PARIS, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Next year's Tour de France will cover 2,250 miles in a counterclockwise direction and include two big climbing days in the Pyrenees and three in the Alps.
The challenges for the three-week race starting July 1 of next year will also have two long individual time trials but not a team time trial.
Although he has retired, the new challenges may make it easy for Lance Armstrong to capture his eighth consecutive title, reports The International Herald Tribune.
Dirk Demol, an assistant director for Armstrong's Discovery Channel team, said Armstrong relishes demanding climbs and time trials. But Armstrong may not be tempted.
The tour's organizers also made it plain that they would not welcome back the 34-year-old American, the report said.
"We are now looking forward to stepping into a new era," said race director Jean-Marie Leblanc. "One man dominated the race for seven years, and it was time for things to change. We will have a wide-open race without any obvious favorites."
