At least it’s on in the morning, before the entire day has slipped away. But for you sad cyclists already in the office by then, here’s Le Tour’s own best way to utilize the worldwide web to follow all the action.

Web users following the Tour de France through the live coverage available on the official website hit 6.3 million unique users in 2008. This year a graphic revision of the presentation interface puts the viewers at the heart of the peloton. Other than the visual aspect, the amount of information available on the same window will be considerably increased thanks to the new design.

Online broadcasts will focus on the breakaway group and the gap registered on the pack that the developers of the new Tour live coverage have created. The riders will appear in action on the screen with the jersey of their teams or one of the leader’s jerseys worn. And thanks to the different points of view available, one can go from a large panorama on the state of the race to a zoom on one of the groups with the possibility to have access to a mini identity form of the riders.

Adding to the gaps registered and the kilometres to go before the finish of the stage, the live feed will also give the current and average speed, standings established at intermediate points as well as the results of the sprints and mountain climbs. The new navigation system will also give out in real time virtual classifications based on the positions of the riders during the stage.

This data will be commented and analyzed all day in the breaking news section where the web users will find tactical precisions, historical facts, interviews during the race of team director. As the tour directors say, “A complete kit for a keen fanatic!”

http://www.letour.fr/