Mountain stages get makeover

This year's Tour de France will feature nine "beyond category" climbs over its 3,351-km route, organizers of the July 7-29 event have revealed.

Even when it climbs familiar mountains, the Tour can take different routes, so each year organizers classify all the climbs in the race. They can be 4, 3, 2, 1 or beyond category, depending on length, steepness, and elevation.

For 2018, nine climbs have been classified as beyond category and 10 are category 1, giving a total of 19 challenging ascents, compared to 23 last year and 28 in 2016.