Tour de France organizers unveiled a 2005 route with fewer summit finishes and individual time trials, a format intended to give contenders a better shot at unseating Lance Armstrong. The American claimed his sixth consecutive yellow jersey in 2004, surpassing the career tallies of Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil.
Whether Armstrong will line up to pursue a seventh title is unresolved. Team manager Johan Bruyneel, set to guide the squad under its new Discovery Channel sponsorship, said only: "We don't know yet."
The 3,600km race opens July 2 on Noirmoutier, a small Atlantic island off Nantes, sweeps clockwise through France with a passage into Germany, and finishes on the Champs-Elysées in Paris on July 24. Three summit finishes are scheduled: Courchevel in the Alps and Ax-Trois Domaines and Saint-Lary-Soulan in the Pyrenees. A 55km time trial falls on July 23, keeping the overall result in play until the final day.
Italy's Ivan Basso, who placed third in 2004 behind Armstrong and Germany's Andreas Klöden, said he expects to be stronger next year but still rates Armstrong the favorite. If Armstrong does not race, Bruyneel indicated the team would build around José Azevedo, who finished fifth in 2004.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.