Tour de France 2009: route announced Oct. 22; a return to 'mysterious' Mt. Ventoux?

October 6, 5:50 PMCycling ExaminerJames Raia

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With the exception of the three-week race itself, the most anticipated component of the Tour de France is the announcement each October of the following year’s route.

This course for the 2009 Tour de France will be announced Oct. 22 in Paris at the Palais des Congres. And like every year, it will include its share of dramatics. The starting city of each year’s event is already known by announcement day, called “The Presentation,” and other route details usually get “leaked.”

But the majority of the route is unknown (except to Tour de France organizers). And that’s what will likely make the Oct. 22 announcement particularly interesting.

The race will begin July 4 in Monaco, which would be plenty to make the Tour unique. But in recent weeks, there has been plenty of additional speculation the race will visit Barcelona, Spain, as well as the mysterious mountain summit, Mt. Ventoux. There are even rumors of perhaps a stage or two in Italy.

The probability of a Mt. Ventoux stage was reported in the French newspaper, La Provence. It reported Mt. Ventoux, known as “Bald Mountain,” would likely be a time trial and could be held on the penultimate day of the race, July 25.

Other stage host towns, according to the newspaper, are rumored to be Torino, Italy, Sisteron, Aubenas, La Grande-Motte, Montpellier, Sète (for a possible first time trial) and Andorra.

The Tour de France hasn’t held a stage to Mt. Ventoux, also known as the “Tour of the Moon” because of its barren landscape, since 2002.

Of course, the Tour is nothing without it riders. And next July the race could feature four former titllists — Carlos Sastre (2008), Alberto Contador (2007), Oscar Pereiro (2006) and Lance Armstrong (2005).

Armstrong’s return will likely add great global interest to the event. After winning the Tour de France seven consecutive years, Armstrong retired after his final win in 2005.

After recently announcing he would return to the event in 2009 after more than a three-year retirement, at nearly age 38, Armstrong signed with Team Astana. It’s the Kazakhstan-based team led by Armstrong’s former director, Johan Bruyneel.

In addition to Armstrong and Contador, American Levi Leipheimer, the third-place Tour de France finisher in 2007, and Andreas Kloden, who was second in the event in 2006 and 2004.