2014 Tour de France
The Tour de France 2014 is the 101st edition of the main stage cycling race in the world. The tour starts in Leeds and ends after 3656 km and 22 stages traditionally on the Avenue des Champs- Élysées in Paris. For the second time after 2007 is the Grand Départ of the Tour held in England. After the first three stages in the UK, the race is clockwise through France, Belgium and Spain. The program includes among other things a stage over cobblestones and five stages with uphill finish. At a prologue and a team time trial is waived. The only time trial will be held during the penultimate stage.
Participant
Open to all ProTeam. On 28 January 2014, the organizers ASO awarded wildcards to four Professional Continental team. The French team Bretagne- Séché Environnement, the Swiss team IAM Cycling Founded just last year as well as the German NetApp Endura team for the first time to participate in the Tour de France.
Itinerary
Stages
As in the previous year is to dispense with the usual prologue at the beginning of the tour. The race starts in Leeds with a flat stage. The first two stages through the county of Yorkshire. The aim of the second stage is Sheffield. At the third stage, the riders will head for the British capital London, where the tour had its opening in 2007. Then the race in France continues. The fifth stage will lead to a length of 15.4 kilometers over cobblestones. Nine of the so-called pavé sectors of Paris -Roubaix be driven in the opposite direction of the Spring Classic.