Unless you’re a hardcore cycling fan or a competitive cyclist, Le Tour de France can be tricky to follow if you don’t know the rules. 

Half of us don’t know the rules and don’t quite understand why getting to the front and winning each stage isn’t quite as crucial as you’d think. 

For those of us that need a quick and easy guide to help understand the largest cycling event of the year, we have put together a simple information sheet so we can all enjoy this exciting and prestigious event!

Le Tour de France Fact File

Duration: 3 weeks
Race Days: 21 days (only 2 days of rest)
Total Distance: 3,351km or 2,082 miles around France (This changes each year)
Stages: 21; consists of flats, mountain stages and sprint stages all of which, award different number of points depending on the position they finish each stage. There is also a midway line at each stage which also award points depending on the position when crossing this point. Each stage can last up to as much as 6 hours and travel as much as 230km. 
Riders: 176
Teams: 22 (8 riders in each team)

General Info:
Not every rider in each team will be there to win the Tour de France. Teams will often protect their best rider and play to their strengths. For example, if a teams’ best rider is a sprinter, they will protect their rider until the sprint stages and then allow the sprinter to try and win that particular sprint stage.

Jerseys of Le Tour:
Maillot Jaune (Yellow) - Overall Classification Leader (Completes the race in the quickest time)

Maillot Vert (Green) - Points Classification Leader (Accumulates the most points)

Maillot à Pois Rouges (Red & White Polka Dot) - King of the Mountains Classification Leader (Most Mountain Points)

White - Best Young Rider Classification Leader (Quickest time for those under 26)

Other Awards:

Combativity Award: Awarded to the rider that has showed ‘fighting spirit’.
Super Combativity Award: Awarded to the most aggressive rider throughout the whole race
Team Classification: Awarded to the top three highest-placed riders from each team. 

SO…who wins?

In the end, the yellow jersey seems to be the most important and thus one that attains this jersey is classified as the winner… or Le Tour de France Champion!