The 2010 Tour de France will feature two ascents of the Col du Tourmalet to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the climb's inclusion in the race, according to Belgian newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen. Other possible route details have started to trickle out, too.
The Belgian newspaper reported that Tour de France organisers will incorporate the Tourmalet first on stage 15 from Bagnères-de-Luchon to Pau, retracing the 1947 Tour. The climb will appear a second time in the race as a summit finish.
Since 1947, the hors categorie Col du Tourmalet has featured in the race's profile on 47 occasions, with Liquigas' Franco Pellizotti the most recent recipient, this year, of a special prize awarded for the first rider to summit on each occasion.
Other newspapers in the southwest of France, such as the Sud Ouest have had details about the end of the French Grand Tour. After visiting the Pyrénées, the Tour will arrive in Bordeaux on July 23.
This will be followed on July 24 by an individual time trial from Bordeaux to Pauillac. The course is said to be about 60 km, and will pass through the local vineyards, similar to the St. Emilion stage in 1996. It will be an undulating, but not terribly difficult course, and features a scenic route, passing such sites as the Château Margaux.
The race will end on July 25, from an as-yet unknown start town to the traditional finish on the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
The 2010 Tour de France will begin in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on July 3. Race organiser, Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), will announce full details of the route at the race's official presentation on Wednesday, October 14 in Paris.
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