Le Tour de France Cycling Tour

Map of Tour de France

Introduction to Le Tour de France

As with most cycling races, competitors enter as part of a team. The race consists of 20 to 22 teams with nine riders each. Traditionally, entry is extended to invitation only, with invitations granted only to the best of the world's professional teams.

The Tour is a stage race, each stage being a one day race and this year there will be 21 stages. The time each rider takes to complete each stage is accumulated. Riders are often awarded time bonuses as well as their prize for finishing. Riders who finish in the same group are awarded the same time. Two riders are said to have finished in the same group if there is less than the length of a bike between them. A rider who crashes in the last three kilometres is given the time of the group in which he would have otherwise finished.

The ranking of riders by accumulated time is known as the General Classification. The winner is the rider with the least accumulated time after the final day.

There are subsidiary competitions within the race, some with distinctive jerseys for the best rider.

The classification for the famous Leaders jersey's are:

• Yellow Jersey for the General Time Classification.
• Green Jersey for the General Points Classification.
• White and Red Polka-Dotted Jersey for the Best Climber Classification.
• White Jersey for the Best Young Rider, for riders no more than 25 years old in the year of the race.

Tour de France Route

The tour de France 2008 begins with the Grand Depart on 5 July in Brest and concludes in great style on 27 July at the Champs d'Elysee in Paris.

The three week race will be made up of 21 stages and will cover just over 3500kms.

These 21 stages have the following profiles: 10 flat stages, 5 mountain stages, 4 medium mountain stages and 2 individual time-trial stages.

Distinctive aspects of the race include: 4 mountain finishes, 2 rest days, 82 kilometres of individual time-trials and 19 Category 1, Category 2 and highest level passes will be climbed.

Tour De France 2008 Locations and Dates

Date	From	To	Distance	Notes
5 July 2008	Brest	Plumelec	195km	Flat
6 July 2008	Auray	Saint-Brieuc	165km	Flat
7 July 2008	Saint Malo	Nantes	195km	Flat
8 July 2008	Cholet	Cholet	29km	ITT
9 July 2008	Cholet	Chateauroux	230km	Flat
10 July 2008	Aigurande	Super-Besse Sancy	195km	MM
11 July 2008	Brioudes	Aurillac	158km	MM
12 July 2008	Figeac	Toulouse	174km	Flat
13 July 2008	Toulouse	Bagnères-de-Bigorre	222km	HM
14 July 2008	Pau	Lourdes/Hautacam	154km	HM
15 July 2008	Pau			rest day
16 July 2008	Lannemezan	Foix	166km	MM
17 July 2008	Lavelanet	Narbonne	168km	Flat
18 July 2008	Narbonne	Nimes	182km	Flat
19 July 2008	Nimes	Digne-les-Bains	182km	Flat
20 July 2008	Digne-les-Bains	Pratonevoso	216km	HM
21 July 2008	Cuneo			rest day
22 July 2008	Cuneo	Jauziers	157km	HM
23 July 2008	Embrun	L'Alpe d'Huez	210km	HM
24 July 2008	Bourg d'Oisans	Saint-Etienne	197km	MM
25 July 2008	Roanne	Montlucon	163km	Flat
26 July 2008	Cerilly	Saint-Amand-Montrond	53km	ITT
27 July 2008	Etampes	Paris/Champs-Elysées	143km	Flat
Total Distance			3500km

Key: MM = Medium Mountains / HM = High Mountains / ITT = Individual Time-Trial

L'Etape du Tour

L'Etape du Tour is French for 'stage of the tour' and as an organised event (by the Amaury Sport Organisation), allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a Tour de France stage. This will take place on Sunday the 6th of July 2008 and will follow the exact route of stage 10 of the 2008 Tour de France.

L'Etape is usually mapped out over mountain roads and this year the race will return to the Pyrenees. It will start from the city of Pau and will finish on top of the Hautacam mountain, which towers above the pilgrim city of Lourdes at 1520m high.

Getting Organised

It would be a crime to visit France for the Tour de France and not sample the many delights that France has to offer. We suggest that you combine your passion for this tour de France history event with an unforgettable trip with friends or a family holiday that everyone can enjoy.

The location of the tour travel through some of the most beautiful parts of France. There are hundreds of different ways for everyone to enjoy the Tour de France 2008. So don't wait any longer and make your reservation for your accommodation today by exploring the nearby properties with availability.

We advise you to start researching and booking now to ensure that you find a property to enjoy that will best suit your requirements.

Great Places to Stay for Tour de France 2008

To find out more about de France tour travel, simply click on the links provided on the right side of this page.  Also tour de France travel package (as above) will be found by referring to the links on the right. The links will be helpful in finding available accommodation in the towns or area where the tour de France route passes through.