Calling all lycra and espresso fans – the 2024 Tour de France season is almost here, and excitement is building! If you’re a lover of the sport of cycling and want to keep across the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes, follow along below. Here’s everything you need to know about the events and how to watch live them from Australia.
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What’s the Tour de France?
For the uninitiated, Le Tour de France is an annual men’s cycling race. It is one of three grand tours that exist in the cycling world, the others being the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.
This year’s Tour has 21 stages: eight flat, four hilly, seven mountain stages, and two individual time trials. The total race length is 3,492km.
As of 2022, there is now also Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift to enjoy (we don’t know why it took so long, either). In 2024, the competition has eight stages: three flat, two hilly, and two mountain stages, with one individual time trial. The full length of the race is 946.3km.
When does the Tour de France 2024 start?
Okay, now onto the important stuff. When do both the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes 2024 start?
The first stage of the Tour de France begins on Saturday, June 29 with a 206km Italian stretch from Florence through to Rimini. The race is set to run through until July 21, 2024, and will conclude with a 33.7 km leg between Monaco and Nice. You can see the full route here.
Le Tour de France Femmes begins shortly after on Monday, August 12, with a 124km leg between Rotterdam and La Haye, and it will conclude on August 18 with a 150 km stretch between Le Grand-Bornand and Alpe D’Huez. Check out the map here.
Where can I watch the Tour de France in Australia?
Cycling fans can tune into the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes by watching live on SBS. Replays will also be available on SBS On Demand daily.
Coverage will begin each evening, usually between the hours of 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm (it varies), and will continue through to the wee hours of the morning.
What do the jersey colours mean?
As you may have picked up over the years, there are a number of different significant jerseys worn throughout the cycling comp. Certain colours represent specific achievements throughout the race.
The Yellow Jersey goes to the race leader, overall – it’s the one most people get excited about.
The Green Jersey is known as the sprinter’s jersey and goes to different riders according to sprint performance throughout stages.
The Polkadot Jersey goes to the race’s best hill climber.
The White Jersey is awarded to the best performing young rider (under 26 years old).
Now, the only thing left to do is to get your bike shorts prepped and wait patiently for the action to start.
This article has been updated to reflect details of the 2024 competition.
Lead Image Credit: Alex Broadway/Getty Images/Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images
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