Tour de France 2015: When does it start? Schedule, stages, map, teams, odds, TV info

The 102nd edition of the Tour de France begins this Saturday, July 4, and concludes on Sunday, July 26. There are a total of 21 stages, with one per day and two rest days breaking up the action.

It all begins with what is known as the Grand Depart – the first few days/stages of the Tour which begin from a country other than France. This year we begin in the Netherlands in what will be a record sixth time Holland has been given the honour. From there, the riders will compete in Belgium for two days before reaching France for the remainder of the Tour.

The 21 stages are set out as follows:

Nine flat stages

Three hilly stages

Seven mountain stages (including five summit finishes)

One individual time trial

One team time trial

Sure you can. Here’s a handy graphic, courtesy of the official Tour website:

Here are the teams taking part:

Ag2r-La Mondiale (Fra), Astana (Kaz), BMC Racing (US), Bora-Argon 18 (Ger), Bretagne-Séché Environnement (Fra), Cannondale-Garmin (Ita), Cofidis, Solutions Crédits (Fra), Etixx-Quick Step (Bel), Europcar (Fra), FDJ (Fra), Giant-Alpecin (Hol), IAM Cycling (Swi), Katusha (Rus), Lampre-Merida (Ita), Lotto NL-Jumbo (Hol), Lotto-Soudal (Bel), Movistar (Spa), MTN-Qhubeka p/b/ Samsung (SA), Orica-GreenEdge (Aus), Team Sky (GB), Tinkoff-Saxo (Den), Trek Factory Racing (US).

Britain’s Chris Froome, winner in 2013, is favourite at 13/8. Nairo Quintana is second favourite at 9/4, with Alberto Contador 4/1 and Vincenzo Nibali 9/2. They are your four to watch – the bookies see everyone else as a long shot for the overall win, with Thibaut Pinot all the way back at 25/1 as fifth favourite.

We’ll have every stage right here on Eurosport – you can tune in on Eurosport HD for the live action plus post-race reaction and studio analysis, or you can log in to Eurosport Player to watch anywhere online. Failing that, Felix Lowe will have every day covered on Eurosport.com in addition to video clips and more light-hearted Tour content than ever before courtesy of Blazin’ Saddles.

As you may have noticed, the overall victory (symbolised by the yellow jersey in the Tour de France) isn’t the only prize on offer each year. Here are the other wins various riders will be targeting.

Green Jersey: Awarded to the cyclist with the most ‘sprint points’. While the riders’ total race times are accumulated for the yellow jersey, points are also awarded stage-by-stage for who finishes first, second etc each day. Sprinters such as Mark Cavendish and Alexander Kristoff will be aiming for this, rather than yellow – especially with Marcel Kittel unable to compete.

Polka Dot Jersey: The most distinct apparel of the Tour is awarded to the best ‘climber’ of the event, known also as ‘King of the Mountain’. Much like points are awarded based on first over the finish line for green, points towards this jersey are awarded based on who is first over the top of each mountain/summit.

White Jersey: This jersey is decided in the same overall way as the yellow, but only young riders (under the age of 25 on January 1 of the year of that Tour) are considered towards this prize.