le tour de france for newbies

Bike racing for the ordinary cyclist

Tour de France for dummies: a beginner’s guide

Around this time of the year, the Tour de France keeps popping up in my conversations with non-cycling friends. Despite how little someone knows or cares about cycling, everyone’s at least heard of Le Tour.

At first, it surprised me how little people know about the Tour de France. Basic concepts like “how do you win?” aren’t commonly understood. I guess keen cyclists who live and breathe the sport take that stuff for granted. It can be confusing to the uninitiated.

With that in mind, here’s a simple explanation of the Tour de France for non-cyclists, presented in a FAQ format. I’ll strip out as much of the jargon and complexity as I can, keeping strictly to the basics. After reading this, anyone will be able to follow what’s going on in the race, at least at a rudimentary level.

Here is a beginner’s guide to watching and understanding the Tour—a “Tour de France for dummies”.

What is the Tour de France?

The Tour de France is an annual bike race that goes for three weeks. It takes place mainly in France, but often traverses into other countries. For example, this year’s race starts in Belgium. It always finishes in Paris.

How do you win the Tour de France?

The Tour is made up of 21 separate “ stages “; one stage per day. Think of each stage as a standalone race.

In each stage, all of the riders start at Point A and ride to Point B. The first person to reach Point B wins that stage and gets a prize. The next day, everyone starts at Point C and races to Point D, and so on. Winning a stage is a big deal in itself. It can be a career-defining moment for some cyclists.

But how does one win the whole Tour de France? It’s decided by time. You add up the time each rider takes to finish each stage. Whoever finishes all 21 stages in the lowest cumulative time wins the overall Tour de France—also known as winning the “ General Classification “.

Who rides in the Tour de France?

The race is contested by professional teams. Riders represent their team, not their nation.

The Tour de France is for men only. Currently, there is no equivalent race for women.

This year, there are 22 teams of 8 riders each, meaning 176 riders will start the Tour de France. However, there can only be one winner—despite being a team sport, the Tour is won by an individual. Their teammates help them along the way by using tactics, sacrificing their own interests to help that individual to win.

There are tactics? Don’t you just ride as hard as you can?

Nope, it’s much more interesting than that!

Because of air resistance, you save a lot of energy when cycling behind another rider. If you simply rode as hard as you could from Point A to Point B, a competitor could just ride behind you (in your draft) waiting for you to get tired before overtaking you. Across three weeks of hard racing, saving energy is very important.

That’s where team tactics come in. Among the 176 starters, only a handful are strong enough to have a realistic chance of winning the General Classification. The rest will have different goals. Some will be trying to win a stage, some will try to win one of the other sub-competitions (more on that later), while the rest ride as teammates to help their team leader achieve their goals.

A common tactic, for example, is to ride in front of your team leader, taking the wind for them so they save energy. That’s why you’ll often see long rows of teammates riding in a line. Another example of teamwork is fetching water bottles for your teammate.

How does terrain affect the race?

Some stages cover flat roads. Others are a little hilly. Some are downright mountainous.

Flat stages tend to end in a bunch sprint, with a huge mass of riders rushing at the line together. This is because of the aforementioned air resistance: on a flat road, it’s easy to sit behind other riders, so it’s very hard to escape from the big bunch of riders (called the “ peloton ”). Flat courses favour “sprinters”—bigger riders who can put out a lot of power in the final few hundred metres of a stage.

Hilly and mountainous stages can end with a small group or even just a lone individual reaching the finish line first. On climbs, aerodynamics plays a smaller role, so heavier riders can get dropped from the peloton before the finish, leaving only the lighter, fitter riders in contention.

Why is there always a small group up ahead?

Although everyone starts together at Point A, a few riders will try to break away from the peloton early on. They may do this for one of many reasons, such as:

• They are bad at sprinting, so breaking away early is their best chance of winning the stage.
• They want to get TV exposure for their team’s sponsors.
• By getting up the road, they force other teams to chase while their own teammates rest within the peloton.

Sometimes, riders in the peloton will react, chasing hard to bring those riders back into the bunch before they get too far away.

Since it’s such a long race, nobody has the energy to keep accelerating and chasing forever. As a result, eventually the action settles down with a “ breakaway ” group of riders ahead and everyone else in the main peloton behind. The main drama of the stage is to see whether or not the peloton can organise a chase to gradually reel in the breakaway before the finish.

Sometimes, the breakaway manages to stay away all the way to the end of the stage. The winner outsprints their breakaway companions close to the finish or is strong enough to ride away beforehand.

What are these stages where they ride one at a time?

There are a few special stages where, instead of all starting together a Point A, the riders start one by one. These are called “individual time trials”. Each rider rides that stage alone and against the clock. There is no drafting and no teamwork. The person who completes that stage in the shortest time wins the stage. Certain riders tend to do well in time trials because of their physiology.

There is a similar stage called a “team time trial”. Each team starts at Point A as a group of eight riders. There is drafting within the individual riders of the same team, but no drafting between teams. The team that covers the course in the shortest time wins that stage.

What does it take to win the Tour de France?

It’s very difficult. Winning the Tour de France is the pinnacle of our sport.

To do it, you must be strong across all kinds of stages and terrains. In particular, you must be able to climb mountains well and ride a strong time trial. Otherwise, you will lose too much time to your rivals across the three weeks.

