CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCE:This afternoon, last year's runner-up, Cadel Evans, will set out as favourite in the Tour de France. Shane Stokesexamines the unorthodox route and the other strong challengers that should ensure this year's competition is an open, exciting affair
THE IDEAL Tour, said race founder Henri Desgrange, is one in which there was only one finisher. This idea appealed to his hard-man mentality, his notion of the race as a savage, almost unconquerable beast that should only be tamed by one individual.
It was something that perhaps seemed relevant in the days of unpaved mountain passes, mammoth stages and unreliable mechanical equipment - especially as it was Desgrange who insisted the riders receive no outside assistance when things went wrong - but one that would, frankly, offer little suspense in sporting terms.
In the modern era, it can be said the ideal Tour is one where the final outcome is in question right up until the last day.
The 1989 see-saw battle between Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon was one of the best Tours of recent years; they traded punches and the yellow jersey itself for much of the race, LeMond finally, unexpectedly, getting the upper hand when he overcame a 50-second deficit in the final-day time-trial.
The 1987 edition, won by Stephen Roche, is also regarded as a classic Tour, and so too the 2006 race, which featured similar unpredictability.
Floyd Landis's positive result for testosterone did, however, cast a shadow over that year's race; his disqualification was upheld earlier this week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
This time round, the organisers are determined to prolong the suspense while also seeking to avoid the negative headlines of recent years.
On the first point, removing the prologue, the team time-trial and the end-of-stage bonuses - as well as having a summit finish as early as day six - is certainly a shake-up of the usual pattern. So too reducing the length of time-trials to just 82 kilometres; this too will reward aggressive, explosive riders, rather than those who might calculate in the mountains and rely on their strength against the clock.
With that in mind, Cadel Evans seems to be at a disadvantage. The Australian is not the quickest climber in the Tour de France peloton and often follows wheels rather than dropping others.
Yet, this year he's shown an increased flair for winning, taking stages in the Vuelta a Andalucia, Paris-Nice and the Settimana internazionale di Coppi e Bartali, where he also landed the final overall classification.
He's finished eighth, fourth and then second in the last three Tours and, with the two men who bracketed him in the 2007 results - winner Alberto Contador and third-placed Levi Leipheimer - not taking part because of the non-invitation of their Astana team by race organisers ASO, many think his time in the big spotlight has come.
Evans finished second in the recent Dauphiné Libéré behind Alejandro Valverde, another past winner of the UCI's ProTour series, and showed he is on track.
But the Spaniard may well be a big danger to his hopes; he was sixth in last year's Tour and has been in fine form, taking a number of victories such as the Dauphiné, the Liège-Bastogne- Liège Classic and last Sunday's Spanish road-race championships.
Valverde won a mountain stage of the 2005 Tour de France and was described then by Lance Armstrong as the future of cycling. He is certainly one of the big favourites this year, but such a victory would not be welcomed by all; there were strong indications he was linked to the Operación Puerto doping investigation.
Indeed, the UCI, cycling's governing body, unsuccessfully tried to block his participation in last year's world championships.
Valverde has dodged a bullet so far, thanks largely to an apparent lack of willingness in the Spanish judicial system to fully uncover the full truths about Puerto. Can he win? Yes. Would it be good for cycling? Almost certainly not.
In contrast, Team CSC and Team Columbia have the benefit of stringent anti-doping programmes and thus a victory by a rider from either team would be much more desirable. The former features three possible overall contenders - Carlos Sastre, third and fourth in the past, 2006 Alpe d'Huez stage winner Franck Schleck and his brother Andy, who was second in last year's Tour of Italy.
While on paper a podium finish seems more likely for one of the three, clever tactical use of their collective strength could secure the final yellow jersey.
As for Columbia, they have Kim Kirchen as leader. He was seventh overall last year and won a stage, and also achieved the latter in the recent Tour of Switzerland. Again, a podium place is conceivable, but the final victory in Paris may be too much to expect.
Instead, look to riders such as Damiano Cunego (Lampre), a past winner of the Tour of Italy, the 2005 and 2007 Tour of Spain champion, Denis Menchov (Rabobank), and the Giro d'Italia runner-up Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval) as those who could surprise the other big guns.
Cunego and Menchov have geared everything for a big Tour and if they get things right they will be strong contenders.
FOR THE ORGANISERS of this year's race, two years of scandal have further heightened the need for this Tour to be a sporting festival, not a pharmaceutical nightmare. The UCI has introduced a stringent series of tests, establishing biological parameters through its "passport" programme, which should make it easier to pinpoint who is doping.
Riders wishing to participate are supposed to be in possession of a biological passport established by the UCI and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Teams would also thus be accepted only if they supply blood samples from their riders to create a medical profile that would be used as part of the testing process.
The ongoing political struggles between the international federation and Tour organisers ASO have, however, led to a serious split; for the first time, the race is being organised outside the aegis of the UCI.
For this reason and also the race organisers' non-payment of monies promised for the passport programme, that data is not being made available to ASO.
It's undoubtedly a setback; the riders themselves have expressed their frustration with the ongoing battle between the two sides.
Those calling for a cleaner sport are also frustrated that the impasse means valuable information will not be at hand.
Instead, ASO are working closely with the French National Anti Doping Agency (AFLD) and will run their own tests during the race, including examinations for the use of growth hormone. In addition to that, a contract signed by all teams dictates that a fine of €100,000 must be paid in the event of a positive test result.
