Tour de France 2019: Route, Dates, and Where to Watch It
It’s almost that exciting time of the year again when Tour de France graces audiences everywhere. This ultimate show of physical prowess is set to prove an even bigger challenge in 2019, with five mountain top finishes.
This year, the Tour de France will span a total distance of 3,460km. It’s Grand Départ kicks off in Brussels, in honor of the 50th anniversary of five-time winner Eddy Merckx, who took his first victory in 1969. The entire race, however, will be a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the maillot jaune.
The 2019 Tour de France Route
The 106th edition of this beloved race will take place from 6 to 28 July, across 21 stages.
The first two stages will both happen in Brussels. After tackling some punchy climbing stages in the city, the riders will head south of the border to the Vosges Mountains in France. These mountains will be their first big challenge. It might highlight early GC contender splits before the stage finishes in La Planche des Belles Filles.
The teams will have to be in top form as they tackle the Massif Central next, where they will face some medium mountain ranges. But that’s only a tasty entreé to the high mountains of the Pyrenees. Here they will have to climb three high peaks along with an individual time trial.
The 14th stage of the Tour de France will see the weary contenders finishing at the top of Col du Tourmalet, which is one of the most popular climbs in the history of the race.
Next, it’s off to the South Coast, with a start in Nîmes. The race will continue into the Alps through Gap, which is where the final pivotal moments of this stage of the race will take place. Strenuous climbs await the contenders as they tackle the Col d’Izoard, Col du Galibier, and Col d’Iseran. From there, the final leg will see them sprint the last 33km climb to the ski resort of Val Thorens.
Stage Times
See the Tour de France website for a more detailed look into the overall route.
| Stage | Date | Start/Finish | Distance |
| 1 | July 6, 2019 | Bruxelles > Brussel | 192 km |
| 2 | July 7, 2019 | Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium | 27 km |
| 3 | July 8, 2019 | Binche > Épernay | 214 km |
| 4 | july 9, 2019 | Reims > Nancy | 215 km |
| 5 | July 10, 2019 | Saint-Dié-des-Vosges > Colmar | 169 km |
| 6 | July 11, 2019 | Mulhouse > La Planche des Belles Filles | 157 km |
| 7 | July 12, 2019 | Belfort > Chalon-sur-Saône | 230 km |
| 8 | July 13, 2019 | Mâcon > Saint-Étienne | 199 km |
| 9 | July 14, 2019 | Saint-Étienne > Brioude | 170 km |
| 10 | July 15, 2019 | Saint-Flour > Albi | 218 km |
| Rest Day | July 16, 2019 | Albi | |
| 11 | July 17, 2019 | Albi > Toulouse | 167 km |
| 12 | July 18, 2019 | Toulouse > Bagnères-de-Bigorre | 202 km |
| 13 | July 19, 2019 | Pau > Pau | 27 km |
| 14 | July 20, 2019 | Tarbes > Tourmalet Barèges | 117 km |
| 15 | July 21, 2019 | Limoux > Foix Prat d’Albis | 185 km |
| Rest Day | July 22, 2019 | Nîmes | |
| 16 | July 23, 2019 | Nîmes > Nîmes | 177 km |
| 17 | July 24, 2019 | Pont du Gard > Gap | 206 km |
| 18 | July 25, 2019 | Embrun > Valloire | 207 km |
| 19 | July 26, 2019 | Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Tignes | 123 km |
| 20 | July 27, 2019 | Albertville > Val Thorens | 131 km |
| 21 | July 28, 2019 | Rambouillet > Paris Champs-Élysées | 127 km |
Where to Tune in
Both Eurosport 1 and ITV4 will broadcast full live coverage of the whole 29 days along with expert analysis and daily highlights.
Those that don’t want to keep track of every live moment can catch finishing parts of each stage at around 5 pm (GMT+1), except for the first day, which ends at around 3 pm (GMT+1). There will also be daily highlights in the evenings.
Not everyone will have access to these two channels. However, many people will be able to stream the race on the internet. Networks like NBC and Francetv Sport have started streaming the race in addition to broadcasting it live on television.
Having Some Streaming Issues?
Unfortunately, bandwidth throttling is a major issue when it comes to streaming and could lead to missed moments.
Anyone who doesn’t want to miss any of the action can buy a VPN to make sure they have an uninterrupted experience. Shop around and make sure the VPN you choose has servers in the country you want to stream from.
The race is on this July. Make sure to tune in for one of the big three Grand Tours of the season.
