The 2004 Tour de France in the French Alps
After the most exciting Tour de France for years in 2003, the Tour de France organisers have created a route in 2004 that is sure to keep the race wide open until the final stage into Paris. The 2004 Tour de France will spend four days in the French Alps, with three of those days near to Grenoble. Lance Armstrong will be looking to become the first cyclist in history to win the Tour de France for the sixth time.
In 2004, the Tour de France will start on the 3rd of July and follow an anti-clockwise route around France. The race will visit the Pyrenees before the Alps, and have two stage finishes at altitude in the Pyrenees. The Alpine stages will be critical for the riders as all of the stages fall in the final days of the three week race.
Stage 15 is the first Alpine stage and the race will leave Valréas to arrive in the capital of the Vercors, Villard de Lans. Stage 16 will see the riders climb from Bourg d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez in a 15 kilometre individual time-trial. Stage 17 will take the riders from Bourg d'Oisans to the ski resort of Grand Bornand. The final stage in the mountains will start in Annemasse, only a few kilometres from Geneva, and take the riders through the Jura mountains to Lons-le-Saunier.
Tuesday 20th July - Into the Vercors
Tour de France Stage 15 : Valréas - Villard-de-Lans ( 179 km )
Profile : A stage with numerous smaller climbs, perfect for a small breakaway to get away from the peleton.
Stage Detail : The riders will have had the benefit of of rest day before today's stage. The first half of the route will leave the Provence region of France and take the riders north onto the rolling roads of the Drome department.
The final half of the stage will take the riders over three climbs in the Vercors mountain range starting with the Col des Limouches and then quickly followed by the slightly tougher 12 kilometre climb of the Col de l'Echarasson. The route then climbs over the Col de Carri, only six kilometres at 2.6%, but there are 11 kilometres of descending following the Col. The final notable climb in the Vercors is the Côte de Chalimont before the descent to Villard de Lans and then the final two kilometre climb to the ski resort above the town, Côte 2000.
| Climb Name | Distance into Stage | Details |
| Côte d'Aleryrac | 15 km | 3.4 km climb at 4.7% |
| Côte du Puy-Saint-Martin | 38 km | 3.9 km climb at 3% |
| Col des Limouches | 91.5 km | 10.7 km at 6.4% |
| Col de l'Echarasson | 121 km | 12 km at 7.4% |
| Col de Carri | 137 km | 6.2 km at 2.6% |
| Côte de Chalimont | 164 km | 10.3 km climb at 5.8% |
| Villard-de-Lans (Côte 2000) | 179 km | 2.3 km climb at 6.6% |
Around Villard-de-Lans : The Vercors is a beautiful area, a mountain range full of gorges, roads that are built into cliff faces, and green meadows with a backdrop of high mountains. The Grand Goulets, Combe Laval and Gorges de la Bourne are certainly worth a detour if you have some time around the Tour de France.
Best view points : The
Côte de Chalimont which is close enough to the finish for a riders to
attempt a solo break for the stage, and the final climb above Villard-de-Lans
to Côte 2000.
Wednesday 21st July - Alone on the Alpe d'Huez
Tour de France Stage 16 : Bourg d'Oisans - L'Alpe d'Huez ( 15 km )
Profile : The first individual time-trial of the 2004 Tour de France, and what a time-trial. The course is 15 kilometres from Bourg d'Oisans to the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez, over 1,100 metres of vertical climbing, and profile that will suit the climbers.
Stage Detail : This will be one of the most decisive stages of the 2004 Tour de France. The riders have 15 kilometres of racing with 14 kilometres of climbing up the most famous 21 hairpins in the world. The tourist office predicted 600,000 people on the climb in 2003, and we can expect the same in 2004.
When cycling to the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez, the climb can be broken down into three stages. The first part of the climb is the steepest with gradients above ten percent for the first six hairpins until the hamlet of La Garde.
The gradient then eases to around eight percent after hairpin 16 and the hairpins are a little more spread out for the following six kilometres. The road climbs through the hamlet of Le Ribot and past the church above the hamlet.
When the riders pass hairpin six, they will be able to see the ski resort above them on the horizon. There are only five hairpins left outside the ski resort from here and after hairpin four, the gradient steepens to 11 percent for a kilometre before easing to nine percent. Once the riders are into the village of Alpe d'Huez, the final two kilometres to the finishing line ease to around five percent.
