Here is the route of the Tour de France 2012 as it has been published on the offcial website of the Tour de France.
| Stage | Type | Date | Start and Finish | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Prologue | 30Â June | Liège > Liège | 6.1 km | |
| 1 | Plain | 1 July | Liège > Seraing | 198 km | |
| 2 | Plain | 2 July | Visé > Tournai | 207 km | |
| 3 | Medium mountains | 3Â July | Orchies > Boulogne-sur-Mer | 197 km | |
| 4 | Plain | 4Â July | Abbeville > Rouen | 214 km | |
| 5 | Plain | 5Â July | Rouen > Saint-Quentin | 197 km | |
| 6 | Plain | 6 July | Épernay > Metz | 210 km | |
| 7 | Medium mountains | 7Â July | Tomblaine > La Planche des Belles Filles | 199 km | |
| 8 | Medium mountains | 8Â July | Belfort > Porrentruy | 154 km | |
| 9 | Individual time-trial | 9 July | Arc-et-Senans > Besançon | 38 km | |
| 10 | High Mountains | 11Â July | Mâcon > Bellegarde-sur-Valserine | 194 km | |
| 11 | High Mountains | 12Â July | Albertville > La Toussuire – Les Sybelles | 140 km | |
| 12 | Medium mountains | 13 July | Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Annonay Davézieux | 220 km | |
| 13 | Plain | 14 July | Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux > Le Cap d’Agde | 215 km | |
| 14 | High Mountains | 15Â July | Limoux > Foix | 192 km | |
| 15 | Plain | 16Â July | Samatan > Pau | 160 km | |
| 16 | High Mountains | 18Â July | Pau > Bagnères-de-Luchon | 197 km | |
| 17 | High Mountains | 19Â July | Bagnères-de-Luchon > Peyragudes | 144 km | |
| 18 | Plain | 20Â July | Blagnac > Brive-la-Gaillarde | 215 km | |
| 19 | Individual time-trial | 21Â July | Bonneval > Chartres | 52 km | |
| 20 | Plain | 22 July | Rambouillet > Paris Champs-Élysées | 130 km |
The route
Running from Saturday June 30th to Sunday July 22th 2012, the 99th Tour de France will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,479 kilometres.
These stages have the following profiles:
- 9 flat stages
- 4 medium mountain stages – one with a summit finish
- 5 mountain stages – two with a summit finish
- 2 individual time-trial stages
- 1 prologue
- 2 rest days
Distinctive aspects of the race
The 2012 Tour de France will have 25 mountain level two, level one or highest level mountain passes or summit fi nishes.
They will be divided up geographically in the following way:
- 1 in the Vosges
- 3 in the Jura
- 4 in the Swiss Jura
- 6 in the Alps
- 11 in the Pyrenees
9 new stage towns
Abbeville, Annonay Davézieux, Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, La Planche des Belles Filles, Peyragudes, Porrentruy, Samatan, Tomblaine, Visé
Bagnères-de-Luchon > Peyragudes
Christian Prudhomme Analysis
The layout of the stage and the future stakes may well upset the order at the top of general classification, four days before the end of the race. No matter what the gap is, the major stage in the Pyrénées will be dreaded by the wearer of the Yellow Jersey, who will have to defend his position while climbing towards the Tourmalet, the Aubisque, the Aspin and the Peyresourde!
