The 2017 edition of La Course by Le Tour de France is streaming live for Canadian viewers exclusively on FloCycling.tv. This year's race will feature an exciting new format which includes a grueling mountaintop finish on July 20 and a pursuit-style second stage on June 22 in Marseille.

Race Schedule: (LIVE STREAM)

Thursday, July 20 stream start: 3:55 AM EST
Saturday, July 22 stream start: 6:55 PM EST

Race Description:

A legendary mountain pass…
On Thursday, July 20, just a few hours before the arrival of the peloton of the Tour de France, the women will have the honour of fighting it out on the formidable Col d'Izoard as part of the fourth edition of La Course by Le Tour. The rider who raises her arms just after she passes the Casse Déserte will become a cycling legend. However, the stage victory is not the only thing at stake that day. Those cyclists who finish within five minutes of the winner will earn the right to take part in an exceptional event just 48 hours later. On Saturday, July 22, the day before the arrival of the Tour de France in Paris, and with a start and finish inside the mythical Orange Vélodrome, they will participate in a completely new race format. This will delight not only the riders but also the 67,000 spectators expected in the stadium that day, as well as the fans along the roads leading to Marseille.

A completely new type of race...
While the men will fight an individual time trial that day on the streets of Marseille, the women will embark on an unprecedented race format. Instead of starting every minute, or every two minutes -- usually the case in a time trial -- they will start in the Orange Vélodrome based on the time differences recorded a few days earlier in the stage ending at the Col d'Izoard. This will provide an authentic pursuit in a spectacular setting, with the possible groupings of riders making the event a completely random one. The aim for the competitors is simple: reach the finish line first in the Orange Vélodrome.

Women's cycling: looking ahead to the future...
This new race format will put the female champions in the spotlight and allow the whole world to discover a completely new kind of race by taking advantage of the media exposure of the Tour de France, the third most popular sports event in the world. It will be an important event to promote women's cycling and will allow new races in the sporting calendar. This approach is shared with the partners of La Course, starting with Groupe FDJ, which continues its encouragement of women's sport and cycling in particular. It is also a format that will delight sports fans in general, as it combines suspense and tactical battles and is easy to understand. It emphasizes what makes cycling beautiful: the first to cross the finish line wins the race!