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le Tour de France, 2017

1st July - 23rd July, 2017

russian mountains on steroids

Route map of the 2016 Tour de France
 

Tour de France 2024

official website for le Tour de France
[also official website in French]

 

the cycling zone

la Vuelta a España, 2016 - let's climb!

La Vuelta 2016

giro d'italia 2018
il Giro d'Italia 2018 : Middle East meets West, climbing all the way

Giro d'Italia

 

TDF current and previous years, as seen by abelard.org:

russian mountains on steroids
2017 tour de france route
the stages for 2017
this year’s t-shirts
the teams, and team jerseys/colours
this year’s top ten seeded riders
last year (2016): the first ten riders
mountain stages, uphill and summit finishes
watching tdf broadcasts

Tour de France 2024

watching TDF broadcasts

Le Giro 2017    La Vuelta 2016

russian mountains on steroids

The Grand depart 2017 - Dusseldorf

Les montagnes russes is the French for a roller coaster. This year's Tour de France is so extreme in the climbs and endurance required, that in the French mountains are rolling on steroids!

With the Grand Départ opening in Dusseldorf, Germany, this year's Tour de France starts with an individual time-trial (ITT) running along both banks of the River Rhine. The second ITT is in Marseilles (stage 20) , starting and ending in the legendary (Orange) Vélodrome football stadium, the route punctuated by  a climb up to the Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde cathedral.

The 104th Tour de France visits three neighbouring countries, Germany, Belgium and Luxemburg, and 34 départements in France.

For the first time since 1992, the Tour will visit the five main mountain ranges of France: the Vosges, the Jura, the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and the Alps. This includes the first ever stage finish at the top of the Col d’Izoard on stage 18.


Racing up the Col d’Izoard 1:20 mins

2017 tour de france route

From Saturday 1st July to Sunday 23rd July, 2017, the 104th Tour de France will be raced during 21 stages, over a distance of 3,540 kilometres.

Route map of the 2017 Tour de France
Route map of the 2017 Tour de France

There will be:

  • 9 flat stages
  • 5 hilly stages with 1 hilltop finish (stage 3 Longwy)
  • 5 mountain stages with 3 summit finishes (stage 5 La Planche des Belles Filles, stage 12 Peyragudes, stage 18 Izoard)
  • 2 individual time trial stages
  • 2 rest days

    The 2017 Tour de France includes a total of 23 mountain and hill climbs, and altitude finishes ranked in second, first or HC class.

    This year's race includes all five of France's mountainous regions:

  • Vosges - 1 stage
  • Jura - 6 stages
  • Pyrénées- 8 stages
  • Massif central - 2 stages
  • Alps - 6 stages

There are 9 towns not previously visited:

  • Düsseldorf (1st stage and start of stage 2)
  • Mondorf-les-Bains (start of stage 4)
  • Nuits-Saint-Georges (finish of stage 7)
  • Nantua (start of stage 9)
  • Eymet (start of stage 11)
  • Laissac-Sévérac l’Église (start of stage 15)
  • Romans-sur-Isère (finish of stage 16)
  • La Mure (start of stage 17)
  • Izoard (finish of stage 18)
  • Salon-de-Provence (finish of stage 19)

There is also a special treat for lovers of French history and culture: stage 12. On the 12th July, before the six categorised climbs, the peleton passes through the rich vein that is the region of Bas Armagnac in the east of the département of Les Landes. The race rides through the fortified town of La Bastide d'Armagnac and passes by the very special Chapelle de Notre-Dame des Cyclistes. There is also an intermediate sprint at Aire-sur-Adour.

time bonuses and points continue

BONUSES
Reintroduced in 2015, time bonuses will be awarded at the finish of 'normal', flat, stages. These bonuses are 10, 6 and 4 seconds for the first three in each stage.

POINTS
The points system is said to add value to the stage wins, and to encourage more competition earlier on in the race. Points are awarded both for intermediate sprints during a stage, and at the stage finish of every 'normal' stage.

