Nine tips to help you enjoy the 2017 Tour de France

If you fancy following the Tour de France this year but aren’t exactly sure of the best way of going about that, just follow the tips below.

Beforehand

1. Read my brief and blunt explanation of the ins and outs of bike racing
2. Check out the tactics section of 2014’s interactive guide at the Guardian (I haven’t found a better one since)
3. Understand that different riders will be competing for different things – here’s a rundown of the various competitions
4. Familiarise yourself with a few of the main riders – yellow jersey contenders and green jersey contenders
5. Sign up for this site’s daily email

During the race

1. If you’re not near a TV, the official Tour site provides a nice graphic…
2. … while in recent years The Guardian has been best for live updates
3. If you’re in the UK, watch ITV4’s highlights package (which can also be found on the ITV Player)
4. Read the emails you get from this site. I’ll try and cover everything in one daily update.

[This is an updated version of last year’s tips for following the Tour de France]