The 2001 Tour de France was relatively difficult, with a number of heavy mountain stages, a team time trial and a climbing time trial. France was ridden 'clockwise', and thus the Alps were visited before the Pyrenees. The Tour started in France, but in the first week Belgium was visited as well. The finish was, as is traditional, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The great favorite was the winner of 1999 and 2000, the American Lance Armstrong. His ...
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The 2001 Tour de France was relatively difficult, with a number of heavy mountain stages, a team time trial and a climbing time trial. France was ridden 'clockwise', and thus the Alps were visited before the Pyrenees. The Tour started in France, but in the first week Belgium was visited as well. The finish was, as is traditional, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The great favorite was the winner of 1999 and 2000, the American Lance Armstrong. His major opponent, like last year, would probably be German Jan Ullrich. Other major contenders seemed to be Joseba Beloki from Spain, Christophe Moreau from France and Francesco Casagrande from Italy. Not starting, because their teams were not selected, were Swiss Alex Zülle, Italian climber Marco Pantani and Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini.
Erik Zabel won his record sixth consecutive points classification victory.
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