La Manche is ready to welcome the 198 riders of the 103rd Tour de France. They'll be introduced to the public on Thursday in Sainte-Mère-Eglise ahead of the start of stage 1 at Mont-Saint-Michel on Saturday.

1500 fun riders have paved the way

1500 cyclists have taken part in L'Etape du Grand Départ on the course of stage 1 on Sunday, June 26. 600 of them completed the whole route from Mont-Saint-Michel to Utah Beach (189km) and carried on to the fun zone located in Carentan. Others opted for a shorter distance as three options were on offer. 12% of the participants were female, which is a record for an ASO organized mass participation event.

Teams presentation on live streaming

A large crowd is expected for the teams' presentation on Thursday, June 30, at Sainte-Mère-Eglise. But the event will be visible worldwide for the first time in live streaming on the Tour de France Daily Motion channel and Facebook Live as well as on Eurosport. The top riders will be interviewed by race speaker Marc Chavet while several teams are rumoured to show up with newly designed kits. Bib numbers will be allocated in the following order:

Team Sky: 1 > 9

Movistar Team: 11 > 19

Astana Pro Team: 21 > 29

Tinkoff: 31 > 39

AG2R La Mondiale: 41 > 49

Team Lotto NL-Jumbo: 51 > 59

Trek-Segafredo: 61 > 69

IAM Cycling: 71 > 79

Cannondale Pro Cycling Team: 81 > 89

BMC Racing Team: 91 > 99

Team Dimension Data: 101 > 109

Team Giant-Alpecin: 111 > 119

FDJ: 121 > 129

Bora-Argon 18: 131 > 139

Team Katusha: 141 > 149

Lampre-Merida: 151 > 159

Lotto Soudal: 161 > 169

Direct Energie: 171 > 179

Etixx-Quick Step: 181 > 189

Cofidis, Solutions Crédits: 191 > 199

Orica GreenEdge: 201 > 209

Fortuneo-Vital Concept: 211 > 219

First Grand Départ in La Manche

For the first time in the history of the Tour de France, the Grand Départ is held in the province of La Manche in Normandy. The headquarters are located in Saint-Lô. They're due to open at 2pm this Wednesday, the same day the 198 riders are expected to reach their hotel. 700 volunteers are busy preparing for the D-day at Mont-Saint-Michel on Saturday. A total of 437 kilometres of racing will be held in La Manche, a record for a single province in a single edition of the event, during the first three stages.