Flat stages are less important to the General Classification because riders can comfortably ride in the protection of the main peloton and won’t lose any time (noting that, for safety reasons, riders who finish a stage in the same group are given the same time, regardless of whether you were at the front of the group or at the back).

If you are a genuine contender to win the General Classification, your team’s plan for most of the race will be to save your energy. This will leave you fresh and ready to gain time on your rivals at key points of the race, such as on mountain climbs or in the time trials, where aerodynamics are less of a factor.

Consistency is key. Three weeks is a long time, and mishaps like crashes or mechanical incidents can ruin a contender’s chance of winning the Tour de France. So you’ll need a little luck, too.

What’s the prize for winning?

The person who is leading the General Classification during the race wears the famous yellow jersey, the maillot jaune .

The overall winner earns the right to wear the yellow jersey after the final stage. They also get a trophy and prize money of 500,000 euros, though in practice the money is shared among the winner’s team.

What are the other special prizes and jerseys?

As well as the General Classification and winning stages, there are several sub-competitions within the Tour de France that some riders will be targeting as their goals.

Points Classification

Throughout the Tour, riders can earn points for placing highly on stages and at intermediate sprint points. At the end, the rider with the most points wins the points competition.

Time is irrelevant in this competition. The winner of the points classification is usually a sprinter, as they can usually place highly in all the flat stages (despite losing many minutes of time on the mountainous stages).

The leader of the points classification wears the green jersey.

King of the Mountains (KOM) CLASSIFICATION

Throughout the race, there are “classified climbs” where points are awarded to the first few riders who reach the top of the climb. The rider with the most KOM points at the end of the Tour de France wins this competition.

Often, this classification is won by a rider who is good at climbing uphill and gets in a lot of breakaways to collect KOM points before the peloton arrives.

The leader of the KOM classification wears the polka-dot jersey.

Young riders classification

This is won by the best-placed rider on the General Classification under the age of 26. The leader wears the white jersey.

Most aggressive prize (most combative)

This is a subjective prize awarded after each stage. A panel of judges decide which rider was the most aggressive and exciting during that stage. Usually, it goes to someone in the breakaway. The judges tend to favour French riders.

As well as cash prize, that rider gets to wear special red race numbers during the next stage.

At the end of the Tour de France, the judges decide who was the most aggressive rider over the whole race. That person wins the “super-combativity” prize.

Teams classification

The team classification is calculated by adding up the times of the three best-placed riders from each team per stage. The three riders can be different from stage to stage; it’s just the three riders from your team who happened to cross the line first on each given stage.

The team with the lowest cumulative time wins this classification. The leading team wears special yellow numbers during the race.

Lanterne Rouge

This isn’t an official prize, but the rider who finishes the Tour de France in last place on General Classification is called the “lanterne rouge” (red lantern). This sounds easy enough on paper, but the key requirement is that you have to actually finish every stage of the Tour. If you crash and end up in hospital, you’re out of the race entirely.

Oh, and did I mention there’s a time limit? On every stage, there is a time limit calculated based on a percentage of the stage winner’s time. If you are unable to complete the stage within that time, you are kicked out of the race.

So, merely finishing the Tour de France is a pretty big achievement in its own right.

The Tour de France is the world’s biggest bike race and the biggest annual sporting competition.

Now, when you change channels to SBS this July, you’ll know enough to follow the action. Armed with this knowledge, you can appreciate the drama and excitement of what otherwise looks like just a bunch of oddly-dressed men trundling across France.

Or, I guess, you could always watch it for the scenery.

Know a friend who’s clueless about the Tour de France? Share this article with them so they can begin to love this incredible event!

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A Beginner's Guide to the Tour de France

All you need to know about the biggest race in the world, from how the race works, and where you can watch all the action

Will Newton

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The Tour de France is a bike race cut above all others

The biggest bike race on the planet, the Tour de France , is the pinnacle of the cycling calendar, but what is this race, why is it so famous and how on earth does one win it? If you’ve ever found yourself asking one of these questions then worry not, for this Newcomer’s Guide is going to help you decrypt and decipher this summer’s ‘Big Loop’ around France…

Ask somebody to name a bike race and nine times out of ten that person will reply, ‘the Tour de France’. Ask that same person to explain the Tour de France and you’ll be lucky to be given a coherent sentence devoid of ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’. You see, while the Tour may be one of, if not the most, watched sporting events in the world - with 3.5 billion viewers annually - it’s also one of the most confusing with a rule book almost as long as the route itself.

This confusing aspect of the Tour can be an obstacle to many, so to ease you in we’ve put together this handy guide explaining the basics behind the race - from what is the Tour de France, to how does one win it. Whether you’re a complete newcomer or perhaps an annual Tour watcher, there’ll be something in this guide for you and something that will finally give you an answer to - at least one of - your many questions about the race.

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The Tour is made up of 21 mini races called ‘stages’ - complete them all in the fastest cumulative time and you’ll be crowned the overall winner

What is the Tour de France?

The Tour de France is what’s known as a ‘stage race’, which is a collection of smaller races - or stages - ridden consecutively across a set period of time. In the case of the Tour, this time period encompasses three weeks, or 21 days (23 if we include the two rest days where there’s no racing). There are only two other stage races on the cycling calendar that last for three weeks and those are the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España. Together with the Tour, these races are known as the ‘Grand Tours’.

