Notes:  (latest notes always appear at the top, below sticky notes)

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- 2010 Tour de France route details, videos, official poster design, etc. now online here.

- 2010 TDF presentation LIVE now.  Links at right.  Official site, Versus, and France3.fr streams playing here...

- France3.fr have changed their start time to 11:30 CET (5:30am U.S. Eastern).  Presumably this is now the start time for all live feeds.

- The 2010 Tour de France will celebrate the centenary of the first stage into the mountains of the Pyrenees, the Tourmalet in particular.  Indeed, the Tourmalet has seen a record number of ascensions in the Tour: 73.  The 2009 Tour visited the Pyrenees before the Alps and in keeping with the tradition of alternation, the 2010 Tour will visit the Alps first, setting up what should be a spectacular final week of the race in the Pyrenees.  So the 2010 TDF will be all about the Pyrenees and a lot of special coverage is planned to commemorate the centenary, including books on the subject.  One such book is already out, published a few years ago:

Tour de France: 100 years in the Pyrenees

- Most of the riders in attendance will be French but Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck and Mark Cavendish are confirmed, as is Johan Bruyneel.  Bernard Hinault should be on hand for A.S.O. to assist in the ceremonies and other past Tour winners expected to attend include Jan Janssen, Bernard Thevenet, and Joop Zoetemelk, all present in Paris Tuesday when the French senate gave Contador a medal for his TDF victory.  The French "voice of cycling," Daniel Mangeas, usually introduces the speakers.  If you've ever been to a Tour stage start or finish, you've probably heard Daniel's voice over the loudspeakers.  -Pete

- The general route for the 2010 Tour de France was defined in May, the details were completed in September, and after race organizer Amaury Sport Organization (A.S.O.) reserved the necessary hotel rooms for the teams and race personnel, all that remains is to present the route to an invitation-only audience at the Palais des Congres in Paris...and, for the second consecutive year, to cycling fans online. -Pete

Each October, team bosses such as Patrick Lefevere (Quick Step),
left, and broadcasters such as Phil Liggett, join riders, sponsors,
media and special guests in Paris at the invitation-only presentation
of the next year's Tour route.
Copyright © Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com

- More info and links to come before, during, and after the route presentation.

- The presentation is scheduled to begin Wednesday at 11:00 CET (5:00am U.S. Eastern) in Paris.  There will be opening remarks and speeches by a variety of officials, including A.S.O. president Jean-Etienne Amaury, Tour director Christian Prudhomme and local politicians.  There will also be award presentations such as the Jacques Goddet prize given to the author of the best article about this year's Tour de France.  There should also be approximately 12 minutes of video highlights of the 2009 Tour.  The actual presentation of the 2010 Tour route should begin at around 11:30 CET (5:30am U.S. Eastern).  Some live streams, such as Cycling TV's, are scheduled to begin at 11:30 CET.  Others are scheduled to begin at 11:00 CET.  -Pete

- We recommend you open our Twitter feed in a separate window now.  If ever we have a server outage, we will update on Twitter and direct you to a live coverage page on another server.

- Welcome to our live coverage guide for the 2010 Tour de France Route Presentation.