France will celebrate the 111th edition of Le Tour from June 29 - July 21, with SBS and once again the place to watch all the action for Australian audiences live and on demand.
What is the Tour de France?
The Tour de France is an annual stage race primarily held in France and, in some cases, parts of other nations over a three-week period.
Originally founded in , the Tour has been held every year since – except during the two World Wars – to the acclaim of cycling enthusiasts around the globe.
Cycling’s showpiece event is known as a ‘Grand Tour’, a term used to describe the oldest, hardest, and most difficult events on the UCI WorldTour scene.
There are three Grand Tours in total; the other two being the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana, and winning one instantly elevates the status of a rider and his or her team.
While the Tour de France is the most prestigious stage race in the sport, it is used alongside the Giro and UCI Road World Championships as the unofficial ‘Triple Crown of Cycling’.
If you are just getting into the at this point, or looking to get a friend in, why not take a look at our
How long is the Tour de France?
The 2024 Route of the Tour de France will be run over 3,492 kilometres and include 52,340 metres of vertical gain over the 21 stages.
Racing will take place in four countries, with the Grand Depart in Florence, Italy, before the peloton journeys to San Marino, Monaco and France. Within France, the route passes through seven regions and 30 departments.
Four mountain ranges are set to feature, with the Apennines, the French and Italian Alps, the Massif Central and the Pyrenees set to deliver the spectacular scenery and renowned difficulty associated with the Tour de France.
The winner of the Tour de France generally takes about 80-90 hours to complete the route, with victory margins in seconds or, more often minutes despite the length of the event.
How many teams and riders are involved in the Tour de France 2024?
A total of 22 teams, each with eight riders, will participate in the 2024 edition, with 18 WorldTeams automatically invited and four ProTeams earning selection from the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). 176 riders will line up on the start line, but not all will finish, with the largest amount of finishers coming in 2016 with 174, though there were 198 riders who started that edition.
Lotto-Dstny and Israel-Premier Tech earned their place by being the two highest-placed ProTeams in 2023, while Uno-X Mobility and TotalEnergies will compete after being handpicked by race organisers.
Teams:
- Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
- Alpecin-Deceuninck
- Astana Qazaqstan Team
- Arkea-B&B Hotels
- Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
- Cofidis
- EF Education-Easypost
- Groupama-FDJ
- Ineos Grenadiers
- Intermarché-Wanty
- Israel-Premier Tech
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- Lotto-Dstny
- Movistar Team
- Soudal Quick-Step
- Team Bahrain Victorious
- Team dsm firmenich-PostNL
- Team Jayco Alula
- Team TotalEnergies
- Lidl-Trek
- UAE Team Emirates
- Uno-X Mobility
How do you win the Tour de France?
The rider with the lowest aggregate time across all 21 stages will be crowned the winner of the general classification.
The general classification is the most sought-after and is rewarded with the famous yellow jersey, however, there are three other classifications on offer for the peloton: points, mountains, and best young rider.
The winner of each individual stage is the rider first across the finish line, and each stage win is a prestigious honour.
How the general classification works (What is the yellow jersey?):
Every stage is timed until the finish, with the rider with the lowest cumulative time to that point declared the overall leader and awarded a yellow jersey – the maillot jaune – that must be worn by the rider. The jersey is yellow in honour of the paper L’Auto would print its content on.
Wearing the yellow jersey gives one’s team and sponsors more publicity and motivates the individual to keep a hold of it for as long as possible.
Eddy Merckx wore the maillot jaune a record 96 times at the Tour de France – his five GC titles matched only by Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. The only Australian to ever win the Tour is Cadel Evans, who won the race in 2011.
Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) waves to the crowd after winning the 2022 Tour de France Source: Getty / Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
During mountain stages, points are awarded to the rider who is first to reach the top of each significant climb on offer, with points also awarded to the next nine riders to complete the ascent.
The number of points awarded depends on the category of the climb, which can range from one, the hardest; to four, the easiest. In the case of the Tour, there are also the hors categories climbs, which are worth more points for being beyond categorisation and at high altitude.
A rider with the most points at the end of a stage will have the honour of wearing the polka dot jersey the next day, one first introduced at the Tour in 1975 despite the classification’s presence in the race since 1933.
How the points classification works (What is the green jersey?):
This classification is generally won by the sprinters and sees points awarded based on a rider’s position at the end of a stage.
Stages are categorised into types and are awarded more points depending on their climbing difficulty; flatter stages are awarded more points to keep the competition for the jersey primarily among the sprinters.