As its name suggests, the Tour takes place in France - although this comes with some caveats. While the majority of the three-week race takes place within mainland France, some stages do occasionally pass through neighbouring countries, like Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Belgium. The race is also known for hosting ‘Grand Départs’ - the term for the celebratory opening stages of the race - in foreign countries. For example, in 2023 the race began with three stages in the Basque Country, an autonomous community of Spain. The 2024 edition, on the other hand, will start with three stages in northern Italy taking in the cycling rich regions of Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, Lombardy and Piemonte.

With the race taking place across France, and across some other European countries, terrain can wildly differ between stages. Some stages stick to the flatlands along the coasts, while others head deep into the mountains. Several stages may also take the form of a ‘time trial’, where riders compete to set the fastest time over a set course after a staggered start. This changing of terrain between stages, and also within stages, is what poses the main challenge to the riders and ultimately dictates who wins the Tour de France overall, but more on that later!

Why is the Tour de France so famous?

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The maillot jaune is the most iconic jersey in all of cycling

The Tour is the oldest of the three Grand Tours, with its debut edition taking place way back in 1903. It’s also the race which inspired the likes of the Giro and the Vuelta. At 120-years-old, it’s the oldest still-running stage race on the international calendar. There are one-day events which are older, but no professional, multi-day stage race is older than the Tour de France - one of its many claims to fame.

Born from a newspaper marketing scheme, devised by French journalist Henri Desgrange, the first Tour took place in an attempt to boost sales of L’Auto - a nationwide daily newspaper dedicated to sport. This inaugural race only featured six stages, but with each stage covering ~400km it quickly made its way around the perimeter of France. Due to the length of these stages and the comparatively poor technology of the time riders often had to race through the night.

Home favourite Maurice Garin, a man affectionately known as ‘The Little Chimney Sweep’, won this first ever Tour de France, writing his name into cycling’s history books in the process. The race was a sudden hit so Desgrange decided to bring it back the following year, and then the next one, and the one after that. Before long it soon became the go-to event for masochists across Europe to attend and shed blood, sweat and tears over. This blood, sweat and tears made for great stories back in the day and now, fantastic TV.

The race’s longevity and the fact that it has been the site of some of sport’s greatest stories aren’t the only factors which make the Tour so famous, however. In recent decades the race has become truly global with riders from all six of Earth’s major continents not just taking part, but winning too. This globalisation of the Tour has helped it to expand to all four corners of the globe and reach billions of people.

According to the Tour’s organisers, ASO, around 12 million people line up along the route every single year, cheering on their heroes from the roadside. This figure pales in comparison to the race’s total viewers though, which is estimated to be as high as 3.5 billion annually. This mind-boggling figure makes the Tour de France the most watched sporting event in the world, more so even than the World Cup (3.3 billion), Summer Olympics (2 billion), UEFA Champions League (380 million) and Super Bowl (96.4 million).

How does one win the Tour de France?

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Egan Bernal on his way to winning the Tour de France in 2019

To put it simply, only one rider can win the Tour de France. This is the rider who, once all is said and done, has completed all of the stages in the lowest cumulative time. They’re declared the overall, or general classification (GC), winner and they get to stand on the top step of the podium in Paris at the end of the race, receiving all of the plaudits - and prize money.

But there’s never just one rider who leaves the Tour as a ‘winner’, and this is where things can get quite confusing. First of all, a ‘stage winner’ is crowned at the end of every stage - this is the rider who simply crosses the finish line first. Some riders win multiple stages throughout the three weeks but get nowhere close to winning the race overall, while the overall winner could go the entire three weeks without ever winning a stage. Are you still with us?

And then there are the different coloured jerseys, individual prizes and team prizes. These are handed out to riders at the end of every stage to denote the rider who’s currently leading each respective classification, but they’re not officially ‘won’ until the three weeks is up and the riders cross the finish line on the final stage. Let’s go through each of those in turn now, from the iconic yellow jersey to the lesser-known combativity prize.

Yellow Jersey - The famous maillot jaune , or yellow jersey, denotes the leader of the general classification. As explained above, this is the rider who has completed all of the stages in the lowest cumulative time. This is the biggest prize in the Tour and something that every rider dreams of wearing, although only a handful ever will.

Green Jersey - The maillot vert , or green jersey, denotes the leader of the points classification. Points are accumulated at each stage finish, with a rider being awarded a certain number of points based on their finishing position. The higher they finish, the more points they score.

Different stages have different weightings of points on offer at the finish, with flatter stages offering more and mountain stages less. Points can also be scored at ‘intermediate sprints’ which are placed within a stage, usually around the midway point. In the Tour there’s one intermediate sprint per road stage (so not during time trials).

Polka-Dot Jersey - The maillot à pois , or polka-dot jersey, denotes the leader of the King of the Mountains classification. Like the green jersey, this is a points-based classification where riders score points for being one of the first few over the tops of hills/mountains. Only categorised hills/mountains count towards this classification and the number of points awarded depends on this categorisation.

Hills/mountains are ranked based on their difficulty and assigned either Cat-4, Cat-3, Cat-2, Cat-1 or HC ( hors categorie ) status. Cat-4 climbs offer fewer points, because they’re the easiest, while HC climbs offer the most points, because they’re the toughest. The winner of this jersey can be someone who’s specifically targeting the classification, but it can also go to the overall Tour winner by virtue of them often being at the front of the race day in, day out.

