The 2005 Tour de France route will be unveiled tomorrow with organisers expected to limit the number of time trials and mountain finishes in a move which will boost Lance Armstrong's rivals.
Sources close to the organisers said next year's race would feature only one individual time trial and three mountain finishes.
Armstrong has dominated such stages on his way to six Tour de France triumphs.
The event normally includes two time trials and between four and six high-altitude finishes.
The only time trial, except for a longer prologue than usual on July 2, will take place in St Etienne on the penultimate day.
The Tour will start from the island of Noirmoutier just south of Brittany and end on July 24 in Paris. Competitors will ride around France clockwise and climb the Alps before the Pyrenees.
Another mountain stage in the Vosges mountains is also expected shortly after the Tour makes a short incursion in Germany.
Whatever the itinerary, however, American Armstrong will still start as a clear favourite for another victory after he became the first man in history to win the event six times in July.