Lance Armstrong won here in 2001, and in 2003, the Spanish climber Iban Mayo made a decisive attack to win alone.
| Climb Name | Distance into Stage | Details |
| Alpe d'Huez | 0 km | 14 km climb at 8% |
Around Alpe d'Huez : Other notable climbs around Alpe d'Huez include the Col de la Croix de Fer, the Col du Glandon, the Col du Galibier, the Col d'Ornon and the 2002 stage finish to Deux Alpes. In 2002, the Colombian rider Santiago Botero broke away from his breakaway companions to finish nearly two minutes ahead of Mario Aerts and Axel Merckx at the ski resort in Deux Alpes.
Best view points : Anywhere on the climb as you will see all the riders. The climb is steepest at the bottom but the riders will be fresher than at the top. The mountainside is very open from hairpins three to one, so plenty of opportunity to have your own picnic spot and a view onto the road below.
Thursday 22nd July - Tough at the Beginning
Tour de France Stage 17 : Bourg d'Oisans - Le Grand Bornand ( 212 km )
Profile : Two very tough climbs at the start of the stage before three smaller climbs in the northern pre-Alps.
Stage Detail : The first kilometres are flat and take the riders back towards Grenoble before turning right through Allemont and then the gradient ramps up.
The first climb is the Col du Glandon, a long climb that has some steep sections as well as two small descents on the climb to 1,900 metres. From the Col du Glandon, the Col de la Madeleine can been seen across the valley with the backdrop of the Mont Blanc.
There is a long descent down from the Glandon to the village of La Chambre before the Col de la Madeleine. The climb is 20 kilometres at an average of eight percent, climbing from 600 metres to nearly 2,000 metres. If the non-climbers haven't already been dropped on the Col du Glandon, they will be on this climb.
The Col de Tamié is situated on the northern edge of the Bauges mountains and close to the Alpine town of Albertville. The route then continues close to Annecy with the Col de la Forclaz before turning into the Aravis mountains and the final climb of the day, the Col de la Croix-Fry. The Croix-Fry will be the perfect opportunity for attacks from the break for a rider wanting to win alone in le Grand Bornand.
The riders descend from the Col de la Croix-Fry through the villages of La Clusaz and St-Jean-de-Sixt, before the early kilometres of the Col de la Colombiere and the stage finish in le Grand Bornand.
| Climb Name | Distance into Stage | Details |
| Col du Glandon | 36 km | 27 km climb at 4.5% |
| Col de la Madeleine | 86 km | 19.5 km climb at 8% |
| Col de Tamié | 143.5 km | 9 km climb at 6% |
| Col de la Forclaz | 166.5 km | 8.5 km climb at 8% |
| Col de la Croix-Fry | 200.5 km | 12.5 km at 6.8% |
Best view points : The
Col de la Croix-Fry, as the riders will try and make their stage winning move
here, and the stage finish in Grand Bornand.
Friday 23rd July - Through the Jura Mountains
Tour de France Stage 18 : Annemasse - Lons-le-Saunier ( 166 km )
Profile : One final climb in the Jura mountains with the 1323 metre Col de la Faucille, before the rolling roads and the stage finish in Lons-le-Saunier.
Stage Detail : Annemasse is a new departure town for the Tour de France, and situated only a few kilometres from Geneva and Lake Leman.
The stage takes the Tour de France west along the valley before the final climb above Geneva, the 1323 metre Col de la Faucille. From there, the route undulates through the Jura mountains with four small climbs to the stage finish in Lons-le-Saunier.
| Climb Name | Distance into Stage | Details |
| Côte de Collonges | 34.5 km | 2.5 km climb at 4.2% |
| Col de la Faucille | 75.5 km | 11.5 km climb at 6.3% |
| Côte de Lajoux | 87.5 km | 3.7 km climb at 5.4% |
| Côte de Saint-Lupicin | 119 km | 6.2 km climb at 3.9% |
| Côte des Crozets | 127 km | 6.3 km climb at 3.7% |
| Côte de Nogna | 153 km | 2.2 km climb at 4.3% |
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