White Jersey - The maillot blanc , or white jersey, denotes the leader of the Young Rider classification, which - like the yellow jersey - is a time-based classification. It’s restricted to riders that are under the age of 26 when the Tour begins. From those riders who are eligible, the one who has completed the stages in the lowest cumulative time wears the jersey.

Team Prize - This prize is awarded to the winner of the team classification, which assesses teams by adding the times of their three best-placed riders each day - in other words, their first three riders across the finish line on each stage. The team with the lowest accumulated time over the three weeks wins. Unlike the classifications explained above, no jersey is awarded to the leaders of this classification - instead members of the leading team wear a yellow number on their backs.

Combativity Prize - The prix de la combativité , or combativity prize, is awarded to the rider who most animates the day’s racing. This is a subjective classification and one that is decided by the race officials. The winner is given a red number to wear the following day, which is then passed onto the next combativity prize winner. A Super Combativity award is also handed out at the end of the three weeks and goes to the rider who has animated the entire race, rather than just a single stage.

Where can I watch the Tour de France?

Now you know what the Tour de France is all about you’re probably itching to start watching it. Fortunately, the 2023 edition is just around the corner with the opening stage set to take place on Saturday, July 1st. Following the Grand Départ in the Basque Country, Spain - which encompasses three stages this year - the race will head to France and take on stages in the perilous Pyrenees and infamous Alps before drawing to a close with a traditional final stage in Paris on Sunday, July 23rd.

We’ll be showing live coverage of every single stage, start-to-finish, in RaceTV on the GCN App. We’ll also have the daily Breakaway show for you to tune into before and after every stage, where our panel of talking heads discuss the upcoming day’s racing and break down the action afterwards. It’s going to be an incredible three weeks of action and a race that you won’t want to miss, so make sure you have an a ctive GCN+ subscription . There’ll also be a ton of additional stuff for you to get your teeth stuck into during the Tour on the GCN App. As well as live coverage of the race, we also have articles covering all of the action, stage-by-stage previews, daily polls and quizzes and much, much more. Scroll through our Home and Racing feeds now to start getting involved with all of that fantastic, additional content.

Tour de France

• Dates 1 Jul - 23 Jul
• Race Length 3,401 kms
• Race Category Elite Men

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A beginner's guide to the Tour de France

Taking you through the format and jerseys of the world's biggest annual sporting event

The world's biggest annual sporting event, and the third biggest of all after the Olympic Games and football's World Cup, the Tour de France can legitimately claim to be the world's greatest race. This year, the Tour, which is celebrating its 103rd edition, begins on Saturday July 2 and finishes on Sunday July 24.

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The 2016 Tour starts on French soil at Mont Saint-Michel, the UNESCO World Heritage site that has been recently returned to island status after extensive works. The tiny island with its steepling monastery, parts of which date from the 10th century, will provide a spectacular backdrop to the 198 riders from 22 teams as they set off on the opening day for a stage that runs across the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy to finish at Utah Beach, one of the beaches that featured in the D-Day landings in June 1944.

Over the subsequent three weeks, those 198 riders that form the bunch or, as the French call it, the peloton, will tackle a further 20 stages as the race loops around the country for 3,535 kilometres. The Tour de France finishes in Paris on July 24 with a stage that will be just as dramatic as the first, as the riders complete several laps of a circuit based on the Champs Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe.

Like any road cycling race, the Tour de France is effectively a team event for individuals. That is to say that the nine riders on each of the 22 squads compete according to team tactics, but those tactics favour just one or two riders on each of the teams on any given stage.

The biggest prize on offer, the Tour's fabled maillot jaune (yellow jersey), is worn by the rider who has covered the route in the lowest cumulative time. The overall Tour de France champion is awarded the final maillot jaune in Paris. Britain's Chris Froome , who rides for Team Sky, claimed the yellow jersey last year, beating Colombia's Nairo Quintana into second place, with Spain's Alejandro Valverde third. This was Froome's second Tour victory after a previous success the 100th edition of the race in 2013.

There are three other jersey competitions. The green jersey is worn by the leader of the points competition, which effectively rewards the Tour's most consistent high finisher. Slovakia's Peter Sagan has won the green jersey title for the past four years and is the favourite to claim it again.

The polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey is the Tour's most recognisable prize. Hills and mountains are classified into five categories depending on their degree of difficulty, with points available to the first riders to cross them. There are more points on offer on the toughest climbs, known as hors-catégorie (super, or above, category), than on climbs classified between first and fourth category. Consequently, the polka-dot jersey is intended to reward the Tour's best climber. In 2015, Froome claimed this jersey thanks to his dominance or his rivals in the Pyrenees and Alps.

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The white jersey recognises the race's best young rider. As with the yellow jersey, it is awarded each day to the rider who has covered the route in the lowest cumulative time, although in this case only riders who are aged 25 and younger in the calendar year are eligible. Last year, Quintana claimed this title.

The Tour also recognises the best team at the race. Like the yellow and white jerseys, this prize is awarded to the team that covers the route in the lowest cumulative time, with the time recorded on each stage by every team's three highest finishers counting towards this competition.

Going into this year's Tour, the favourites for the yellow jersey are defending champion Chris Froome, two-time runner-up Nairo Quintana, two-time winner Alberto Contador of Spain, and Italy's newest prospect, Fabio Aru , who is making his debut in the race. They represent Britain's Team Sky, Spain's Movistar, Russia's Tinkoff and Kazakhstan's Astana teams, respectively, demonstrating the global reach of cycling and, most particularly, of the Tour de France.

