The 2004 Tour de France will provide no rest for the weary. The race will take a counterclockwise route and be 3,395 km long. It will feature six mountain stages and three mountaintop finishes, along with a prologue and three time trials, one of which will be a team time trial. The winner of the race will not simply be the strongest rider; he will be the best rounded one.

The Tour will begin in Liege, Belgium with a six-km prologue. Stages 1 to 3 will run over many of the routes of the Belgian classics. These stages will be ridden like classics, with hard, hilly courses and aggressive riding. Stage 3 will begin in Waterloo, the site of the final battle of the Napoleonic Wars. Fortunately, no one will be killed there.

Stage 4 will be the first stage to be ridden in France. It will be a 65-km team time trial from Cambrai to Arras that will provide the first indication of team strength. Stages 5 to 8 will be sprinters' stages across northern and northwestern France. Look for riders such as Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo), Erik Zabel (T-Mobile), and Robbie McEwen (Lotto) to shine.

The first rest day will follow Stage 8. From Stages 9 to 11, the peloton will make its way toward the Pyrenees. Stages 12 and 13 will be the first mountain stages. Stage 12 will be a 199-km ride from Castelsarrasin to La Mongie that will feature the Col d'Aspin and a mountaintop finish. Stage 13, a 217-km ride from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille, will have five climbs. Stage 14 will take the riders out of the Pyrenees before the Tour's second rest day.

After the rest day, the riders plunge into the Alps. Stage 15, a 179-km run from Valreas to Villard-de-Lans, will go over half a dozen mountain passes, and Stage 16 will be a 15-km mountain time trial from Bourg d'Oisans to L'Alpe d'Huez. Stage 17 will be a 212-km ride from Annemasse to Lons le Saulnier that will feature five climbs.

Stage 19 will be the riders' final test. It will be a 60-km time trial around Besancon that will decide the winner and sort out general classification positions. Stage 20, a 165-km run from Montreau to Paris, will be a procession for the winner.

Who will the winner be? Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal Service), who is trying to make history? Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) or Iban Mayo (Euskaltel), each of whom rose to a new level in 2003? Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile), who is attempting to regain the form that won him the Tour in 1997? Check in at Roadcycling.com and find out!

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com as we add great content to our 2004 Tour de France section.

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