France, Germany, Belgium gear up for Tour de France

The gruelling Tour de France gets under way on Saturday with a 14km time trial in Dusseldorf.

Following the Grand Depart in Germany, where one of the sprint kings will win the honour of wearing the 2017 Tour's first yellow jersey, the 3,500km, three-week race begins in earnest, with the 198 riders racing a 203.5km route from Dusseldorf to Liege, Belgium.

The 104th Tour will finally reach France on the third day, another 200km-plus ride from Verviers to Longwy in the northern Meurthe-et-Moselle departement. A short, steep hill climb to finish the fifth stage should begin to sort some of the serious contenders from the rest of the field.

Things start to get difficult as the race enters the second week, with the first of the tough hors categorie climbs in the Jura mountains. Three come in quick succession, with the last - on Mont de Chat - expected to be a race killer for some.

The peloton then heads to the Pyrenees, where Stage 12, from Pau to Peyragudes, will be another brute. The last 50km of the 215km stage features flat sections to take a breather, and it includes another hors categorie climb.

After a short 100km dash on Bastille Day, riders who love nothing better than a good breakaway will enjoy themselves over a couple of stages before the second rest day of the race. The 17th stage includes two nasty hors categorie climbs, including a strength-sapping 35km climb up the Galiber. It is followed by another mountainous day up the Izoard.

After a penultimate-day time trial in Marseille, the race ends with the traditional procession to the Champs-Elysee on July 23.

In its 104-year history, the Tour has visited every departement in France, but some are more popular than others. Franceinfo has created a search facility which allows people to see how often the race has visited their department in its 100-plus years.