Overview
- Lorena Wiebes sprinted to victory in Lausanne on Saturday to win stage 1 and take the race leader's yellow jersey.
- Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has begun her title defence after planning her season around the Tour and aims to repeat last year’s overall win.
- Demi Vollering arrives as the pre-race favourite after a Giro d'Italia triumph and gained four bonus seconds by finishing third on the opening day.
- Race organisers say this edition is the toughest yet with a record nine-stage course of about 1,175 km and nearly 19,000 metres of climbing that includes a 21 km Dijon time trial and the Mont Ventoux summit finish.
- All nine stages stream live on Peacock in the United States, global broadcasters are carrying coverage, and the edition is intensifying debate about rider health and public scrutiny as the peloton heads into the decisive tests.