Stages can also have one or more intermediate sprints scattered along its route, whereby points are awarded to the first 15 cyclists across its marked lines.
A rider with the most points at the end of a stage will don the green jersey the next day, with the hope of preserving their advantage until the final podium.
Mark Cavendish reacts as he crosses the line in the green jersey at the 2021 Tour de France Source: Getty / Chris Graythen/Getty Images
This classification only applies to riders that will stay under the age of 26 in the calendar year, with the leader determined in the same way as the general classification.
First introduced in 1975, the white jersey has been available to eligible members of the peloton in every edition of the Tour aside from a 10-year hiatus between 1989 and 1999.
Who won the GC title at the Tour de France last year?
Jonas Vingegaard won for the second year in a row, decisively winning a duel with Tadej Pogacar to take the yellow jersey with an impressive performance over three weeks of incredible racing.
The Jumbo-Visma rider built on a phenomenal time trial ride as well as dropping a fatigued Pogacar to cement a dominant win that wrapped up his overall win well before the end of the race.
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10 unbelievable Tour de France facts
When does 2024 Tour de France start?
The 2024 edition of the Tour will commence on June 29 and conclude on July 21.
Who are the favourites for the 2024 Tour de France?
A star-studded line-up of general classification contenders will contest this year’s French Grand Tour, with Jonas Vingegaard determined to defend his overall title against the likes of Tadej Pogacar, David Gaudu, Enric Mas, Simon Yates and Mikel Landa.
Jai Hindley will be out to impact proceedings from an Australian perspective, and he will be one of the top contenders to snatch a spot on the podium after taking out the Giro d’Italia title in 2022.
Must-watch stages over past decade
Is every stage at the Tour de France the same?
features eight flat stages, four hilly, two individual time trials and seven mountain stages – four of which will conclude at the summit (Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet, Plateau de Beille, Isola 2000 and Col de la Couillole).
Stages:
- Stage 1 on June 29: FLORENCE - RIMINI = 205km - Hilly
- Stage 2 on June 30: CESENATICO - BOLOGNA = 200km - Hilly
- Stage 3 on July 1: PIACENZA - TURIN = 225km - Flat
- Stage 4 on July 2: PINEROLO - VALLOIRE = 138km - Mountain
- Stage 5 on July 3: SAINT-JEAN-DE-MAURIENNE - SAINT-VULBAS = 177km - Flat
- Stage 6 on July 4: MÂCON - DIJON = 163km - Flat
- Stage 7 on July 5: NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES - GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN = 25km - Individual Time-Trial
- Stage 8 on July 6: SEMUR-EN-AUXOIS - COLOMBEY-LES-DEUX-ÉGLISES = 176km - Flat
- Stage 9 on July 7: TROYES - TROYES = 145km - Hilly
- July 8 = Rest Day
- Stage 10 on July 9: ORLÉANS - SAINT-AMAND-MONROND = 187km - Flat
- Stage 11 on July 10: EVAUX-LES-BAINS - LE LIORAN = 211km - Mountain
- Stage 12 on July 11: AURILLAC - VILLENEUVE-SUR-LOT = 204km - Flat
- Stage 13 on July 12: AGEN - PAU = 171km - Flat
- Stage 14 on July 13: PAU - PLA D’ADET = 152km - Mountain
- Stage 15 on July 14: LOUDENVIELLE - PLATEAU DE BEILLE = 192km - Mountain
- July 15 = Rest Day
- Stage 16 on July 16: GRUISSAN - NÎMES = 187km - Flat
- Stage 17 on July 17: SAINT-PAUL-TROIS-CHÂTEAUX - SUPERDÉVOLUY = 178km - Mountain
- Stage 18 on July 18: GAP - BARCELONNETTE = 179km - Hilly
- Stage 19 on July 19: EMBRUN - ISOLA 2000 = 145km - Mountain
- Stage 20 on July 20: NICE - COL DE LA COUILLOLE = 132km - Mountain
- Stage 21 on July 21: MONACO - NICE = 35km - Individual Time-Trial
How can Australians watch the 2024 Tour de France?
All 21 stages of the 2024 Tour de France will be live-streamed in full on SBS On Demand, with live television coverage beginning on SBS at a slightly later time each night.
With catch-up replays as well as extended highlights and analysis available throughout the three weeks, SBS and are the perfect places to keep up to date.
Watch all the best , with the Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes and much more.
