde-sur-Valserine | 194 km |
| 11 | Th. 12 July 2012 | Albertville | La Toussuire-Les Sybelles | 140 km - EDT 10/07 |
| 12 | Fr. 13 July 2012 | Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne | Annonay Davézieux | 220 km |
| 13 | Sa. 14 July 2012 | Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux | Le Cap d'Agde | 215 km |
| 14 | Su. 15 July 2012 | Limoux | Foix | 192 km |
| 15 | Mo. 16 July 2012 | Samatan | Pau | 160 km |
| R2 | Tu. 17 July 2012 | rest day in Pau | ||
| 16 | We. 18 July 2012 | Pau | Bagnères-de-Luchon | 198 km |
| 17 | Th. 19 July 2012 | Bagnères-de-Luchon | Peyragudes | 144 km |
| 18 | Fr. 20 July 2012 | Blagnac | Brive-la-Gaillarde | 215 km |
| 19 | Sa. 21 July 2012 | Bonneval | Chartres | ITT 52 km |
| 20 | Su. 22 July 2012 | Rambouillet | Paris Champs-Elysées | 130 km |
The map with the race course of the Tour de France 2012 based on these rumours
UPDATE 20 September 2011 : Based on these rumours I've created the provisional map with the race course of the Tour de France 2012 which you can find below. This map will of course be updated everytime new rumours come out!
Click on the map to zoom in and than on the arrows in the bottom right corner to see the original size version of it
as for all elements on this website, this map is copyright protected and this copyright means you're not allowed to duplicate, reproduce or re-publish it in any way without my explicit approval
Get your comments in!
As you have seen there are still some gaps to be filled or some minor points which remain to be confirmed ... Therefore, do not hesitate to contribute to the elaboration of the final race course by providing the information you have in a comment below. If you do so, think twice about the question (tickbox to untick if necessary) if you would like to receive a notification about each new comment which follows yours ... Indeed, the number of comments on this article might well be ... quite important! door Thomas VergouwenVond u dit artikel interessant? Laat het uw vrienden op Facebook weten door op de buttons hieronder te klikken!
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this publication is published in: Tour de France | Tour de France 2012
by Dany45 over
L'Etape du Tour Mondovélo 2012 : Albertville > La Toussuire on Tuesday 10 July 2012 ?
However, at this time I don't have the date on which this cyclosportive would take place yet, but this could well be during the first rest day.