As he’s done for a few years in a row (2013, 2012, 2011), Dennis at CyclingTheAlps.com has built some great tools to help track the Tour de France in Google Earth.
Each course features a map overview, elevation profile, and a 3D tour. Check it all out for yourself at http://www.cyclingthealps.com/#tour-de-france-2014-stages. The race starts on July 5, be sure to keep an eye on Cycling the Alps to see what the riders are up against at each stage.
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.
Clearly a lot of work goes into preparing what you can see on the Cycling the Alps site. But the race stages are shown as a series of tours using the Google Earth plug-in, with a default view northwards which can hide the route in mountainous areas, and a fly through speed which is too fast to see names and topography. There appear to be no controls to modify these default settings for anything more than still shots.
In the past GEB has provided links to KMLs of the route – a much more flexible approach – and there seems to be plans to provide such a KML through the official Tour site, although nothing is obvious at the moment.
Does any GEB reader know of any KMLs for 2014, and it would be great to have links.
no imagery this month ?
@cris
Go to http://www.velowire.com/article/850/en/the-tour-de-france-2014-race-route-on-google-maps-google-earth–stage-profiles-and-other-details.html
Always the best source for Giro and Tour kml files 😉
Many thanks for the link, and perhaps I am missing something, but the links on the site under the Tour sections to the route on Maps/Earth appear to be inactive, and I can find no other possible link. It would be great if you say exactly where on the site the KML(s) can be found.
You have to scroll down, under
“The race route of the Tour de France 2014 in Google Earth”
you’ll find http://short.thover.com/?ID=439
😉
@ Vince – many thanks for the direct link to the Tour kHz, all now running fine, and I am sure that other GEB readers will be grateful 🙂
There is so much good information on each of the Tour stages that I simply had not found my way to the link after the final stage, and, if anyone from Velowire is reading, the kHz really deserves more prominence to reflect all the work that goes into preparing it and the great picture it gives of the terrain for the race.
Ooops … KMZ of course