Montpellier, normally a sprinters delight, with Robbie McEwen winning in 2005 and Robert Hunter making history with the first South African win in 2007, is hosting the Tour’s return of the team time trial. The capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, Montpellier has been a stage town 28 times for the Tour de France. It’s an ideal location for stages because of its location halfway between the Alps and Pyrenees. It was here where Charles Pelissier won his fourth stage, of eight total stages, in the 1930 Tour de France. It is a record that still stands today.
Vacant from the Tour schedule for the past four years the team time trial returns to its original format. This year real time will count towards the general classification. Part of the reason for the short distance is to minimize large time gaps for the leaders on weaker time trial teams. This event is one of the most fascinating in cycling. All nine riders, riding at their maximum, only inches from one another, at speeds that are unattainable on their own. It’s a beautiful formation of colors blurring past you at high speed that gives the visual aspect of one cohesive unit.
The starting line to the TTT is one of Montpellier’s most famous and distinctive landmarks, the Place de la Comedie. In this wide open space, a giant walking mall, the teams will organize and prepare for their race. The route will take you past Montpellier’s medieval walled city with its historic architecture and pass close to France’s oldest botanical garden the Jardin des Plantes.
In the last two weeks of July, in Montpellier, there is the Festival de Radio France. A series of open air concerts featuring classical music. With Montpellier’s attractions and neighboring sights there are plenty of options to keep you occupied from one event to the next.
