The 172 participants in this year’s Tour de France get their first rest day on Monday after completing nine of 21 stages across the country.
The two men who have won the last three editions — Jonas Vingegaard (2022) and Tadej Pogačar (2020, 2021) — sit atop the field, battling yet again for the most prestigious title in cycling.
This year’s champion will win nearly $550,000 — more than a fifth of the total prize pool of $2.52 million.
Each year, the exact route changes, but the Tour de France has finished at Paris’ Avenue des Champs-Élysées since 1975. This year’s race actually started in Spain, with the famous Grand Depart commencing from Bilbao — race organizers reportedly charged more than $13 million to begin the event there.
By the end of the 23-day span, riders will have covered 2,115 miles and visited 12 new host towns — some paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to attract the race.
Eyes On The Road
The Tour de France has a global media presence with hundreds of broadcast partners, but NBC Sports has the U.S. rights and has extended its contract through 2029 ahead of this year’s race. While financials weren’t released, NBC had reportedly been paying $8 million per year under its previous deal.
This year, most of the live coverage is streamed on Peacock, with encore presentations on USA Network and NBC.