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Peter Cossins has written about professional cycling since 1993 and is a contributing editor to Procycling . He is the author of The Monuments: The Grit and the Glory of Cycling's Greatest One-Day Races (Bloomsbury, March 2014) and has translated Christophe Bassons' autobiography, A Clean Break (Bloomsbury, July 2014). 

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Tour de France

Video: le tour de france for newbies, three weeks, 21 stages, often multiple countries, history from 1903... the tour is complicated here's your fun, animated video primer..

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

The Tour de France is a beautiful event with a wealth of history, an abundance of natural beauty, and an intriguing set of interwoven competitions. It can be a lot for a new fan of the sport to take in!

Check out this handy video to get yourself oriented on the most beautiful sporting event on the planet.

• The route map of the 2020 Tour de France
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\n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/news\/bianchi-issues-paris-roubaix\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"bianchi says mechanics disregarded instructions in paris-roubaix bike issues\"}}\u0027>\n bianchi says mechanics disregarded instructions in paris-roubaix bike issues\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"paris-roubaix rewind: cool kopecky, magnificent mathieu, and jury drops hammer on tarling, van dijke","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/paris-roubaix-rewind-cool-kopecky-magnificent-mathieu-and-jury-drops-hammer-on-tarling-van-dijke\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/paris-roubaix-rewind-cool-kopecky-magnificent-mathieu-and-jury-drops-hammer-on-tarling-van-dijke\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"paris-roubaix rewind: cool kopecky, magnificent mathieu, and jury drops hammer on 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\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/woman-who-threw-cap-at-mathieu-van-der-poels-wheel-says-she-had-an-afternoon-of-aperitifs\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"woman who threw cap at mathieu van der poel\u2019s wheel says she had \u2018an afternoon of aperitifs\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/woman-who-threw-cap-at-mathieu-van-der-poels-wheel-says-she-had-an-afternoon-of-aperitifs\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"woman who threw cap at mathieu van der poel\u2019s wheel says she had \u2018an afternoon of aperitifs\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n woman who threw cap at mathieu van der poel\u2019s wheel says she had \u2018an afternoon of aperitifs\u2019\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"paris-roubaix tech gallery: big tires and gravel bikes","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/paris-roubaix-tech-gallery-big-tires-and-gravel-bikes\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/paris-roubaix-tech-gallery-big-tires-and-gravel-bikes\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"paris-roubaix tech gallery: big tires and gravel bikes\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/paris-roubaix-tech-gallery-big-tires-and-gravel-bikes\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"paris-roubaix tech gallery: big tires and gravel bikes\"}}\u0027>\n paris-roubaix tech gallery: big tires and gravel bikes\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"more harrowing details of itzulia crash: \u2018can\u2019t believe i will be able to walk and play with my kids one day\u2019","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/more-harrowing-details-of-itzulia-basque-country-crash-a-brush-with-death\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/more-harrowing-details-of-itzulia-basque-country-crash-a-brush-with-death\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"more harrowing details of itzulia crash: \u2018can\u2019t believe i will be able to walk and play with my kids one day\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/more-harrowing-details-of-itzulia-basque-country-crash-a-brush-with-death\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"more harrowing details of itzulia crash: \u2018can\u2019t believe i will be able to walk and play with my kids one day\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n more harrowing details of itzulia crash: \u2018can\u2019t believe i will be able to walk and play with my kids one day\u2019\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"power analysis: how mathieu van der poel eviscerated paris-roubaix","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/power-analysis-mathieu-van-der-poel-paris-roubaix\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/power-analysis-mathieu-van-der-poel-paris-roubaix\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"power analysis: how mathieu van der poel eviscerated paris-roubaix\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/power-analysis-mathieu-van-der-poel-paris-roubaix\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"power analysis: how mathieu van der poel eviscerated paris-roubaix\"}}\u0027>\n power analysis: how mathieu van der poel eviscerated paris-roubaix\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"jonas vingegaard undergoes surgery in spain, with recovery time \u2018not yet clear\u2019","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/jonas-vingegaard-undergoes-surgery-in-spain-with-recovery-time-not-yet-clear\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/jonas-vingegaard-undergoes-surgery-in-spain-with-recovery-time-not-yet-clear\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"jonas vingegaard undergoes surgery in spain, with recovery time \u2018not yet clear\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/jonas-vingegaard-undergoes-surgery-in-spain-with-recovery-time-not-yet-clear\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"jonas vingegaard undergoes surgery in spain, with recovery time \u2018not yet clear\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n jonas vingegaard undergoes surgery in spain, with recovery time \u2018not yet clear\u2019\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"cycling and civil rights icon major taylor finally gets the documentary he deserves","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-culture\/cycling-civil-rights-icon-major-taylor-finally-gets-documentary-he-deserves\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-culture\/cycling-civil-rights-icon-major-taylor-finally-gets-documentary-he-deserves\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"cycling and civil rights icon major taylor finally gets the documentary he deserves\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-culture\/cycling-civil-rights-icon-major-taylor-finally-gets-documentary-he-deserves\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"cycling and civil rights icon major taylor finally gets the documentary he deserves\"}}\u0027>\n cycling and civil rights icon major taylor finally gets the documentary he deserves\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"further antagonism towards mathieu van der poel as spectator throws object at wheels","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/further-antagonism-towards-mathieu-van-der-poel-as-spectator-throws-object-at-wheels\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/further-antagonism-towards-mathieu-van-der-poel-as-spectator-throws-object-at-wheels\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"further antagonism towards mathieu van der poel as spectator throws object at wheels\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/further-antagonism-towards-mathieu-van-der-poel-as-spectator-throws-object-at-wheels\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"further antagonism towards mathieu van der poel as spectator throws object at wheels\"}}\u0027>\n further antagonism towards mathieu van der poel as spectator throws object at wheels\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"the enve fray is an all-road bike with near-gravel tire clearances","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/new-enve-fray\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/new-enve-fray\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"the enve fray is an all-road bike with near-gravel tire clearances\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/new-enve-fray\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"the enve fray is an all-road bike with near-gravel tire clearances\"}}\u0027>\n the enve fray is an all-road bike with near-gravel tire clearances\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"why are so many gravel pros doing levi leipheimer\u2019s new road race","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/gravel-pros-levis-gran-fondo-road-race\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/gravel-pros-levis-gran-fondo-road-race\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"why are so many gravel pros doing levi leipheimer\u2019s new road race\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/gravel-pros-levis-gran-fondo-road-race\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"why