My initial reaction to the unveiling of the 2009 Tour route was: Contador, Sastre, Schleck, and Valverde must be licking their chops right now. With less time trialing and three mountain top finishes, all signs point to total domination by the pure climbers in next year's edition. In fact, the final mountain top finish on the Ventoux could see the world's best mountain men battling it out for overall victory.
I think the 2009 route is one of the most exciting in recent memory. As stated on other sites, consistency will be the name of the game, as the pressure will be on from the first stage of the Tour, a 15 kilometer test agains the clock that should shake up the GC right from the jump.
A team time trial is also back for the 2009 edition, and real times will be awarded for each team. This will be a significant stage, as stronger time trialing teams like CSC and Astana will be looking to put significant time into the likes of Ivan Basso's Liquigas and Cadel Evans' Lotto squads. Slipstream, as they were at the Giro in 2008, should be tipped as the favorite for that stage.
Certainly the penultimate stage to the Mont Ventoux will dominate most of the headlines for the Tour. A greuling climb, the Ventoux is over 20 kilometers long and averages over seven percent. Lance Armstrong has never enjoyed the Ventoux climb, and likewise has never won there. Perhaps 2009 will provide him one last chance at glory on the "Giant of Provence."
2008 Tour runner up Cadel Evans will be hard pressed to podium again at the 2009 Tour, as not only the competition but the parcours will be working against him. The Aussie is well known in the cycling world for being one of the nicest guys in the field, but he may need to become a bit meaner if he is to scrap it out for the top spot in the 2009 Tour.
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