Mon Dieu! Could it be true? The 2013 Tour de France will forsake the traditional Champs Elysees finish in favour of an all-new climax atop L’Alpe d’Huez. Well, that’s the rumour which has begun to circulate after claims in Belgian’s Het Laatste Nieuws at the weekend which claimed that unnamed (there’s a surprise) individuals at Amaury Sport Organisation, the organisers of the TdF, had indicated that a change of finish was being considered and that a punishing summit finale in the Rhône-Alpes region was in the frame. Frankly it’s hard to believe; not only would it prove logistically challenging and dramatically reduce the number of spectators able to cheer home the riders, but the 2013 race is also the 100th edition and celebrating that anywhere but in the heart of Paris is almost unthinkable.
There have also been somewhat more believable rumours that next year’s TdF will include the legendary Mount Ventoux climb for the first time in four years. What is known is that the race will begin in Corsica, but until the full route and schedule is announced on October 24 everything else is pure speculation.
