SAINT-LO, France -- Featuring two individual time trials and a lot of mountains, the Tour de France route suits titleholder Chris Froome very well. The British allrounder, however, believes pure climbing specialists will excel in the heat of the French summer.Its a route that is very much a climbers route, Froome told The Associated Press in a TV interview ahead of the Tour starting at Mont Saint-Michel on Saturday. Even though we have two time trials, they are very hilly time trials.Those two stages take place in the second half of the 3,519-kilometer three-week race. The first one, on Stage 13, is on 37.5 kilometers of rolling terrain in the Ardeche region, and comes a day after the daunting ascent of Mont Ventoux, where Froome made his mark in 2013 for his first Tour triumph.The second time trial, in the Alps, will be the Tours first mountain time trial since the 2004 ascent of lAlpe dHuez.The guys who climb well should go right in them, Froome said.Careful of maintaining a sense of suspense until the very end of the race, Tour organizers have chiseled a well-balanced route with many opportunities for Froomes main rivals, Nairo Quintana, Alberto Contador, and Fabio Aru, as well as the French duo of Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet.The race features 28 mountain passes and four very hard stages in four days in the final week, where the trio of main contenders is expected to be among the leaders and on the attack.In 2013 and 2015, Froome lost time to Quintana in the closing mountain stages. But he has slightly changed his schedule this year in order to maintain his peak longer, especially as he will be competing in the road race at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.If that different approach bears fruit, Froome should be in a better shape come the third week of the Tour.Hes coming up to top form a bit later, and hell try to hold onto that through to the Olympics and the second part of the season, Team Sky boss Dave Brailsford said. He is in great shape.In his quest to become just the eighth rider to win three Tours, Froome will be helped by the strongest team of the field. Team Sky features Sergio Henao, Mikel Landa, Woet Poels, and Geraint Thomas, who will be key assets during the nine mountain stages.Weve got a fantastic team. Ive got a lot of confidence in my teammates, Froome said at his team hotel in Normandy. I feel privileged to be in a position to be leading a lineup of guys like that. Guys who can be leaders in their own right have come here to support me. Its something that gives me a lot of confidence coming into the Tour de France.---Associated Press writer Hernan Munoz Ratto contributed to this report. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Ken-Crawley-Jersey/ .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Andrus-Peat-Jersey/ . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Trey-Hendrickson-Jersey/ . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Larry-Warford-Jersey/ . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Sterling-Moore-Jersey/ . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Wagering turnover on the Melbourne Cup carnival has hit $600 million for the first time, an increase of 10 per cent.Racing Victoria said data from approved domestic wagering service providers showed total turnover for the four Flemington meetings was more than $657 million.Hong Kong punters contributed $62.dddddddddddd.7 million in turnover on 17 races over the four days while Japanese punters bet $8.73 million on the Melbourne Cup. Wholesale HoodiesNFL Shirts OutletJerseys NFL WholesaleCheap NFL Jerseys Free ShippingWholesale Jerseys CheapCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaWholesale JerseysWholesale NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '