Tour de France kicks off in Lille with Czech rider Bittner

The 112th Tour de France starts today in Lille with just one Czech rider in the peloton: 22-year-old Pavel Bittner of team Picnic PostNL. This year’s race revives the rivalry between Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar and Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, who have split the last five titles. The opening stage is a flat 184.9-kilometre loop beginning and ending in Lille. For the first time since 2020, the entire 3338.8-kilometre Tour will stay within French borders. It includes six mountain stages, six hilly ones, seven flat stages, and two individual time trials. The race concludes on July 27 in Paris.