The Tour de France is a men's multiple-stage road bicycle race primarily held in France. It is classified as a "stage race" and is one of the three Grand Tours, alongside the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España
. Key characteristics of the Tour de France race type:
- Stage race: The race consists of 21 day-long stages over about 23 or 24 days, covering roughly 3,500 kilometers in total
. Each stage is timed individually, and riders' times are accumulated to determine the overall leader.
- Varied terrain: The stages include flat stages favoring sprinters, hilly stages for puncheurs, mountain stages with challenging climbs for climbers and general classification contenders, and time trials
- General classification (GC): The main competition is based on the lowest cumulative time across all stages. The leader wears the yellow jersey (maillot jaune)
- Additional classifications: Besides the GC, there are competitions for points (sprinters, green jersey), mountains (climbers, polka-dot jersey), young riders (white jersey), and teams (team classification)
In summary, the Tour de France is a prestigious, multi-week professional road cycling stage race that tests riders across various terrains and disciplines, emphasizing endurance, climbing, sprinting, and time-trialing abilities
