Tour of France 2009

Le Tour de France is the oldest, most popular and most prestigious race in cycling. The first edition was in 1903. The route of stages changes every year, tour’s length varying from 3000 to 4000 km. The shortest tour, of 2,420 km, was the second edition in 1904 and the longest in 1926 counting 5,745 km.

This year’s race covers a total distance of 3,500 km and has 21 stages with the following features: 10 flat stages, 7 mountain stages, 2 individual time-trial stages, one medium mountain stage and one team time-trial stage. The longest distance to ride in a day is on Stage 12, Tonnerre to Vittel. Last few years the race finished in Paris on Champs-Élysées and this year is scheduled to do the same. The race started on July 4th and is planned to last 23 days, two of them being resting days.

This year tour has 8 new town-stops Brignoles, Gérone (Spain), Issoudun, Martigny (Switzerland), Saint-Fargeau, Tonnerre, Vatan, Verbier (Switzerland). Tour de France 2009 visit six countries: Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy.

The numbers of participants usually varies between 20 and 22 teams of nine riders and in 2009 were registered 20 teams from ten countries. The prize pool for 2009 totalizes 3.2 million euros for the teams and the riders and includes 450,000 euros for the winner of the overall general classification.

The first winner of the Tour of France was French cyclist Maurice Garin and the most wins record belongs to American rider Lance Armstrong with 7 titles won from 1999-2005.

This year tour’s favorite was considered the Spanish rider Alberto Contador, which before the tour started had 1.91 odds of winning at most bookmakers. Contador was followed in the favorite riders list by Lance Armstrong with a quota of 4 to one and Andy Schleck having 8.50 odds.

Contador won the 2007 tour and at 27 years old seems to be in great shape having after 14 stages an advance of one minute and 37 seconds over Armstrong. On the other hand the 37 years old Armstrong seems to confirm the expectations to be the runner up of this year’s tour. Both riders are members of the same team, Astana Cycling Team, making it the strongest team in Tour of France 2009.

With six more stages to go major bookmakers like Ladbrokes changed the odds more in Contador’s favor, a bet on him having a quota of just 1.08, while a bet on Armstrong will pay 21 to 1. More chances than Armstrong to be the new runner up has Schleck who has now a quota of 19 to 1.

For more information about the riders and the stages visit the official site of Le Tour de France 2009