The challenge of the Tour de France

The Tour de France 2011 is a less than a day away, and the team at Ski Horizon can hardly wait! For three weeks, the eyes of the cycling world will be fixed firmly on France, where the best riders in the world battle it out across some of the most gruelling terrain in the Alps.

The 96th edition of the Tour de France, that ended last week, cast its spell over many a ski star. During the first two and half weeks, several well-known FIS athletes have visited the Tour, the world’s largest sporting event in terms of the number of spectators on site.

From sprint stages to the gruelling mountain climbs, we assess the key stages in this year’s Tour De France. TV coverage starts on Eurosport from 2pm GMT and 3pm standard European time.

For the first time the Tour de France is coming to the Swiss mountain resort of Verbier as the 15th stage of the tour is scheduled to finish late in the afternoon in Verbier on Sunday 19th July, following a 700m, 8.5km elevation between Le Chable and Verbier during the final ascent.