The green jersey is awarded to the leader of the points classification. These points will be given out at the finishes of each stage as well as on the unique intermediate sprints of normal stages.
The spotty (polka dot) jersey is awarded to the leader of the best climbers’ classification, the King of the Mountains. Points are be awarded at the top of each Col or Côte and the three altitude finishes :


The 2017 route in 3D, 5:02 mins

New translation, the Magna Carta

the stages for 2017

[Note: blue links go to profile section on this page,
            yellow links go to associated pages at abelard.org]

1 Germany : Düsseldorf > Düsseldorf 
Sat. 1 July [14 km / 9 mi]
individual time-trial
12 Pau  > Peyragudes
Thurs. 13 July [214.5 km / 133 mi]
summit finish - 1,580 m, 5.7 km at 8.4%
2 Germany : Düsseldorf > Belgium : Liège
Sun. 2 July [203.5 km / 126 mi]
13 Saint-Girons  > Foix
Fri.
14 July [101 km / 63 mi]
3 Belgium : Verviers  > France : Longwy
Mon.. 3 July [212.5 km / 132 mi]
uphill finish - 1.6 km at 5.8%
14

Blagnac  > Rodez
Sat. 15 July [181.5 km / 133 mi]

4 Luxembourg :Mondorf-les-Bains  > France :Vittel
Tues. 4 July [207.5 km / 129 mi] transitional
15 Laissac-Sévérac l'Église  > Le Puy-en-Velay
Sun. 16 July [189.5 km / 118 mi]
5 Vittel  > La Planche des Belles Filles
Tues. 5 July [160.5 km / 100 mi]
uphill finish - 6 km at 8.5%, 1035 m
R rest day - Le Puy-en-Velay
Mon. 17 July
6 Vesoul  > Troyes
Wed. 6 July [216 km / 134 mi]
for sprinters
16 Le Puy-en-Velay  > Romans-sur-Isère
Mon. 18 July [165 km / 103 mi] transitional
7 Troyes  > Nuits-Saint-Georges
Thurs. 7 July [213.5 km / 133 mi]
17 La Mure  > Serre-Chevalier
Wed. 19 July [183 km / 114 mi]
8 Dole > Station des Rousses
Fri. 8 July [187.5 km / 117 mi]
almost uphill finish - 11.7 km at 6.4%
18 Briançon  > Izoard
Thurs. 20 July [179.5 km / 112 mi]
summit finish - 2360 m, 10.1km at 7.2%
9 Nantua  > Chambéry
Sun. 9 July [181.5 km / 113 mi]
three hors categorie climbs
19 Embrun  > Salon-de-Provence
Fri. 21 July [222.5 km / 138 mi]
R rest day - Dordogne
Mon. 10 July
20 Marseille  > Marseille
Sat. 22 July [22.5 km / 14 mi]
individual time-trial
10 Périgueux  > Bergerac
Tues. 11 July [178 km / 111 mi]
21

Montgeron > Paris Champs-Élysées
Sun. 23 July [103 km / 64 mi]

11 Eymet  >Pau
Wed. 12 July [203.5 km / 126 mi] transitional
 

There will be 21 stages. These include 5 high mountain stages, 5 medium mountain/hilly stages, and two individual against-the-clock (stages 13 and 18) [contre-le-montre] time trials. There are 2 rest days (10th and 17th July). All other days are 'on the plain' - relatively flat days, almost touring through some of France. The total distance ridden will be about 3,540 kilometres, or roughly 2,200 miles.

this year’s t-shirts

Continuing the trend to play safe, the souvenir t-shirts for this year are very tame. Here's a few.

Perhaps incredibly, the best of the crop is the back of the t-shirt derived from this year's poster:

TDF t-shirt TDF t-shirt affiche
'Poster t- shirt : 20€

The Grand Départ provides these two:

TDF t-shirt TDF t-shirt
Grand Départ t- shirt : 30€ Grand Départ t-shirt : 25€

the teams for 2017

There are twenty-two teams taking part in the 2017 Tour de France. As well as the eighteen “ProTeams”, UCI World Teams, four 'wildcard' teams have been invited:
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits (Fra)
Direct Energie (Fra)
Fortuneo-Vital Concept (Fra)
Wanty-Groupe Gobert (Bel)

AUSTRALIA
Orica-Scott (ORS)

BAHRAIN
Bahrain–Merida (TBM)

BELGIUM
Quick-Step Floors (QST)
Lotto Soudal (LTS)
Wanty-Groupe Gobert (WGG)

FRANCE
AG2R La Mondiale (ALM)
* Cofidis, Solutions Credits (COF)
* Direct Energie (DEN)
FDJ (FDJ)
* Fortuneo – Vital Concept/Fortuneo-Oscaro (FVC)