Will it be enough to guarantee a cleaner Tour? Time will tell. But as for the race itself, the changes to the course and the lack of a dominant team mean the event should be an open, unpredictable, aggressive one.
Contrary to Desgrange's vision, there won't be just one finisher in Paris.
There should, however, be a heck of a battle along the way.
The route New route will reward the aggressive
A GREATER emphasis on aggressive racing appears to be the goal of those who conceived the 2008 race route. Responding perhaps to suggestions in recent years that it was becoming a little predictable - particularly when contrasted with the recent experimentation in the Giro d'Italia - the organisers have made several changes.
The first is the exclusion of a prologue; the race begins in Brest on Saturday with a 195 -kilometre road stage to Plumelec.
This is the first time since 1966 the opening day does not feature a race against the clock, and this should ensure a hectic battle for the first yellow jersey.
The tough uphill finish will also ramp up the importance of an aggressive approach.
The second modification is the scrapping of time bonuses, ensuring that more than just the sprinters will have a chance of taking the yellow jersey on the early stages.
After that start in Brittany, the race follows a general southeastward direction, with stage ends in Saint-Brieuc, Nantes, Cholet and Châteauroux and then into the Massif Central for finishes at Super-Besse Sancy and Aurillac.
Of those, the stage to Cholet is a time trial but, at 29 kilometres, it is far shorter than usual.
That - and the exclusion of a team time trial - is another change, one that should also reduce predictability.
Once through the Massif Central, the route winds south through Toulouse and then on to two Pyrenean mountain stages that will give the first real indication of the true contenders.
These are a 222-kilometre leg over the Col de Peyresourde and the Col d'Aspin en route to Bagnères-de-Bigorre, and then a 154-kilometre race from Pau to the summit finish of Hautacam.
The first rest day then follows in Pau, giving the riders a chance to recover after those 10 tough days.
Hostilities will recommence with a number of flatter, intermediate stages. Finishes at Foix, Narbonne, Nîmes and Digne-les-Bains will give sprinters and breakaway riders some opportunities before the Tour hits the Alps on July 20th with a stage to Prato Nevoso in Italy.
The riders stay there for the second rest day in Cuneo, then recommence their uphill battles on stage 16 to Jausiers and then the following day's leg to the legendary L'Alpe-d'Huez.
This almost always plays a big role in the outcome of the race and, as it is the final big mountain stage of this year's race, the yellow jersey will be under major attack.
Once the dust has settled, the Tour will continue with two flatter stages to Saint-Étienne and Montluçon. These will give those still in contention a chance to recover slightly before the final big battle, a 53-kilometre individual time trial from Cérilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond.
The race winner will almost certainly be known at that point as the final day to Paris almost never sees a change in the top places.
Where are the Irish riders?
FOR THE 14th time in 15 years the Tour de France will begin without an Irish rider.
Since Stephen Roche's final Tour in 1993, only Mark Scanlon (2004) has started the race. He went on to complete his debut Tour but last year retired from the sport, disillusioned. He has worked a number of jobs since, including as a prison warden.
Scanlon's entry was expected to herald a return of the Irish to the race, but it hasn't happened. Philip Deignan and Nicolas Roche are both 24, but the former's Ag2r La Mondiale team requested he concentrate on the Tour of Italy this year.
As for Roche, he was riding strongly earlier this season and was confident he was on course to be granted a place in the Crédit Agricole squad. He was, however, hospitalised for several days with stomach ulcers and missed the chance of riding the Tour of Switzerland, one of team's warm-up events. He will thus have to wait until next year to start cycling's biggest event.
First-year professional Daniel Martin has made an excellent debut, the 21-year-old winning the prestigious Route du Sud in France and going on to dominate the Irish road-race championships last weekend.
As he is so young, his team have wisely decided to wait another season or two before putting him into the Tour de France.
The Route
Stage One - Today: Brest to Plumelec (195km)
Stage Two - Tomorrow: Auray to Saint-Brieuc (165km)
Stage Three - Monday: Saint-Malo to Nantes (195km)
Stage Four - Tuesday: Cholet to Cholet, Individual time-trial (29km)
Stage Five - Wednesday: Cholet to Châteauroux (230km)
Stage Six - Thursday: Aigurande to Super-Besse Sancy (195km)
Stage Seven -Friday: Brioude to Aurillac (158km)
Stage Eight - Saturday, July 12th: Figeac to Toulouse (174km)
Stage Nine - Sunday, July 13th: Toulouse to Bagnères-de-Bigorre (222km)
Stage 10 - Monday, July 14th: Pau to Hautacam (154km)
Stage 11 - Wednesday, July 16th: Lannemezan to Foix (166km)
Stage 12 - Thursday, July 17th: Lavelanet to Narbonne (168km)
Stage 13 -Friday, July 18th: Narbonne to Nîmes (182km)
Stage 14 -Saturday, July 19th: Nîmes to Digne-les-Bains (182km)
Stage 15 - Sunday, July 20th: Digne-les-Bains to Prato Nevoso (216km)
Stage 16 -Tuesday, July 22nd: Cuneo to Jausiers (157km)
Stage 17 - Wednesday, July 23rd: Embrun to L'Alpe-d'Huez (210km)
Stage 18 - Thursday, July 24th: Bourg-d'Oisans to Saint-Étienne (197km)
Stage 19 -Friday, July 25th: Roanne to Montluçon, 163km
Stage 20 -Saturday, July 26th: Cérilly to Saint-Amand, Individual time-trial (53km)
Stage 21 - Sunday, July 27th: Étampes to Paris Champs-Élysées (143km)