are so many gravel pros doing levi leipheimer\u2019s new road race\"}}\u0027>\n why are so many gravel pros doing levi leipheimer\u2019s new road race\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"watch: all the tech we spotted at paris-roubaix","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/watch-all-the-tech-we-spotted-at-paris-roubaix\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/watch-all-the-tech-we-spotted-at-paris-roubaix\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"watch: all the tech we spotted at paris-roubaix\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/watch-all-the-tech-we-spotted-at-paris-roubaix\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"watch: all the tech we spotted at paris-roubaix\"}}\u0027>\n watch: all the tech we spotted at paris-roubaix\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"woman who threw object at mathieu van der poel\u2019s wheel \u2018to turn herself in\u2019","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/woman-who-threw-object-at-mathieu-van-der-poels-wheel-to-turn-herself-in\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/woman-who-threw-object-at-mathieu-van-der-poels-wheel-to-turn-herself-in\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"woman who threw object at mathieu van der poel\u2019s wheel \u2018to turn herself in\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/woman-who-threw-object-at-mathieu-van-der-poels-wheel-to-turn-herself-in\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"woman who threw object at mathieu van der poel\u2019s wheel \u2018to turn herself in\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n woman who threw object at mathieu van der poel\u2019s wheel \u2018to turn herself in\u2019\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"ketones: cycling superfuel or marketing hype visma-lease a bike study seeks to dispel the doubts","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/ketones-cycling-superfuel-or-marketing-hype-visma-lease-a-bike-study-seeks-to-dispel-the-doubts\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/ketones-cycling-superfuel-or-marketing-hype-visma-lease-a-bike-study-seeks-to-dispel-the-doubts\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"ketones: cycling superfuel or marketing hype visma-lease a bike study seeks to dispel the doubts\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-training\/ketones-cycling-superfuel-or-marketing-hype-visma-lease-a-bike-study-seeks-to-dispel-the-doubts\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"ketones: cycling superfuel or marketing hype visma-lease a bike study seeks to dispel the doubts\"}}\u0027>\n ketones: cycling superfuel or marketing hype visma-lease a bike study seeks to dispel the doubts\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"\u2018not my specialty but i\u2019m going to try\u2019: can mathieu van der poel pip pogacar at li\u00e8ge-bastogne-li\u00e8ge","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/not-my-specialty-but-im-going-to-try-can-mathieu-van-der-poel-deny-pogacar-at-liege-bastogne-liege\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/not-my-specialty-but-im-going-to-try-can-mathieu-van-der-poel-deny-pogacar-at-liege-bastogne-liege\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"\u2018not my specialty but i\u2019m going to try\u2019: can mathieu van der poel pip pogacar at li\u00e8ge-bastogne-li\u00e8ge\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/not-my-specialty-but-im-going-to-try-can-mathieu-van-der-poel-deny-pogacar-at-liege-bastogne-liege\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"\u2018not my specialty but i\u2019m going to try\u2019: can mathieu van der poel pip pogacar at li\u00e8ge-bastogne-li\u00e8ge\"}}\u0027>\n \u2018not my specialty but i\u2019m going to try\u2019: can mathieu van der poel pip pogacar at li\u00e8ge-bastogne-li\u00e8ge\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"wout van aert forced to skip the giro d\u2019italia: \u2018it\u2019s a big shame\u2019","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/wout-van-aert-forced-to-skip-the-giro-ditalia-its-a-big-shame\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/wout-van-aert-forced-to-skip-the-giro-ditalia-its-a-big-shame\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"wout van aert forced to skip the giro d\u2019italia: \u2018it\u2019s a big shame\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/wout-van-aert-forced-to-skip-the-giro-ditalia-its-a-big-shame\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"wout van aert forced to skip the giro d\u2019italia: \u2018it\u2019s a big shame\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n wout van aert forced to skip the giro d\u2019italia: \u2018it\u2019s a big shame\u2019\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"meet andrew august: the american rider is the youngest-ever worldtour pro","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/diamond-in-the-rough-youngest-ever-worldtour-pro-andrew-august-soaking-it-in-during-rookie-rollout\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/diamond-in-the-rough-youngest-ever-worldtour-pro-andrew-august-soaking-it-in-during-rookie-rollout\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"meet andrew august: the american rider is the youngest-ever worldtour pro\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/diamond-in-the-rough-youngest-ever-worldtour-pro-andrew-august-soaking-it-in-during-rookie-rollout\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"meet andrew august: the american rider is the youngest-ever worldtour pro\"}}\u0027>\n meet andrew august: the american rider is the youngest-ever worldtour pro\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"sean kelly: tadej poga\u010dar\u2019s giro-tour double prospects have leaped forward","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/sean-kelly-tadej-pogacars-giro-tour-double-prospects-have-leaped-forward\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/sean-kelly-tadej-pogacars-giro-tour-double-prospects-have-leaped-forward\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"sean kelly: tadej poga\u010dar\u2019s giro-tour double prospects have leaped forward\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/sean-kelly-tadej-pogacars-giro-tour-double-prospects-have-leaped-forward\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"sean kelly: tadej poga\u010dar\u2019s giro-tour double prospects have leaped forward\"}}\u0027>\n sean kelly: tadej poga\u010dar\u2019s giro-tour double prospects have leaped forward\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"patrick lefevere issues public apology over controversial comments: \u2018it was never my intention to harm anyone\u2019","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/patrick-lefevere-issues-public-apology-over-statements-it-was-never-my-intention-to-harm-anyone\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/patrick-lefevere-issues-public-apology-over-statements-it-was-never-my-intention-to-harm-anyone\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"patrick lefevere issues public apology over controversial comments: \u2018it was never my intention to harm anyone\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/patrick-lefevere-issues-public-apology-over-statements-it-was-never-my-intention-to-harm-anyone\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"patrick lefevere issues public apology over controversial comments: \u2018it was never my intention to harm anyone\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n patrick lefevere issues public apology over controversial comments: \u2018it was never my intention to harm anyone\u2019\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"chris froome \u2018comes to reality\u2019 that winning a fifth tour de france is \u2018very, very difficult\u2019","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/pogacar-vs-froome-in-his-prime-who-would-have-won-it-would-have-been-interesting\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/pogacar-vs-froome-in-his-prime-who-would-have-won-it-would-have-been-interesting\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"chris froome \u2018comes to reality\u2019 that winning a fifth tour de france is \u2018very, very difficult\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/pogacar-vs-froome-in-his-prime-who-would-have-won-it-would-have-been-interesting\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"chris froome \u2018comes to reality\u2019 that winning a fifth tour de france is \u2018very, very difficult\u2019\"}}\u0027>\n chris froome \u2018comes to reality\u2019 that winning a fifth tour de france is \u2018very, very difficult\u2019\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "}]' > >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>advertise >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>privacy policy >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>contact >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>careers >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>terms of use >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>site map >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>my newsletters manage cookie preferences privacy request healthy living.