GERMANY
Bora–Hansgrohe (BOH)
Team Giant – Alpecin (TGA)
Team Sunweb (SUN)

GREAT BRITAIN
Team Sky (SKY)

ITALY
Lampre-Merida (LAM)

KAZAKSTAN
Astana Pro Team (AST)

NETHERLANDS
Team Lotto NL – Jumbo (TLJ)

SOUTH AFRICA
Team Dimension Data (DDD)

SPAIN
Moviestar Team (MOV)

SWITZERLAND
IAM Cycling (IAM)
Katusha–Alpecin (KAT)

UAE
UAE Team Emirates (UAE)

USA
BMC Racing Team (BMC)
Cannondale–Drapac (CDT)
Trek – Segafredo (TFS)

team jerseys/colours

2017 TDF team jersey
2017 TDF team jerseys

this year’s top ten seeded riders

  Name Betting odds
at 29/6/17
UCI Team Code Nat. Comments
1 Chris FROOME 11/8 SKY GBR

31 y.o. Winner of 2016, 2015 and 2013 TDFs, 2nd in 2012 TDF, bronze medal in 2012 Olympics time trial, 4th in 2012 Vuelta.
His 1m 83/6ft 2 ins contributes to being a strong climber and time-trialer.

2

Richie PORTE

13/8 BMC AUS 32 y.o. Until this year, acting as Chris Froome's 'bag man' in Team Sky. With changing teams, Richie Porte is showing his real capabilities. He has exceptionally strong climbing legs - essential in this year's TDF.
3 Nairo QUINTANA 13/2 MOV COL 27 y.o. Winner 2014 Giro and best young rider (White Jersey). Runner up to Froome in 2013 and 2015 TDF. Althugh his slight build makes Quintana a natural climber, he has not shown great stamina so far this year.
4 Alberto CONTADOR 14/1 TST ESP 34 y.o. Won 2012 Vuelta. Stripped of 2010 TDF and 2011 Giro titles for doping.
Refusing to admit his glory days are over, Contador persists and persists and persists, wanting still to win the TDF again. Realistically, Contador doesn't have a chance.
5 Fabio ARU 14/1 AST ITA

Winner 2015 Vuelta and 2nd in 2015 Giro, 6th in 2016 TDF. Injured, Aru did noot cycling in the 2017 Giro.

Another strong climber, as required in this year's TDF.

6 Jakob FUGLSANG 16/1 AST DAN 32 y.o. Won 2017 Critérium de Dauphiné, including two stage wins - stage 8 beating Chris Froome and Richie Porte. Won silver in 2016 Olympic road race.
7 Alexandro VALVERDE 17/1 MOV ESP 37 y.o. 4th in 2014 TDF, 3rd in 2015 TDF, 6th in 2016 TDF, 3rd in 2016 Giro.
Returned to racing in 2012 after 2-year suspension for doping. Nickname: El Bala (The Bullet).
8 Romain BARDET 22/1 ALM FRA 26 y.o. 2nd in 2016 TDF, being only the 6th Frenchman to make the TDF podium.
9 Geraint THOMAS 33/1 SKY GBR (Wales) 31 y.o. 1st 2016 Paris-Nice (by 4 seconds against Contador), 1st 2017 Tour of the Alps (Giro del Trentino); withdrew from 2017 Giro, injured.
10 Louis MEINTES 66/1 UEA AFS 25 y.o. 8th in 2016 TDF, 8th in 2017 Critérium de Dauphiné, 6th in 2017 Tour of the Basque Country.

last year (2016): the first ten riders

Position No. Name First name Team Nat. Time diff.
1 1 FROOME Chris SKY GBR 89h 04' 48"
2 41 BARDET Romain AGR FRA + 4' 05"
3 11 QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexande MOV COL + 4' 21''
4 209 YATES Adam ORS GBR + 4' 42''
5 91 PORTE Richie BMC AUS + 5' 17''
6 12 VALVERDE Alejandro MOV ESP + 6' 16''
7 141 RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin KAT ESP + 6' 58''
8 157 MEINTJES Louis LAM RSA + 6' 58''
9 184 MARTIN Daniel EQS IRL +7' 04''
10 36 KREUZIGER Roman TNK CZE + 7' 11''
             
Overall winner FROOME Christopher 1 SKY GBR 89h 04' 48"'
(Yellow Jersey)
By points SAGAN Peter   TNK SVK 470 pts
(Green Jersey)
Climber

