Tour de France 2019: Prize Money, TV Schedule, Live Stream and Full Stage Info

The 2019 Tour de France begins on Saturday, with champion Geraint Thomas set to defend his title.

The competition will be the 106th edition of the most famous cycling event in the world.

Stage 1 will take place in Brussels, Belgium, with a 192-kilometre flat stage kicking off the action.

A prize pot of €2.3 million will be on offer, with the greatest cyclists on the planet in attendance.

Date: July 6 - July 28

TV: Eurosport, ITV (UK), NBC (U.S.)

Stream: Eurosport (via Sky Go), ITV Hub, NBC Sports

Prize Money: €500,000 for the winner (per the Tour's official website)

Preview

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Thomas shocked the world to capture the 2018 title for Team Sky, and the Welshman is part of a competitive field at this year's race.

Former champion Chris Froome is missing after sustaining serious injuries during a training ride before a stage at the Criterium du Dauphine.

Froome came third last year, with his team-mate racing to the win ahead of Tom Dumoulin.

The Tour provided a video outlining the 2019 stage information:

Dumoulin joins Froome on the sidelines with a knee injury, which opens the door to others in the peloton.

Egan Bernal will team up with Thomas as co-leader of Team Ineos, which now sponsors the team after Sky ended its association.

Bernal is young and hungry. The Colombian favours climbing, and this year's Tour has five mountain-top finishes that will benefit the 22-year-old's general classification chances. 

Astana veteran Jakob Fuglsang will also be in the mix for the title, but he is yet to prevail overall at a Grand Tour.

Fuglsang has impressed at the Vuelta a Espana, winning two time-trial stages, but there will be questions about his all-round skill and suitability.

Adam Yates should be a contender for Mitchelton-Scott this year, and the Brit has the climbing ability to attack individual stages.

He is the twin brother of Simon Yates and both are set to be on the start line in Belgium.

A full look at each stage and an event schedule can be viewed on the Tour's website.