91st Tour de France - July 3-25, 2004

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Stage 1 - Sunday July 4: Liège-Charleroi, 202.5 km

By Deena-Maree Faulkner

Sticking to the valleys in this stage, the race sweeps into the country, passing through the area made famous by the Liège-Bastogne-Liège, showing off beautiful tourist attractions such as Roche en Ardenne and Durbuy, the smallest village in Belgium. The riders will circle Charleroi on the outer Boulevards before finishing on a 1,700 metre long straight in the southern part of the city. The course isn't flat like the prologue, and riders that are used to riding short sharp hills will be closer to the top ten today, with five categorised climbs to contend with.

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