Bonjour, France! This year, the 2018 Tour de France already started on 7 July 2018 from Noirmoutier-en-l’Île or the island of Noirmoutier, in the Vendée department in the west-central region of France, and will finish with the Champs-Élysées stage in Paris, on 29 July 2018. A total of 176 riders across 22 teams are participating in the 21-stage race.

Tour de France is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. It consists of 21 stages, one stage for each day, over a 23-day period and covers around 3,500 kilometres. Tour de France was first organized in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper L’Auto. Today, it is currently run by the Amaury Sport Organisation.

All of the stages of Tour de France are timed to the finish; the riders’ times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest cumulative finishing times is the leader of the race and wears the yellow jersey. This is called the general classification, the oldest and most sought after classification in the Tour de France. Other contests held within the Tour are the points classification for the sprinters, the mountains classification for the climbers, young rider classification for riders under the age of 26, and the team classification for the fastest teams.

Tour de France is also known for its publicity caravan. It is a procession of colorfully decorated trucks and cars, from companies and brand owners, preceding the riders. Commercial samples are usually thrown out from the trucks and cars to the crowd along the Tour de France course.

If you are in Paris on 29 July 2018, make sure to head to Champs-Élysées to watch the final stage of the 2018 Tour de France live! If you are not in Paris, you could still watch the 2018 Tour de France from your television channel or streaming television.

So which team do you support for the 2018 Tour de France? Let us know!