Chris Froome (Team Ineos) reacted to the announcement of the 2020 Tour de France route, calling the 21-day race "brutal." Organizer Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) has designed a challenging course that includes five mountain finishes before the race concludes in Paris on July 19.

"It's a brutal, grueling course, but a good one," Froome said in an interview at the Palais des Congrès in Paris on Tuesday. 'I think it's going to be a really explosive race and it has a mountain advantage.'

The ASO has set the race as a route through five mountain ranges: the Alps, Massif Central, Pyrenees, Jura, and Vosges. 2020's race will include 29 climbs classified in mountain categories, along with five mountain finishes. Notable summit finishes include the Puy Marie in the Massif Central on stage 13 and the Col de la Rose in the Alpes Meribel on stage 17.

"I think that would be great."

"That's what everyone wants to see, everyone wants to see a big battle between rivals.

Froome is expected to run as the main contender for a fifth title from Team Ineos at the Tour de France. His team is also expected to include defending champion Egan Bernal and 2018 champion Geraint Thomas.

Other overall contenders at the route reveal were Julien Alaphilippe (Detunink-Quickstep), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), and Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale).

"It's great for the riders, because they have a lot of opportunities to make the race exciting and to try to win.