Tour De France 2015: Prize Money, TV Schedule, Live Stream and Full Stage Info
The 2015 Tour de France, the biggest stage race in cycling, will start in the Netherlands on Saturday, July 4.
Last year's race was filled with incident and crashes, but it ultimately proved to be anything but exciting as Vincenzo Nibali cruised to victory. This year's edition features a stacked group of favourites vying for their share of the reported $2.6 million prize money, according to Time's Lily Rothman.
There are a total of 21 stages awaiting the peloton, beginning with a prologue in Utrecht and ending on the wide-open streets of the Champs-Elysees in Paris, the traditional final stage of the Tour. For the first time in years, there is no long individual time trial on the schedule, and instead, the specialists will have to make their mark in a team time trial.
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For viewers from the UK, ITV4 and British Eurosport will carry full coverage of the 2015 Tour de France, while NBCSN will provide the broadcast for viewers from the U.S. You can access the ITV Player app or NBC's Live Extra service to find live streams.
Here's a quick look at the stages for the 2015 Tour de France:
| 1 | 4 July | 13.8 km (9 mi) | Utrecht – Utrecht | Individual time trial |
| 2 | 5 July | 166 km (103 mi) | Utrecht – Neeltje Jans | Flat stage |
| 3 | 6 July | 159.5 km (99 mi) | Antwerp – Huy | Medium-mountain stage |
| 4 | 7 July | 223.5 km (139 mi) | Seraing – Cambrai | Flat stage with cobblestones |
| 5 | 8 July | 189.5 km (118 mi) | Arras – Amiens | Flat stage |
| 6 | 9 July | 191.5 km (119 mi) | Abbeville – Le Havre | Flat stage |
| 7 | 10 July | 190.5 km (118 mi) | Livarot – Fougères | Flat stage |
| 8 | 11 July | 181.5 km (113 mi) | Rennes – Mûr-de-Bretagne | Medium-mountain stage |
| 9 | 12 July | 28 km (17 mi) | Vannes – Plumelec | Team time trial |
| 10 | 14 July | 167 km (104 mi) | Tarbes – La Pierre Saint Martin | Mountain stage |
| 11 | 15 July | 188 km (117 mi) | Pau – Cauterets | Mountain stage |
| 12 | 16 July | 195 km (121 mi) | Lannemezan – Plateau de Beille | Mountain stage |
| 13 | 17 July | 198.5 km (123 mi) | Muret – Rodez | Medium-mountain stage |
| 14 | 18 July | 178.5 km (111 mi) | Rodez – Mende | Medium-mountain stage |
| 15 | 19 July | 183 km (114 mi) | Mende – Valence | Hilly stage |
| 16 | 20 July | 201 km (125 mi) | Bourg-de-Péage – Gap | Medium-mountain stage |
| 17 | 22 July | 161 km (100 mi) | Digne-les-Bains – Pra Loup | Mountain stage |
| 18 | 23 July | 186.5 km (116 mi) | Gap – Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne | Mountain stage |
| 19 | 24 July | 138 km (86 mi) | Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne – La Toussuire - Les Sybelles | Mountain stage |
| 20 | 25 July | 110.5 km (69 mi) | Modane – Alpe d'Huez | Mountain stage |
| 21 | 26 July | 109.5 km (68 mi) | Sèvres – Paris | Flat stage |
Key Stages
There's no way around it: The 2015 Tour de France is going to be a dreadful one for the peloton, even by the Tour's standards. There are a total of seven stages in the high mountains, along with a number of tricky uphill finishes earlier in the Tour.
All eyes will turn toward the final stretch of stages after the second rest day, and in all likelihood, that's where the Tour will be won or lost. There's no individual time trial to make up valuable time, and while the team time trial will give the specialists a chance to shine, it's hard to really build a lead in such an event.
The first pivotal day will be Stage 4, for a very simple reason: cobblestones. Last year, Chris Froome didn't even make it to the cobblestones, crashing out of the Tour during a rain-soaked Stage 5:
One only has to look at a highlight package of Paris-Roubaix to see what kind of effects cobblestones can have. Even when it's dry, they can lead to plenty of punctures and equipment failure, forcing riders to waste energy returning to the peloton. Crashes are common, and they only become more common as soon as it rains.
Last year, Vincenzo Nibali's run to the yellow jersey started when Froome hit the asphalt, sucking the excitement out of the Tour in the process. Avoiding crashes is a pivotal skill for top riders, and Stage 4 will test the peloton in that regard.
The first real mountain stage comes after a rest day, so expect plenty of fireworks during Stage 10. Both the French climbers and favourites for the general classification will be keen to show their form, and the finish at La Pierre Saint Martin is brutal. It will be key for the top guys to have strong support in this stage, and no man would benefit more than Alberto Contador.
The Spaniard is trying to become the first rider to claim the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in the same year since Marco Pantani did it in 1998, and after his hard-fought win in Italy, he's not nearly as fresh as the likes of Froome and Nairo Quintana. Tinkoff-Saxo head sport director Steven de Jongh likes the team that will help Contador in his endeavour, however, as he told VeloNews.com:
"Looking at the list of riders that will represent our team, I reckon that we will field a very strong squad and most importantly versatile, as the Tour will present us all with an array of different challenges. Alberto [Contador] is our captain and Rafal Majka will be his key support in the high mountains, while Kreuziger, Rogers, and Basso will offer experience and strong backing in the medium mountains. Then we have a lot of horsepower in Bennati, Tosatto, and Valgren for the flatter stages, and they will also be able to help Peter [Sagan] in the search for stage wins.
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Peter Sagan will have plenty of assistance as well, but Ivan Basso and Rafal Majka will be the key helpers in the high mountains.
Their biggest test will undoubtedly be Stage 19 and 20. There are three monstrous climbs on the way to La Toussuire, which is already one of the most feared uphill finishes on the Tour. This is where the yellow jersey will be forced to defend his lead against a wave of attacks, and there's a good chance the top helpers will be spent by then.
But it gets worse. The very next day, the peloton face the most infamous climb in the Tour's rich history: Alpe d'Huez. As shared by Freewheeling France, the Galibier will unfortunately not be part of the stage due to issues with local authorities, but the profile remains daunting, to say the least:
CyclingNews TV provided a preview for the stage, and they didn't mince words:
Froome is an excellent climber, but under normal circumstances, he should struggle keeping up with the likes of Quintana and Contador if they decide to let it all out on the flanks of Alpe d'Huez. He's struggled with the winding roads in the past, and at this point, everyone in the peloton is exhausted. There simply won't be much help when the attacking starts.
Sir Dave Brailsford, the Team Sky general manager, recently spoke to BBC Radio 4 to explain how the other riders will have to protect Froome:
This year's Tour looks brutal, and it certainly favours the smaller climbers over the all-around favourites or the time-trial specialists. With plenty of interesting finishes in the first week―the Mur de Huy always provides fireworks―the peloton will be pushing the tempo from Day 1 in what should be a Tour for the ages.
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