If the riders thought the first week was tough, it’s not about to get any easier. As the Tour travels from Lavaur and Lyon, we take you through all that will come in between.

Fasten your seatbelts for an unusually lumpy first week of racing that will take the peloton from the Med to the Massif Central.

As global uncertainty continues, pro cyclists and fans around the world have reason to rejoice this week with the long-awaited return of road racing. And even though it might feel a little different to seasons gone by, the pre-race excitement is just as palpable.

Though the outcome had a familiar feel, the 2019 Tour was undoubtedly one of the most challenging and entertaining in recent memory. As the race scaled its highest peaks, some riders soared, others succumbed to exhaustion, and some even had to shelter from snow.

Is Alaphilippe growing stronger or weaker in yellow? Can Thibaut Pinot hold his form? Who is leading Ineos? And, just how much hotter can it get? Our third gallery of images from the Tour chronicles six stages that have given rise to more questions than answers.

After a week that saw the yellow jersey lost and regained, narrow time gaps on the climbs and gaping chasms in the crosswinds, our latest photo essay tells the tale of a tumultuous week at the Tour.

Meandering across l’Hexagone, the Tour is quintessentially French, taking in the full gamut of Gallic landscapes. But for most of us, the mountains are what matters. With the Tourmalet in the rear view mirror, this instalment of the digital Doppio takes a look at the remaining summit finishes on this year’s Tour.

Watch racing, go roadside.

Every year the Étape du Tour gives mere mortals the chance to go behind the barriers and experience the life of a pro. On closed roads, nearly 10,000 riders follow the same route as the queen stage, grinding up the climbs, swooping down the descents and finishing, arms aloft, atop a mountain summit.

From a Grand Départ in the capital of Europe via a puncheur’s paradise in the capital of champagne to a sprint showdown in Nancy, we paint a picture of the Tour so far.

Mike Woods is one of the peloton’s most engaging characters and, surprisingly to some, a Tour debutant. Before you get to know him better in the next episode of EF Gone Racing, we caught up with the Canadian climber to quiz him on his teammates.

A balance of high-altitude adventures and set-piece sprints, entertaining fans and empathising with riders, planning the Tour is no mean feat. On the eve of the great race, the second instalment of the digital Doppio reviews each of the Tour’s twenty-one stages.

In the first of four double-shots of digital road racing reportage to be published in July, we review the runners and riders in this year’s Grand Boucle.