Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - The route for the 102nd Tour de France was announced Wednesday and the 2015 edition will still have the traditional finish along the Champs Elysees in Paris, usually a celebratory ride for the champion after three weeks of grueling competition.

However, the previous day will likely prove to be decisive for the riders, as the penultimate stage in next year's Tour will take place with a climb to the top of the Alpe d'Huez ski station in the French Alps.

Alpe d'Huez is one of the frequent stage stops at the Tour de France, but not usually on the final day of real competition. The next to last day of last year's tour, for instance, featured a time trial.

Next year's Tour will include a total of seven mountain stages with five summit finishes, one more than last year. There will be one individual time trial and it will be just 14 kilometers -- the shortest distance since the inception of the time trial in 1947.

"The desire is to not hold up the race," said Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme.

The Tour will start with the time trial in the Netherlands and will go through Belgium before reaching France for Stage 4. It will continue through the northwest part of the country before heading to the Pyrenees following the first rest day.

After the second rest day, the riders will begin a string of four days in the Alps before heading to Paris for the conclusion.

The counter-clockwise route will start July 4 and end July 26, covering about 3,344 kilometers.

Vincenzo Nibali won last year's Tour de France, becoming the first Italian in 16 years to capture cycling's most prestigious event.