2020 Etape du Tour heads to Cote d'Azur for a Stage around the Alpes-Maritimes from Nice

16,000 riders will tackle the Stage 2 of the 2020 Tour de France, 190 kms with over 3,500m climbing on July 5th 2020

Following the start on the Promenade des Anglais, riders will draw energy and inspiration from the magnificent setting of the Gorges de la Mescla in the Tinée Valley.

A rising false flat in the first 50 kilometres will help riders warm up before tackling the first challenge of the day, the Col de la Colmiane, where Simon Yates was victorious on the 2018 edition of Paris-Nice.

16,000 riders will tackle the Stage 2 of the 2020 Tour de France, 177 kms with 3,500m climbing on July 5th 2020

After cresting the Col de la Colmiane, a 20km descent will give the legs a break before the second main challenge, the Col de Turini. Cycling fans may recall this as the site of Colombian Egan Bernal's first success on French roads in this year's Paris-Nice race - foreshadowing his Tour triumph later in the summer.

2020 L'Étape du Tour de France Map

To complete the festival of climbing, the route finishes with the ascent of the Col d'Eze, a landmark of the Race to the Sun on top of which Eddy Merckx, Joop Zoetemelk and Sean Kelly sealed their victories in the 1970's and 80's.

Here riders will have to burn their final reserves against the backdrop of the superb view from the Moyenne Corniche.

It will also give riders their first glimpse of the finish line, just a few kilometres down the road - but they will need to leave something in the tank to avoid mistakes in the extremely long descent that will take them back to Nice and the finish line.

Registration for the 2020 Etape du Tour opens up on the official website at 4pm on October 21, 2019.