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The 2009 Tour de France will kick off from the tiny Mediterranean Principality of Monaco, the race’s organizer officially announced the Grand Tour’s first few stages Friday. The Grand Départ will start with a 15-kilometer time trial that will take place partly on the world-renowned Monaco Grand Prix circuit, July 4, making 2009 the fifth year Monaco has hosted a stage of the Tour.

The time trial will begin on the Boulevard Albert I over part of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit, and then head up a long, gradual climb to kilometer 7.2 with a section as steep as 10%. The course will exit Monaco and loop through France, reaching its highest elevation (207 meters) before returning to Monaco to the finish along the Mediterranean coast near the Rainier III Water Sports Stadium.

The race’s second stage on July 5 will also launch from Monaco. In past years, stages in Monaco have fallen between the Alpine and Pyrenean stages, but 2009 will be the first time the country has held the Grand Départ.

Monaco is just one of many foreign locations which have petitioned race organizer ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation) to have the Tour de France visit, and had its request granted in November. The Tour organizers have reportedly received proposals from Scotland, Qatar and even Japan for the 2010 edition.