Jean-Etienne Amaury, president of the Amaury Sport Organisation, opened proceedings in front of a star-studded crowd at the Palais des Congres in Paris, before race directors Marion Rousse and Christian Prudhomme unveiled both courses in their entirety.
In a first for the women’s Tour, the peloton will begin outside of France, in Rotterdam on August 12, with a further two more stages set to take place in the Netherlands.
The fourth stage will then venture into Liege, Belgium, for a classic-of-sorts, before riders finally enter France on Stage 5. From there, the mid-mountains in Morteau await, followed by a mountaintop finish at Le Grand Bornard and the daunting finale of L’Alpe d’Huez.
In total, eight stages – three flat, two hilly, two in the mountains, and one time trial – await all 154 riders, along with 946 kilometres spread out across three countries.
Meanwhile, the men’s Tour features a first-ever Grand Depart in Italy and will conclude outside Paris for the very first time due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Instead, Nice will host the thrilling finale in a 34-kilometre time trial that begins in Monaco and could well decide the yellow jersey.
The Italian opener will last three stages before the peloton journeys into France, though parts of San Marino and Monaco also feature along the 3,492-kilometre route.
In total, 21 stages – eight flat, four hilly, seven in the mountains, and two time trials – will take place over 23 days, with the Apennines, the Alps, Massif Central and Pyrenees likely to host key GC battles.
SBS and SBS On Demand will deliver live coverage of both events along with full replays, highlights, news and analysis from June 29 to August 18.
