Voices about the Tour de France 2007 route

Christian Prudhomme (Tour de France director): "For the first time in 20 years, the last mountain stage finishes at the summit," said Tour director Preudhomme. "It will be the toughest stage of the Tour. The yellow jersey holder better not have a bad day. "After the Alps, nothing will be decided. We will have the answer later as the difficult stages will reach a crescendo with the summit finish at the Col de l'Aubisque."

David Millar (Saunier Duval): “My first thought is that it resembles this year’s route with the long time trials and the number of summit finishes. It’s disappointing there is no Ventoux, especially 40 years on from Tom Simpson’s death, but I suppose the organisers were in a difficult position, as it’s hardly event to be celebrated, although it could have been commemorated. My personal goal is the yellow jersey in London, I want to do a Chris Boardman and focus on that prologue, although I don’t know if I can go as fast as him. For me, it’s all about the prologue. As for favourites, the route looks good for Sastre, Vinokourov and Valverde, personally I’d like to see Sastre win.”

Bradley Wiggins (Cofidis): "For me as a Londoner the best two stages of the race are the first two and there will be a lot of attention on them. The prologue will be my main goal and there could be a British head to head there between me and David Millar. It’s a disappointment there is no Ventoux, and the route doesn’t look as hard as this year’s, but it is a bit different in that the first time trial doesn’t come until the third weekend. Apart from the prologue, my main goals will be to win a road stage and to finish again.”

Patrick Lefevere (Quickstep): "The finish in Gent is for Tom (Boonen, ed.) and all the other sprinter."

Tom Boonen (Quickstep): “It seems a good and interesting route," Tom Boonen commented on the Quickstep team website,: "even though I still haven’t seen full details of all of the stages. It’ll be exciting starting in London with a prologue where every second will count. The first stage arrives at Canterbury , I know this area pretty well and this type of route as I took part in the last edition of the Tour of Britain. Then on the Monday we’ll have the first stage on the continent ," Boonen continued: "from Dunkerque to Gand. This is a stage suited to riders like myself. This is the 3rd year that the Tour goes into Belgium. It is always great riding in front of a home crowd but this fact itself also gives me a certain amount of responsibility. Generally the first week of stages are quite frantic, there will be lots of riders wanting to make their mark before the men in classifications take over. I’d love to win a stage during the first week and then point towards leadership of the classifications. Last year it was just fantastic wearing the yellow jersey. After this we move onto the mountain stages, 6 difficult stages with 3 very tough up-hill finishes. Then after the Alps and before the Pyrenees there will be a few occasions suited to the sprinters. The last two years I’ve not been able to finish the Tour for various reasons but this year it would great to get as far as Paris and even better still be able to fight right up until the end for the green jersey”.

Walter Godefroot (Astana): "It's a very classical route and like in 2006 without a team time trial. The Alpes won't be too hard, the Pyrenees will get very tough. Like always it will be for a strong rider. Vinokourov? Why not?"

Carsten Jeppesen (CSC): "The riders have to cross a lot of the famous climbs well known by many cycling fans. The only thing lacking for this to be a truly classic Tour is the team time trial. In 2006 we won four out of four team time trials, so of course we're extremely disappointed not to be given the opportunity to win one in next year's Tour. Apart from that it's a good route without any big surprises. Some of the in-between stages mentioned earlier look quite tough and should fit our riders well."

Erik Breukink (Rabobank): “All the current reflections are nice, but we will need to perform later on, no matter how positive it looks on paper”, confessed Erik Breukink. “But I think guys like Denis Menchov, Michael Rasmussen and Michael Boogerd are not unsatisfied. There will mainly be positive responses to the small number of flat stages that are scheduled.” Among all cyclists? Breukink: “I do not think all the teams are pleased with it. I can imagine that McEwen and Boonen’s team would have liked to see a different composition of the schedule, but their chances will come.” Breukink concluded: “No Alpe d’Huez this time. It is a shame, but there is an arrival on the Aubisque. That has not occurred very often before.”

Michael Rogers (T-Mobile): "Even that first stage in England could be tricky if it goes over the same roads we did at the Tour of Britain. Usually the opening Tour stages go over wider roads, but there we raced on very narrow lanes, one rider at a time; it could be tricky, particularly if wind and weather play a role."

Patrick Sinkewitz (T-Mobile): "I was able to get a taste of the cycling atmosphere in London at the Tour of Britain and it was fantastic. I am looking forward to more of that already. The Tour will be decided on the three summit finishes and the long time trials. Alexander Vinokourov, Andreas Klöden, Alejandro Valverde can be counted among the favourites - and us of course. We will have a solid team at the Tour .“

Christian Henn (Gerolsteiner): "We are not just looking to Markus and the overall, we will also be looking for stage wins. Compared to the 2006 Tour, it hits the high mountain peaks sooner and the time trials come later."

Markus Fothen (Gerolsteiner): "The route doesn’t look bad at all, the long time trials suit me. On paper the mountain stages look easier than in 2006. I have no fear taking over the captain’s role at the Tour."

More about the 2007 edition of the Tour de France in the coming days.