MAIN Recreation Sports Tour de France 2012

The 99th Tour de France kicks off to an early start this year beginning on Saturday, June 30 to allow riders to prepare for the 2012 London Olympics commencing on July 27, 2012.

Starting in Leige, Belgium, the 2012 Tour continues on for 21 stages to the Champs-Elysees Paris finish on Sunday, July 22, 2012.

Starting in the north, the world's most famous bicycle race winds its way down toward a traditional Paris finish after covering almost 3,600 kilometres over a route ranging from pleasantly flat .... to treacherously steep and mountainous.

2012 Tour de France on TV

In the U.S., cable channel Versus will be providing live coverage, while OLN traditionally features Tour de France televised coverage in Canada.

Across the pond, ITV4 broadcasts live coverage in the UK from every stage of the tour. Elsewhere in Europe, Eurosport covers the race from start to finish. In Australia, live coverage and next-day highlights will be featured on SBS.

Tour de France 2012 Stages & Schedule - UNOFFICIAL

Time Trial Flat Stage Medium Mountain Stage Mountain Stage

Sun	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	30 Sat Prologue Leige 6.1 km
1 Sun Stage 1 Leige > Serainge 198 km	2 Mon Stage 2 Vise > Tournai 207 km	3 Tues Stage 3 Orchies > Boulogne-sur-Mer 197 km	4 Weds Stage 4 Abbeville > Rouen 214 km	5 Thurs Stage 5 Rouen > Saint-Quentin 197 km	6 Fri Stage 6 Epernay > Metz 210 km	7 Sat Stage 7 Toblaine > La Planche des Belles Filles 199 km
8 Sun Stage 8 Belfort > Porrentruy 154 km	9 Mon Stage 9 Arc-et-Senans > Besancon 38 km	10 Tues Rest Day	11 Weds Stage 10 Macon > Bellegarde-sur-Valserine 194 km	12 Thurs Stage 11 Albertville > La Toussuire-Les Sybelles 140 km	13 Fri Stage 12 Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Annonay 220 km	14 Sat Stage 13 Saint Paul Trois Chateaux > Cap d'Agde 215 km
15 Sun Stage 14 Limoux > Foix 192 km:	16 Mon Stage 15 Samatan > Pau 160 km	17 Tues Rest Day	18 Weds Stage 16 Pau > Luchon 197 km	19 Thurs Stage 17 Luchon > Peyragudes 144 km	20 Fri Stage 18 Blagnac > Brive 215 km	21 Sat Stage 19 Bonneval > Chartres 52 km
22 Sun Stage 19 Rambouillet > Paris 130 km

Tour de France around the Web

Elsewhere on the Web, get the complete picture of the 99th annual Tour de France in 2012 with video presentations, photos, up-to-the-minute blog reports and more on Tour de France stats, records and history ...

Tour de France 2012 - The complete route map, news flashes in real time, plus updated classifications, positions, gaps between the riders, video and photos of the competition. In English and French.

2012 Tour de France Live Dashboard - A treasure trove of online information on the route, stages, teams, photos and worldwide TV schedules.

BBC Sport | Cycling - Complete news coverage including feature articles, video clips, photos, a complete rider list, rider and team profiles, and a Tour de France Guide to Bikes.

Yahoo! Sports - Cycling - The latest Tour de France news off the wires of AP, Reuters, and more plus feature stories, photo gallery.

Bicycling.com - The cyber version of the print publication with feature articles, special Tour de France coverage along with the latest updates, standings & photos, plus more on general cycling tips, online forum, related links.

also see in Recreation -> Biking

also see -> Sport Cycling | Olympic Cycling