Running from Saturday July 4^th to Sunday July 26^th 2009, the 96^th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,500 kilometres.

These 21 stages have the following profiles:

• 10 flat stages,
• 7 mountain stages,
• 1 medium mountain stage,
• 2 individual time-trial stages,
• 1 team time-trial stage.

Distinctive aspects of the race

• 3 mountain finishes,
• 2 rest days,
• 55 kilometres of individual time-trials,
• 20 Category 1, Category 2 and highest level passes will be climbed.

8 new stop-over towns

Brignoles, Gérone (Espagne), Issoudun, Martigny (Suisse), Saint-Fargeau, Tonnerre, vatan, Verbier (Suisse).

• Stage 1: Monaco to Monaco (Saturday July 4)
• Stage 2: Monaco to Brignoles (Sunday July 5)
• Stage 3: Marseille to La Grande-Motte (Monday July 6)
• Stage 4: Montpellier to Montpellier (Tuesday July 7)
• Stage 5: Le Cap d’Agde to Perpignan (Wednesday July 8)
• Stage 6: Girona to Barcelona (Thursday July 9)
• Stage 7: Barcelona to Andorra Arcalis (Friday July 10)
• Stage 8: Andorre-la-Vieille to Saint-Girons (Saturday July 11))
• Stage 9: Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes (Sunday July 12)
• Stage 10: Limoges to Issoudun (Tuesday July 14)
• Stage 11: Vatan to Saint-Fargeau (Wednesday July 15)
• Stage 12: Tonnerre to Vittel (Thursday July 16)
• Stage 13: Vittel to Colmar (Friday July 17)
• Stage 14: Colmar to Besançon (Saturday July 18)
• Stage 15: Pontarlier to Verbier (Sunday July 19)
• Stage 16: Martigny to Bourg-Saint-Maurice (Tuesday July 21)
• Stage 17: Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand-Bornand (Wednesday July 22)
• Stage 18: Annecy to Annecy (Thursday July 23)
• Stage 19: Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas (Friday July 24)
• Stage 20: Montélimar to Mont Ventoux (Saturday July 25)
• Stage 21: Montereau-Fault-Yonne to Paris Champs-Élysées (Sunday July 26)

The stage is dedicated to Salvador Dali, who called the Perpignan railway station the “cosmogonic centre of the universe”. The icon of surrealism, who was touched by a form of fascination for the spectacle of cycling, created the 1959 Tour’s postcard. If his influence inspires the pack in the Corbières or along the seaside, anything will be possible.

We can expect Lance Armstrong to make a play for the race lead on this finish, and Fabian Cancellara will need to ride at the front for this finish if he wants to keep his Yellow Jersey for another day. The final climb is well-within his capabilities so long as he does not make any tactical errors. It could be an entertaining show-down between the top two in the general classification, should they choose to ride for it tomorrow. Otherwise, it is a day for the breakaways again tomorrow.