Raymond Poulidor died in November 2019. With his grandson Mathieu van der Poel in the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, this is a repost of an obituary that appeared here in tribute, in case readers want some background on Poulidor, his time in the sport and what he meant, and perhaps still means, to part of the public in France.

Poulidor was a champion cyclist and made a name for himself as a loveable loser, a moral winner and a dependable emblem of rural France during a period of societal change. His reputation reaches far beyond cycling and there are Poulidors in sport, politics and life.

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More Brittany and the finish at Mûr-de-Bretagne. It’s a small climb but in recent years it has bothered several GC contenders like Tom Dumoulin and Vincenzo Nibali.

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Brittany is a region that ranks alongside the Basque Country, Flanders and Tuscany as one of the hotbeds of cycle racing. Many riders in today’s peloton are from the region, several champions from the past hail from here, two teams in the Tour have a Breton identity, another has a Breton sponsor while one of the Tour’s jerseys is sponsored by a Breton firm.

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The Tour de France starts with a hilly stage in Brittany, the region of France where cycling is really embraced by the public. That public should be out in force today as the weather looks clement and the sanitary situation in France means people have the OK to enjoy the Tour from the roadside.

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A look at the contenders and pretenders for Tour de France.

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Who’s got the muscle, the bustle and the hustle for the Tour de France sprints… and the mental arithmetic for the points competition. Peter Sagan can target an eighth green jersey, his hardest challenge yet as the route suits the pure sprinters. If Caleb Ewan can start a winning streak then he can be in green and it’s the prospect of a contest that is the most exciting.

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Here’s the 2021 Tour de France route and reference guide. Yes the Tour de Suisse is still on and so is the Tour of Slovenia but all roads lead to Brittany at the moment.

There’s a profile of every stage with a quick summary of the day’s course. You’ll also find references for time bonuses, the points scale for the green and polka-dot jersey, time cuts, prize money and plenty more. If you want to come back between now and July, just visit inrng.com/tour or click on the Tour guide from the menu above.

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ASO have announced more details of the women’s Tour de France set for 2022. We already knew it will start in Paris before the men arrive and then have seven more stages, now a lot of details such as sponsorship and television coverage have been announced.

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The racing comes so thick and fast at times that you can’t watch it on TV, you need a computer screen with multiple windows open. Last week you could watch the Tour of Slovenia, the Belgium Tour, the Route d’Occitanie and the Tour de Suisse all at the same time. This week? Not much.

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As a pre-Tour test this was an interesting race and very different to last year.

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