In this episode of The Cycling Podcast, Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe react to the route of the 2020 Tour de France, which was unveiled in Paris earlier in the day.

There are new start and finish towns, new summit finishes and only one time trial – on the climb of La Planche des Belles Filles on the penultimate day – but what else is in store and who does it suit? This inevitably leads to a speculation-heavy conversation about a race that is still more than eight months away.

Daniel describes the route as being more Biggie Smalls than Tupac, or is it more Tupac than Biggie? Lionel calls it the Tour de Tension, with something to challenge and unsettle more or less every day. Or is this a case of the Vueltafication of the Tour?

We also discuss the weekend's two big races – il Lombardia, the final Monument of the season, and Paris-Tours, which has shed its reputation as a slightly dull, formulaic race for the sprinters with the controversial inclusion of the off-road tracks through the vineyards.

The Cycling Podcast is supported by Rapha and Science In Sport.