During the 3,492km (2,170-mile) race, the riders will face seven mountain stages, including visits to the Pyrenees and Alps.
In addition, there will be two individual time trials. This year’s La Grande Boucle will end with a race against the clock, which won’t happened since 1989, the year Greg LeMond famously beat Laurent Fignon by eight seconds to win the yellow jersey.
Sport examines every phase of the demanding 21-stage competition, assessing potential winning and losing positions.
Throughout the Tour, this page will be updated with the winner and a succinct report after every stage.
The Tour stops in Florence, Italy, where the Grand Depart happens for the first time.
It’s one of the most difficult opening stages in recent memory, with seven classified ascents and 3,600m of climbing on the menu before what may be a quick final 25km to the line. The lumpy route heads east to Rimini on the Adriatic coast.
The race’s second stage takes competitors over the undulating hills of northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region to Bologna, passing by the renowned Imola motor racetrack and the roads used by Julian Alaphilippe to win the 2020 World Championship.
The final two hills, which total 1.9 km at a 10.6% grade to the sanctuary of San Luca, should serve as the puncheurs’ ideal springboard.
