Tour de France, 2010: Tyler Farrar contemplating next season after 12 wins in 2009

October 15, 7:41 PMCycling ExaminerJames Raia

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Tyler Farrar/Image courtesy of CyclingUSA.org

Less than a week after he completed his finest pro season, Tyler Farrar is contemplating next year’s campaign. The possibilities came into sharper focus with the announcement Wednesday of the 2010 Tour de France route.

The race’s 97th edition, which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the race’s first voyage into the Pyrenees, will be held July 3-25, beginning in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and concluding with its traditional ride to the Champs Elysees in Paris. The route will include six mountain stages, three more than this year. It also will feature the ascent of the gnarly Tourmalet in the Pyrenees twice.

“It’s an interesting course; the organizers always try to make it exciting and there’s a prologue,” the Wenatchee native said today from his home in Ghent, Belgium. “It’s a little longer than is ideal for me, but I think it will be good way to start with hopefully a good result early.”

Farrar, who finished his season Sunday with his 99th day of racing this year, competed in all of cycling’s three-week races this year. But to prepare for the Tour de France, he withdrew from the Tour of Italy. And to prepare for the World Championships road race, he withdrew from the Tour of Spain, where he secured the first grand tour stage win of his career.

By season’s end, Farrar compiled 12 wins and 13 second-place finishes.

While riding in support of teammates Bradley Wiggins and Christian Vande Velde — who respectively finished fourth and eighth overall in the Tour de France — Farrar had a two-fold individual goal: to win a stage and finish the race.

The latter goal was accomplished. Farrar struggled in several late-race mountain stages and eventually placed 151 among 156 finishers, nearly four hours behind race winner Alberto Contador of Spain.

Farrar did come through with two second-place finishes, two thirds and a fourth, with his team also finishing second in the stage 4 team time trial.

Despite the lack of a victory, Farrar believed he could have won a stage. Eight stages presented possibilities for sprinters’ wins with the British rider Mark Cavendish claiming six.

“Usually, in the grand tours there’s at least six, but maybe eight or nine sprinters’ stages,” said Farrar. “We have to wait and see the exact itinerary of the (2010) course, whether they’re flat or have hills toward the end. But I suspect they’ll be plenty of opportunities.”

While frustrated with an ever-increasing tally of seconds, Farrar won several late-season races against top-flight sprinters but without Cavendish in the fields.

“I raced better later in the season; I had better legs after the Tour than during,” said Farrar. “I think next year, the team will have more confidence in me at the Tour. I think we’ll have two or three guys there for me in lead-outs instead of one.”

With the Tour de France beginning in the Netherlands and progressing into Belgium for the finish of stage 1, Farrar believes course familiarity will give him cycling’s version of a homecourt advantage.

In addition to living in Belgium, Farrar won the Delta Tour of Zeeland in Holland in June, edging veteran powerhouse sprinter Alessandro Petacchi of Italy.

“Again, we won’t know the exact course routes for awhile, but know the cities and I’ve ridden on many of the roads,” said Farrar. “If a stage ends on a certain road, I might know where there’s a certain small hill or a tricky corner. I’ve raced most of the road at one time or another.”

If next season progresses as planned, Farrar will participate in two grand tours. But in addition to the Tour de France, he’s uncertain whether he’ll ride in the Tour of Italy or Tour of Spain. The Tour of Italy will coincide with the Tour of California, which is moving from a February to May date.

“If the Tour of Italy has more sprinters’ stages, I’ll probably race there,” said Farrar, who is beginning a vacation in Portugal on Thursday. “But the Tour of California is a big priority for the team (Garmin-Slipstream) being an American-sponsored team. So if there are a lot of sprinters’ stages in California, I’ll probably race there. We’ll just have to wait for the specific courses.”

To read more about the 2010 Tour de France, visit:

• Tour de France, 2010: Mountains, cobblestones, plenty of comments
• Tour de France, 2010: Unique, mountain-dominated course in 3D video
• Tour de France, 2010: More mountains, fewer time trials and cobblestones
•  Rotterdam hosts Grand Depart, expands Tour de France legacy
  Tour de France, 2010, stage 1 overview
• Tour de France, 2010: Prologue overview
  Watch the Tour de France presentation for free on the Internet
• Tour de France 2010 Presentation scheduled Oct. 14
• Tour de France, 2010: A double ascent of the Col du Tourmalet?
•  

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