2010 Dauphiné to visit L'Alpe d'Huez

After the Tour de France unveiled its 2010 route Wednesday in Paris, some details of France's second most important stage race have emerged. Thierry Cazeneuve, the Dauphiné Libéré's new race director, revealed that the event's queen stage would finish on L'Alpe d'Huez on Saturday, June 12.

According to the Dauphiné Libéré newspaper, organiser of the race since 1947, the week-long competition will start in eastern France and finish in Sallanches. A stage finish in Grenoble is planned for Friday, June 11, with a mountaintop finish taking place on L'Alpe the next day.

This will be a consolation prize for the legendary ski station, which had also applied for a Tour de France stage next year after already being left out of the parcours in 2009. "We had submitted a candidacy to receive the Tour," said Alpe d'Huez mayor Jean-Yves Noyret.

The city was disappointed missing out on the chance to host its 27th Tour de France stage next year.

"We don't want to dwell on it. We will have the penultimate stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. It is important to us to keep the link between cycling and L'Alpe d'Huez."

The funding of next year's Dauphiné Libéré is still being negotiated, according to France's Cyclismag. French bank Crédit Mutuel bought the Ebra press group, former owner of newspaper Dauphiné Libéré, and has yet to approve continued sponsorship of the race.

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