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A beginner’s guide to the Tour de France

A little bit of history.

A snapshot of Tour de France history

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2019 Tour de France race route

Endurance cycling tips: a beginner’s guide, what the coloured jerseys mean.

Geraint Thomas during Tour de France 2018

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One of the most intense start lines in sports

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Riders must know TDF etiquette

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Following the race.

Team Sky during Tour de France 2018

Names to watch out for

Yellow jersey, green jersey, wout van aert explains how to breakaway from the bunch like a pro, a tour de france dictionary.

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Everything you need to know about cycling in France your independent guide

A Beginner's Guide to the Tour de France

Here are the answers to those simple questions you're too shy to ask as you await the arrival of the peloton. .

All the fun of the publicity caravan.

Get the official TDF Race Guide here

So what's so great about the Tour de France – it's just a bike race, right?

Hm, yes and, er, no. Yes, it's just a bike race, but no, it's not just any old bike race – it's the most famous, most challenging, most controversial bike race in the world. And it's the most prestigious of cycling's Grand Tours (Spain's Vuelta a España in September and the Giro d'Italia in May are the others). It’s also the world’s largest annual spectator event with millions of people lining the route to see the peloton go by.

You’ve lost me. What’s the ‘peloton’?

Sorry – that’s just means ‘pack’ or ‘group’, and it’s used to describe the main bunch of cyclists. If you’re watching in France, you might also hear some of the following: une étape: a stage of the race (the Tour is broken down into stages; one stage per day) la course: the race la tête de course: the stage leader (whoever’s winning on that particular day) un échappé: a breakaway rider (he’s broken away from the ‘peloton’) un  équipier (or  domestique): a support rider (he rides in support of the team leader in line with team tactics) une équipe: a team (there are nine riders in each team) le parcours: the route contre la montre: time trial (there are a few of these each Tour; they are timed individual or team stages rather than straight races)

The blur of the peloton. Photo: Alain Bachellier

So where can I see it?

The route changes every year but there’s a good chance that if you’re in France in July, you’ll be able to catch a stage or two somewhere without too much hassle – see our spectator’s guide for information on how to prepare and our map here to find accommodation near the route. The Tour always ends on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, but the Grand Départ – or start – changes every year.

The yellow jersey of Alberto Contador stands out from the crowd as the 2009 Tour de France arrives in Paris. Contador wore yellow into Paris the following year as well, but was stripped of his 2010 title after he returned a positive drugs test. Photo: Josh Hallett

How can I tell who’s winning?

There are a few different categories – or classifications – and the leader of each wears a different coloured jersey.

