As fans of road cyclists and those watching at home on television marvel at the spectacular scenery on view at the Tour de France, ASO organizers are already planning future editions of the A big loop.
Work on the annual route begins three years ahead of time, when Tour director Christian Prudhomme settles in the city that will host the Grand Depart for that edition.
After that, he decides in which direction the race will start, and he begins to choose the departure and arrival cities for each of the 21 stages from a list of 300 candidates – including 50 foreign ones.
Several factors go into that decision making process.
“If we only focused on sports, every year we would be there,” Prudhomme said in his office before the Tour, pointing to the southern half of a map of France taped to his wall.
“Because that’s where you can do whatever you want: flat, moderate, very hard (mountains).
