Photos From the 2013 Tour de France Route Presentation in Paris

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2013 Tour de France

The 100th Tour de France Route Presentation in Paris (Photos, Videos)

World's best cyclists gather in French capital for unveiling of 2013 Tour route

ByJames Startt

Tags:2013 Tour de France,Alberto Contador,Andy Schleck,Bradley Wiggins,Mark Cavendish,Pro Cycling News

Photo: The director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, right, said "from the first minute that television images are shown, viewers will understand why we are starting from Corsica. It is going to be extremely beautiful with the mountains and the sea.” (James Startt)

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Former world road champion Mark Cavendish, winner of 23 Tour stages, will be eyeing the final stage into Paris, which finishes in the evening, a first for the Tour.

Alberto Contador, Bradley Wiggins, and Chris Froome.

Andy Schleck, winner of the 2010 Tour and runner-up in 20011, chatted with fans.

Raymond Poulidor, the "Eternal Second," was in attendance Wednesday. He never won the Tour but was second and third many times, and he's remembered as one of its champions because he won the heart of the French fans.

In designing a new course each year, race director Prudhomme once told Bicycling, "We cannot apply the same recipe each year. We can't hit copy and paste."

Alberto Contador, forced to skip the 2012 Tour because of a doping offense, will be looking to win the 2013 edition of the race.

The 100th Tour will visit the famous Mont Saint-Michel, a rocky tidal island in Normandy, France.

Next year the race will take riders over the famed Mont Ventoux.

Wiggins told the press that he wasn't sure yet whether he'd be defending his 2012 Tour title.

The official 2013 Tour de France poster.