2017 Tour de France Preview

2017 Tour de France route

The 2017 Tour de France begins on Saturday, July 1 with an 8 mile time trial. The Tour begins in Dusseldorf, Germany this year. It will go through Belgium and Luxembourg before entering France. Most of the first day's route will be along the Rhine River. It isn't until stage 9 that the riders will hit the mountains. That stage will have three out of category climbs on it. The riders to watch for this year's race are:

1. Chris Froome is the defending champion and three-time winner of the Tour de France.
2. Richie Porte has been strong this year - Perhaps this is his year to win the TDF.
3. Nairo Quintana has two seconds and one third at the TDF. He's a tremendous climber but not so good on time trials.
4. Romain Bardet is France's top hope to win.
5. Alberto Contador has won the Tour de France twice. Can he do it again at age 34?

NBC Sports and NBC will provide live television coverage of the 2017 Tour de France. We'll have it on at the store. If you haven't followed the TDF before, you might want to visit our Understanding the Tour de France webpage to learn some of the race terms.