I have never watched the Tour de France
Explain this to me s l o w l y .
- Over 23 days (from July 6th – July 28th), 176 riders will race over 2,000 miles for a series of 21 ‘stages’ through mountains, hills, towns and sprint days. At the end of each stage, every cyclists’ individual time is added to his previous stage times. The cyclist with the lowest cumulative time wins the Tour de France and iconic yellow jersey.
- 22 teams of 8 riders who use varying strategies to win
- 28 riders in the young rider classification this year
- There will be 7 flat stages, 5 hilly stages, 7 mountain stages (with 5 mountain top finishes), 1 individual time trial stage, 1 team time trial stage and 2 rest days
- Each stage gives its own points and prize money.
- Stage 1 started in Brussels (you’re not crazy that is in Belgium not France)
- Every year the route changes but it always ends the same
- Stage 21 will end on the Champs-Elysees
- Rest days are 7/16 and 7/22
- Who is in the lead? Here are the updated standings.
- One of the favorites, GBR’s Chris Froome is not competing this year after a serious cycling accident earlier in the year. He won the TdF in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017
- It will be televised everyday on NBCSN live at ~7am CT and replays most days @ 8pm
- Every year the TdF has ~3.5Bn views (now granted that is over 21 days) which is a similar figure as the World Cup. The most viewed Super Bowl had ~111MM