The overall leader – or general classification leader – wears the famous yellow jersey (or maillot jaune), which basically means he’s taken the least time so far over all of the stages combined.

The green jersey (or maillot vert) is for the general points classification and is usually contested by sprinters. Points are awarded at various times throughout the race for sprint sections of the course, and the green jersey is the cyclist who has accumulated the most points during the race.

The polka dot jersey is white with red dots, and it’s worn by the best climber. As with the sprint points above, points are awarded at various stages of the race for mountain sections of the course, with more points awarded for more difficult climbs. A grading system is used to rate the climbs, from fourth category for the easiest climbs through to first category for hardest climbs; the most gruelling of all are deemed 'hors categorie' – or 'beyond category'.

The white jersey is for the ‘best young rider’ – only those 25 years or younger in the year of the race are eligible.

There's also a teams classification category, with the winning team having the lowest culmulative overall time. The times are based on those of the team's first three riders across the line at the end of each stage.

What does the winner get (other than a yellow shirt)?

In 2014, whoever’s wearing the yellow jersey in Paris pocketed a cool €450,000. That was from a kitty of €2.2 million which was awarded to the winning teams and the riders of the various classifications.

What else do I need to know?

If you plan on watching the Tour de France in the flesh, you need to do little research beforehand to make sure you're there in plenty of time to see not just the race, but also the spectacle of the publicity caravan (basically a procession of advertising cars that throw out freebies and get the crowd in a festive mood).

You'll have to arrive super-early to beat the road closures ahead of the caravan's arrival – and also to nab the best vantage points. The start and finish of any stage can get crowded (though they're still lots of fun), but it's not hard to find a nice, sparsely populated stretch of country road or mountainside along the more remote sections of the route. See our spectator's guide for more details. As July approaches, we'll log more information on Freewheeling France, as well as on our Facebook and Twitter feeds, including details of local road closures.

See also the Tour de France in Numbers .

Join us on Twitter and Facebook

Related articles.

• 2019 Tour de France Official Race Guide
• 2024 Tour de France program and race guide
• 2023 Tour de France program and race guide
• 2022 Official Tour de France program and race guide
• 2021 Tour de France official program and race guide - OUT NOW
• 2020 Tour de France Official Race Guide
• Tour de France 2019 route: Stage-by-stage guide
• Tour de France 2024 route: Stage-by-stage guide

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Extra Time Media

A newbies guide to the tour de france.

Every year, millions of people around the world are captivated by the annual Tour de France.

If you aren’t one of these people and don’t understand what all the fuss is about, or if you simply don’t understand the rules and terminology, here is a quick primer so you can join in on the fun this year.

The Tour de France began in 1903, but the idea started the year before when a French newspaper wanted to generate some publicity and increase readership for their publication.

At the time, there were only two notable newspapers in the country with  Le V?lo being the most popular.  L’Auto was started as a rival publicationm but didn’t quite achieve the success its backers hoped.

The idea for a multi-day, multi-stage cycling race came from young G?o Lef?vre, the newspaper’s cycling reporter. During a crisis meeting, then 26-year old Lef?vre put forward the idea for Le Tour.

The concept was modified and shaped into a reasonable facsimile of what we see today: a race that traversed small towns in France, taking cyclists a few weeks of arduous rides to complete.

The first Tour de France wasn?t quite the high-performance, perfectly planned event we see these days. But its founders will doubtless deem it a  success (even in hindsight) because it obviously led to over a century of tradition. It did also boost the  readership of the newspaper, so it achieved its original goal.

The Tour de France has evolved since then, but much of it has remained the same. Every year, towns compete to be added as waypoints along the Tour de France route, and a committee selects those to join the prestigious ranks of those who have hosted the race for a day.

The race continues to attract riders from all over the world, though the prestige (and money) of the Tour de France attracts a much broader range of cyclists than in the race’s early years. The race itself is still a fantastic example of variety, as it is divided into large and small mountain stages, hilly sections of road, and flat sections for quick sprints.

What’s the deal with the Yellow Jersey at the Tour de France?

Many new Tour de France fans don’t understand why one rider wears a yellow jersey and why a new rider sometimes wears it the next day (don’t worry, they wash it first).

The yellow jersey, on the other hand, is well-known for being worn by the current overall race leader.

But just because a rider is wearing the Yellow Jersey does not mean they will be the winner in the end, although the final winner does ?win? the Yellow Jersey.

Other jerseys at the Tour de France

Other jerseys include a green jersey, a white jersey, and a polka dot jersey. They are given to the race’s overall points leader, the best young (under twenty-five years old) rider, and the best climber, in that order.

It comes in Stages and in teams at Le Tour

The race is divided into stages, as previously stated. The stages are sections of the race that are completed in a single day and add up to form the race as a whole.

Riders do take a break at the end of each stage?after all, they are only human?only to resume the next morning at the next stage.

Cyclists frequently compete as members of a team. Cycling may appear to be an individual sport, but teams have been a part of the Tour de France for a long time.

In a race, teams can help each other a lot by pacing each other, blocking off the competition, or ‘slip streaming? for maximum speed by riding directly behind one another. Previously, teams were organised based on the riders’ national origin, but now teams are organised based on sponsors.

The riders’ finishing positions in the Tour de France are determined by simply adding each rider’s time on each stage to get a total race time. The cyclist with the fastest overall time wins the Tour de France, joining a long line of legendary athletes dating back over a century.

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