News from Venezuala is that Jose Alarcon has pretty much demanded that he is entered for the Tour this year. He see's the lack of chrono kilometres and relatively few punchy hilly stages as right down his alley.
Red Bull Haiwei team boss Smowz is a bit more reticent
I still feel Jose is really in the second bracket of stage racers - sure he took two massive stage race victories in 2014 but I was more looking at him focussing on the Giro alone this year taking in a few more of the shorter stage races. Jose though has a right to ask about riding the Tour and after two very poor in terms of GC years at cycling's biggest race I feel I owe it to the sponsors to give it a go
Smowz credits stage designers with creating a highly original route.
I don't see the normal climbs being used as finishes and I have to say this is a very exciting route which you really cannot predict what is going to happen. I think most will expect the big stages to happen in the Alps, but the section running through the Massif Central and in particular the first Pyrenees stage look hard. I do think an attacking rider can stake his claim there.
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