Route and Stages
The organisers of the Tour and London mayor Ken Livingstone announced on 24 January 2006 that the start of the Tour would take place in London. Livingstone noted the two stages would commemorate the victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, saying "Having the Grand Départ on the seventh of July will broadcast to the world that terrorism does not shake our city."
The routes for the Prologue in London and the first full stage through Kent, finishing in Canterbury, were announced on 9 February 2006 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. This was the third time the Tour visited England, including Plymouth in (1974) and two stages in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire in (1994).
Tour director Christian Prudhomme unveiled the 2007 route in Paris on 26 October 2006. In total, the route covered 3,569.9 kilometres (2,218.2 mi).
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 7 July | London (England) | 7.9 km (5 mi) | Individual time trial | Fabian Cancellara (SUI) | ||
| 1 | 8 July | London (England) - Canterbury (England) | 203 km (126 mi) | Plain stage | Robbie McEwen (AUS) | ||
| 2 | 9 July | Dunkirk - Ghent (Belgium) | 168.5 km (105 mi) | Plain stage | Gert Steegmans (BEL) | ||
| 3 | 10 July | Waregem (Belgium) - Compiègne | 236.5 km (147 mi) | Plain stage | Fabian Cancellara (SUI) | ||
| 4 | 11 July | Villers-Cotterêts - Joigny | 193 km (120 mi) | Plain stage | Thor Hushovd (NOR) | ||
| 5 | 12 July | Chablis - Autun | 182.5 km (113 mi) | Intermediate stage | Filippo Pozzato (ITA) | ||
| 6 | 13 July | Semur-en-Auxois - Bourg-en-Bresse | 199.5 km (124 mi) | Plain stage | Tom Boonen (BEL) | ||
| 7 | 14 July | Bourg-en-Bresse - Le Grand-Bornand | 197.5 km (123 mi) | Mountain stage | Linus Gerdemann (GER) | ||
| 8 | 15 July | Le Grand-Bornand - Tignes | 165 km (103 mi) | Mountain stage | Michael Rasmussen (DEN) | ||
| 16 July | Rest day | ||||||
| 9 | 17 July | Val-d'Isère - Briançon | 159.5 km (99 mi) | Mountain stage | Mauricio Soler (COL) | ||
| 10 | 18 July | Tallard - Marseille | 229.5 km (143 mi) | Plain stage | Cédric Vasseur (FRA) | ||
| 11 | 19 July | Marseille - Montpellier | 182.5 km (113 mi) | Plain stage | Robert Hunter (RSA) | ||
| 12 | 20 July | Montpellier - Castres | 178.5 km (111 mi) | Intermediate stage | Tom Boonen (BEL) | ||
| 13 | 21 July | Albi | 54 km (34 mi) | Individual time trial | Cadel Evans (AUS) | ||
| 14 | 22 July | Mazamet - Plateau-de-Beille | 197 km (122 mi) | Mountain stage | Alberto Contador (ESP) | ||
| 15 | 23 July | Foix - Loudenvielle | 196 km (122 mi) | Mountain stage | Kim Kirchen (LUX) | ||
| 24 July | Rest day | ||||||
| 16 | 25 July | Orthez - Gourette–Col d'Aubisque | 218.5 km (136 mi) | Mountain stage | Michael Rasmussen (DEN) | ||
| 17 | 26 July | Pau - Castelsarrasin | 188.5 km (117 mi) | Intermediate stage | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | ||
| 18 | 27 July | Cahors - Angoulême | 211 km (131 mi) | Plain stage | Sandy Casar (FRA) | ||
| 19 | 28 July | Cognac - Angoulême | 55.5 km (34 mi) | Individual time trial | |
||
| 20 | 29 July | Marcoussis - Paris (Champs-Élysées) | 146 km (91 mi) | Plain stage | Daniele Bennati (ITA) | ||
| Total | 3,569.9 km (2,218 mi) | ||||||
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Famous quotes containing the words route and/or stages:
“In the mountains the shortest route is from peak to peak, but for that you must have long legs. Aphorisms should be peaks: and those to whom they are spoken should be big and tall of stature.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead,
Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell
And the profit and loss.
A current under sea
Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell
He passed the stages of his age and youth
Entering the whirlpool.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)