There has been huge speculation about next year's route, with reports suggesting it includes six tough mountain finishes and only an opening individual time trial and a team time trial in Brittany. A limited amount of time trials would be a distinct advantage for climbers such as Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and French riders such as Thibaut Pinot, Jean-Christophe Péraud and Romain Bardet.
The 102nd edition of the Tour de France will start in Utrecht, the Netherlands on Saturday, July 4 and end in Paris on Sunday, July 26. The route will follow a anticlockwise direction, with the Pyrenees coming before the Alps. It seems likely that a stage to L'Alpe d'Huez will be the last mountain finish before a plane transfer to Paris for the final road stage in the French capital.
The webcast of the official presentation will begin at 11:30 CET, with speeches by Jean-Etienne Amaury, the President of race organiser Amaury Sport Organisation, race director Christian Prudhomme and a look back at the 2014 Tour de France. After the presentation of the Grand Depart in Utrecht, Prudhomme will reveal the details of each of the 21 stages and confirm expected changes to the green points competition.
2014 Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali will be in Paris for the presentation but it seems both Alberto Contador and Chris Froome will be absent. Numerous other riders, team managers and former greats are expected to pack the Palais des Congress to discover the full race route and see where the 2015 Tour de France could be won or lost.
Cyclingnews Editor Daniel Benson and European Editor Barry Ryan are in Paris and will have exclusive interviews, news and reports from the presentation throughout the day on Wednesday.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
