The American who recovered from cancer to win sport's biggest single annual event, and one of its most gruelling, appeared on a satellite link from Texas at the Paris launch.

More surprising was the presence at the event of Richard Virenque, the Frenchman the organisers tried unsuccessfully to ban in 1999, but who went on to win the King of the Mountains title.

The route features the return of two old friends of the Tour, and some innovations, plus a trip to two significant foreign destinations.

• The team time trial returns in the opening week since 1995
• The Tour goes up the legendary Mont Ventoux, where British rider Tom Simpson died during the 1967 event, for the first time since 1987
• The final stage begins underneath the Eiffel Tower and is exclusively within Paris city centre
• The longest stage is the only one exclsuively outside France
• It starts in Lausanne, base of the UCI world governing body which celebrates its centenary in 2000
• The stage ends in Freiburg-in Brisgau in Germany, home of 1997 winner Jan Ullrich

The race begins at theme park Futuroscope in the Vienne region of France, where Armstrong won his fourth stage in 1999.

The team time trial, where riders race in groups of nine at high speed, follows between Nantes and St-Nazaire.

Suave sprint-king Cipollini should star in first week again

The traditional opening week of flat stages follows, with Super Mario Cipollini, winner of four bunch sprints in 1999, licking his lips at the launch.

The Pyrenees come next, although there is only one full mountain stage there, a fact compensated by the Ventoux, which rears up three days later.

The Giant of Provence is one of Europe's strangest landscapes, a barren hillside approached by a grinding, constant climb of 10%.

The Alps are next, with two traditional mountain stages finishing at Courcheval and Morzine, divided by the race's second rest day.

After that the race moves into Switzerland and Germany, returning to France during a time trial to Mulhouse in Alsace - an opportunity perhaps for Ullrich to show his class on his doorstep.

The traditional Orient Express, rather than the usual TGV high-speed train, takes the riders to Paris for the finale, where 10,000 amateurs will ride the route before the final stage.

Armstrong: Satellite link to launch

Armstrong said he was looking forward to defending his title on the 3,630km route between 1 and 23 July.

He believed Ullrich, recent winner of the similar Tour of Spain, would be one of his main rivals, alongside Spanish duo Fernando Escartin and Abraham Olano.

1998 champion Marco Pantani was also named by the Texan, but the Italian has not ridden since a controversial exclusion from the Tour of Italy in June.

Ullrich and Pantani both missed Armstrong's win, and he will hope they are there next year to prove himself against the best.

Virenque: On better terms with Tour organisers

Virenque was was one of the central figures of the doping scandal that tarnished the 1998 race, but said relations with the organisers had improved since they tried to stop him racing this summer.

"This race is going to epic places that bring back moving memories for me," he said.

"It is a better course than last year."

The 87th Tour de France, July 2000

• July 1, Futuroscope, 16km prologue time trial
• July 2, Futuroscope-Loudun, 191km
• July 3, Loudun-Nantes, 170km
• July 4, Nantes-St Nazaire, 69km team time trial
• July 5, Vannes-Vitre, 198km
• July 6, Vitre-Tours, 197km
• July 7, Tours-Limoges, 192km
• July 8, Limoges-Villeneuve-sur-Lot, 200km
• July 9, Agen-Dax, 182km
• July 10, Dax-Lourdes Hautacam, 205km mountain stage
• July 11, Bagneres-de-Bigorre-Revel, 219km
• July 13, Carpentras-Mont Ventoux, 149km mountain stage
• July 14, Avignon-Draguignan, 180km
• July 15, Draguignan-Briancon, 249km
• July 16, Briancon-Courchevel 168km mountain stage
• July 18, Courchevel-Morzine 196km mountain stage
• July 19, Evian-les-Bains-Lausanne (Swi), 155km
• July 20, Lausanne (Swi)-Frieburg-en-Brisgau (Ger) 252km
• July 21, Frieburg-en-Brisgau (Ger)-Mulhouse, 59km individual time trial
• July 22, Belfort-Troyes, 248km
• July 23, Paris Eiffel-Tower-Champs Elysees, 135km