Announcing his groundbreaking route for the 2020 Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme chose a route with fewer time trials and more hills.

The race director referred to the "civilisation de zapping" (a term derived from the tendency of modern television viewers to switch channels restlessly) and insisted that it "must be as varied as possible."

The 21 Tour de France stages set for Tuesday are certainly atypical routes, described by Julien Alaphilippe and Romain Bardet as "unprecedented." The first week will undoubtedly be the toughest in the race's history, with three mountainous terrain. The first big climb awaits as early as the second stage inland in Nice, the first summit finish in the Alps on stage 4, the Massif Central on stage 6, and two big mountains in the Pyrenees before the first rest day.

This theme will continue into the second week, with the race passing through Massif Central before a summit finish at the Grand Colombier in the Jura. The finale will be a time trial at the summit of the Vosges Mountains, La Planche des Belle Fils, with four-time champion Chris Froome describing the route as "the toughest I've seen in years."

"We're not making it harder, we're making it more varied," Prudhomme said.

"In that respect, we are lucky to start in Nice. When you think of Nice, you think of the sea, but it is also at the foot of the Alps and close to all the mountain ranges of France. So we will start in the Alps, go to the Massif Central, the Cevennes, the Pyrenees, back to the Massif Central, the Jura, the Alps again, and the Vosges. The course was to be as varied as possible.

"There are not a few stages for sprinters, but they are spread out. The first week gives sprinters a chance, but not two weeks in a row.

Similarly, the climbing stages are spread out throughout the three weeks, and Prudhomme and his team are hoping that the rivalry for the yellow jersey may flare up at any moment, rather than being limited to the Pyrenees or the set-piece blocks of the Alps. There are only two stages in the Pyrenees this year, neither with a summit finish, and the hardest day in terms of elevation gain will be stage 13, the Massif Central.

"The Tour is and always will be set in the Alps and Pyrenees. But in the last few years we have been looking for difficulties elsewhere," Prudhomme said.

"I'm very happy to have summit finishes in three mountain ranges that are neither the Alps nor the Pyrenees. It's good for me. We wanted to find something new. These are iconic, beautiful, steep and tough places. All the ingredients are there for a great fight."

Regarding the paucity of time trials, Prudhomme concurred with the traditionalists, but argued that it was a necessary step given the smaller time differences seen in the mountains compared to time trials.

"We dream of cycling where climbers pull away from the rulers in the mountains and lose by the time difference, but that doesn't happen now.

After years of trying to break the stronghold of Team Sky and Ineos, Prudhomme enjoyed this year's spectacle, widely regarded as the most exciting race in 30 years, although the 2020 route seems a blatant attempt to recreate the drama of this summer, He notes that there is only so much he can do: "It's the racers who make the race."