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When does the Tour de France start, who are the contenders and how can I watch it?

 (AFP via Getty Images)
(AFP via Getty Images)

The Tour de France gets underway on Saturday 26 June as the best cyclists in the world prepare to do battle over three weeks and more than 2,000 miles of riding.

Both ITV 4 and Eurosport UK will bring live coverage of each stage to British cycling fans as the world’s most famous bike race travels from Brest to Paris.

And it promises to be one of the most exciting editions of the Tour following last year’s dramatic finale which saw Slovenians Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar duke it out on the penultimate day, with the latter prevailing with an epic individual time trial.

Ten months on, Roglic and Pogacar remain the men to beat among the top contenders. But then you look at Team Ineos Grenadiers and start to feel their strength in depth could prove vital as the race goes on.

Dave Brailsford’s outfit boasts four men who are all capable of winning the race in 2018 Tour champion Geraint Thomas, Giro d’Italia winners Richard Carapaz and Tao Geoghegen Hart, and Tour podium placer Richie Porte.

Ineos failed to win the Tour last year for the first time since 2014. But they bounced back with Geoghegen Hart’s Giro win towards the end of 2020 and have started 2021 superbly with another win at the Italian Grand Tour thanks to Colombian Egan Bernal.

Other outside contenders for the race win include the likes of Movistar pair Miguel Angel Lopez and Enric Mas as well as 34-year-old Rigoberto Uran.

And then there is also the joker in the pack when it comes to enigmatic world champion Julian Alaphillipe, who French fans still hope can become the country’s first winner of the race since Bernard Hinault in 1985.

Britain’s four-time winner Chris Froome will take to the start line for the race as he embarks on a first Tour with his new team Israel Start-Up Nation.

However, since his high-speed crash in 2019 the 36-year-old has shown nothing to suggest he can compete with the general classification big boys and is expected to ride in support of leader Michael Woods.

Needless to say there are a plethora of riders who will fancy their chances at this year’s race, which includes two decent sized individual time trials.

For UK cycling enthusiasts, there is also the small matter of 30-time stage-winning sprinter Mark Cavendish returning to the Tour for the first time since 2018.

The race gets underway with a stage from Brest to Landerneau on Saturday 26 June, with the final stage from Chatou to Paris (Champs-Élysées) taking place on 18 July.

When does it start?

The Tour de France starts at12.10pm CEST (11.10 BST) on Saturday 26 June and will run to 18 July.

Where can I watch?

The race will be shown on ITV4 and Eurosport with coverage beginning on the opening day at 9am.

Fans will also be able to stream coverage online as well as catch up with anything they missed on the ITV Hub.

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