MAJKA Rafal

  MOV COL 209 pts
(Polka dot Jersey)
Under 25

YATES Adam

  ORS GBR 89h 09' 30"
(White Jersey)
Combativity

SAGAN Peter

  TNK SVK 92h 31' 57''
Team winner

MOVIESTAR TEAM

ESP 267h 20' 45"

mountain stages, uphill and summit finishes

Stage 3, 3rdJuly - Belgium : Verviers  to France : Longwy- the final 1.6 km

At the end of this flat stage there is a sudden short, sharp shock of a 1.6 km climb. While the average gradient is 5.8%, there is an intermediate portion at 11% , ready to challenge and maybe surprise at the end of this fast stage.

Uphill finish to stage 5
Stage 5 final 1.6 km

Stage 5, 5th July - Vittel  to La Planche des Belles Filles

Starting with relatively minor climbs, this stage builds in difficulty with an intermediate sprint at the start of the Category 3 climb. The race's end is a gruelling Category 1 climb, emphasised by a near-impossible 20% gradient last kilometre.

Stage 5 profile
Stage 5 profile

Stage 5 final 6 km
Stage 5, final 6 km

Stage 8, 8th July - Dole to Station des Rousses, including la Combe de Laisia-Les Molunes (1 202 m)

After two introductory category 3 and 2 climbs comes the 11.7 kilometre-long climb to the summit of la Combe de Laisia-Les Molunes (1 202 m). This ascent averages 6.4%, before an undulating 11 km to the stage finish.

Stage 8 profile
Stage 8 profile

Stage 8, final 23 km
Stage 8, final 23 km

Stage 9, 9th July - Nantua  to Chambéry

A grinding day of seven categorised climbs, including three Hors catégorie climbs. The second - up le Grand Colombier - has 3 km of a gravity-defying 22% gradient amongst the 8.5 km ascent averaging 9.9%.

Stage 9 profile
Stage 9 profile

Stage 9, the two Hors Category (HC) climbs
Stage 9, the two Hors Categorie (HC) climbs

Stage 9, final Hors Categorie (HC) climb
Stage 9, final Hors Categorie (HC) climb

Stage 12, 13th July - Pau  to Peyragudes

Another gruelling day of six categorised climbs- it's les montagnes russes (a rollercoaster) on steroids.

Km 64.0 - Côte de Capvern: 7.7 kilometre-long climb at 3.1% - category 4
Km 111.5 - Col des Ares (797 m): 7.4 kilometre-long climb at 4.6% - category 2
Km 139.5 - Col de Menté (1,349 m): 6.9 kilometre-long climb at 8.1% - category 1
Km 184.0 - Port de Balès (1,755 m): 11.7 kilometre-long climb at 7.7% - category H
Km 209.5 - Col de Peyresourde (1,569 m): 9.7 kilometre-long climb at 7.8% - category 1
Km 214.5 - PEYRAGUDES (1,580 m): 2.4 kilometre-long climb at 8.4% - category 2.

Stage 12 profile
Stage 12 profile

Stage 9, final Hors Categorie (HC) climb
Stage 12, final Hors Categorie (HC) climb

Stage 18, 20th July - Briançon  to Izoard

A surprisingly hard day, with another crescendo of difficulty and stamina demands. First, the category 3 Côte des Demoiselles Coiffées, a 3.9 kilometre-long climb at 5.2%. Then up to the 2,109 m category 1 Col de Vars, with its 9.3 km climb at 7.5%. The climax of today's cycling performance is the 14.1 km climb up to the 2,360 m summit of the Col d'Izoard. This Hors Categorie climb averages 9%, with three sections of 9.5%, 9%, and 10%.

Stage 18 profile
Stage 18 profile

Col de Vars, - 9.3 km at 7.5% Col d'Izoard - 7.1 km at 7.8%
Col de Vars, - 9.3 km at 7.5% Col d'Izoard - 7.1 km at 7.8%

Stage 20, 22nd July - Marseille to Marseille, individual time trial

The second individual time trial starts and ends at the famous Vélodome football stadium, recently renamed for its new sponsors. Added to the fierce drum of cycling agaiinst the clock is the sharp climb up to Marseille's cathedral, Notre Dame de la Garde.

Second ITT, Maerseilles
Second ITT, Maerseilles


Safety 'clip' 2016, 30 secs

watch tdf broadcasts

We will provide this information when it is available, closer to the race start.


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