The broadcast area moves with every stage
Tour de France is broadcast in 190 countries and the TV networks that cover the event live set up their broadcast booths in an area 5,000 m2 large at the finish line of each day’s stage. This technical area includes 120 trucks, 60 km of cable, and 90 commentators talking excitedly in their booths. All of this has to be torn down and packed up at the end of every day and set up again at the finish line of the next day’s stage.
And this isn’t even the whole operation. Overall, there are 500 people on the TV production team. Live footage comes from 5 cameramen on motorcycles that ride with the cyclists and 2 helicopters that follow the race. The video and sound feeds from all of these sources are sent to a high-frequency (HF) helicopter, which then sends it to 2 HF aeroplanes that fly above. The planes then send the feed to HF dishes set up in the technical area at the finish of the stage. Quite the coordinated effort to make sure people around the world can follow the race live as it unfolds.
The peloton of Škoda cars
The TV motorcycles are not the only vehicles on the road with the cyclists. Far from it. Škoda, one of the race’s main sponsors, provides the Tour organisers and teams with 205 cars. Each team gets 2 cars to follow the peloton and support their riders. With 22 teams, that makes 44 cars. On top of that, there are 3 neutral Shimano support cars and one motorbike, 2 medical cars, 1 medical motorbike, 7 ambulances, and a radiology truck following the peloton. But the most recognisable car on the road is always the Race Directors’ red Škoda Enyaq from which he waves off the start of each stage.
Talking about vehicles, we can’t forget to mention the publicity caravan that traces the race route several hours ahead of the peloton. The caravan includes 170 vehicles that are wildly decorated to represent over 35 sponsors, carrying 600 people and millions of small memorabilia to be thrown to spectators on the sides of the roads. The caravan is 12 km long and takes over 30 minutes to drive by.
12 million spectators
Talking about spectators, it’s expected that 12 million people will line the roads to see the race. That means roughly 500 thousand per day for each day of the Tour. This dwarfs every other sporting event, including the Olympics with around 8 million in second place, and the Rugby World Cup with 4 million in third place. Plus, unlike most sporting events, the fans at the Tour are usually within arm’s reach of the riders, especially on those high mountain stages.
23,000 police officers
With this many people involved, the organisers need to make sure everyone is safe. Security of the peloton and the spectators is provided by a 50-member motorcycle squadron, 3,000 agents from the Departmental Councils, 12 full-time police who travel with the Tour and 23,000 police officers and gendarmes who secure the route. On top of this, there are 28,000 traffic signs put up to warn the riders of dangers on the road.
40,000 hotel beds
There are 21 days of racing during the 23 days of the Tour and this entire show travels from one stage to the next every day. The Tour organisers book over 40,000 bed-nights in 210 hotels for their staff and the teams every year. Thinking of the number of spectators who have to make their own arrangements, it’s easy to see why French towns and cities are excited to host the Tour.
