Tour de France 2010: route speculation continues

Speculation has continued to build around possible routes the 2010 Tour de France could take through the country next year. Using local newspaper sources and hotel reservations, cycling fans have been trying to discern the race parcours, prior to the official announcement of the route by organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) in Paris next week.

French website cyclingmodel.over-blog.com has raised the prospect of the first mountain stages of next year's Tour taking place in the Alps. The website listed the eighth stage, on Saturday, July 10, as the first possible mountain-top finish of the race. It suggested that the stage could finish at the ski resort of Les Rousses in the French department of Jura.

However, if this is the case, the stage would merely be an appetizer for bigger things to come, as Les Rousses is located at 'only' 1120 metres above sea level.

The ninth stage on Sunday, July 11, is speculated to start in the village of Bois d'Amont, a community part of Les Rousses, and end in the ski station of Avoriaz (altitude 1800 metres above sea level). Belgian newspaper Le Soir indicated that the first rest day, on July 12, would be in Morzine, the town right next to the ski resort.

The next stage, number 10, would then depart from Morzine on Monday, July 13, and lead to Fontcouverte-la-Toussuire, another ski station, at 1800 metres altitude. This would translate in a stage almost identical to that of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Morzine at the Tour 2006, but in reverse order.

The final and official race route will be revealed by the race organiser on Wednesday, October 14.

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