Tour de France 2021: When and Where to Watch in Australia

Calling all lycra and espresso fans – the 2021 Tour de France is almost here and excitement is building! If you’re a lover of the sport of cycling and want to keep across this year’s Tour, follow along below. We’ve got a sweet little wrap up ready for you.

What’s the Tour de France?

For the uninitiated, the Tour de France is an annual men’s cycling race that is predominantly held in France. It is one of three grand tours that exist in the cycling world, the others being the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.

Le tour lasts 23 days and is made up of 21 stages: 8 flat, 5 hilly, 6 mountain stages, and 2 individual time trials. The entire course runs for 3,417.5 km.

When does the Tour start?

The first stage of the 2021 Tour de France begins on Saturday, June 26. This would be the 197.8km stint from Brest to Landerneau.

How can I watch each stage of the race in Australia?

Cycling fans can tune into the Tour by watching live on SBS. The broadcast will air between 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm each day. Replays will also be available on SBS On Demand daily.

Are there any Australians competing this year?

There are 10 Aussies taking part in the event this year. Keep an eye out for the following names as you’re watching along.

Richie Porte (Ineos Grenadiers), Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange), Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), Ben O’Connor (AG2R-Citroen), Lucas Hamilton (Team BikeExchange), Luke Durbridge (Team BikeExchange), Harry Sweeny (Lotto Soudal), Simon Clarke (Qhubeka Assos), Miles Scotson (Groupama-FDJ).

Full team lists can be found here if you’re interested in reading on.

What do the jersey colours mean?

As you may have picked up over the years, there are a number of different significant jerseys worn throughout the Tour de France. Certain colours represent specific achievements throughout the race.

The Yellow Jersey goes to the race leader, overall – it’s the one most people get excited about.

The Green Jersey is known as the sprinter’s jersey and goes to different riders according to sprint performance throughout stages.

The Polkadot Jersey goes to the race’s best hill climber.

The White Jersey is awarded to the best performing young rider (under 26 year’s old).

If you’d like to see more on the 2021 Tour de France, you can check out the full route here and see specifics on stage times in Australia here.

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