NBC SPORTS PRESENTS LIVE AND PRIMETIME COVERAGE OF THE 105th TOUR DE FRANCE BEGINNING SATURDAY, JULY 7, AT 5 A.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBC and NBCSN to Feature Live Coverage of All 21 Stages of Tour de France

Live, Commercial-Free Coverage Of Every Stage from Start to Finish and Exclusive Features Available with NBC Sports Gold ‘s “Cycling Pass”

New Production Elements Include Stage Previews from Christian Vande Velde Featuring Real-Time Biometric Data, and A Camera Focused on Steve Porino as he Reports from a Motorcycle on the Course

Nightly Tour Primetime Show on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 28, 2018 – NBC Sports will present a record 365+ hours of live, primetime, and encore coverage of the 105th Tour de France, across NBC, NBCSN, and the NBC Sports Gold app. Daily live coverage of the Tour de France, including all 21 stages, begins Saturday, July 7, at 5 a.m. ET with Stage 1 on NBCSN. NBC Sports Gold’s live coverage of Stage 1 begins Saturday at 4:40 a.m. ET. Coverage continues each week night with the Tour Primetime show featuring a look at the day’s most compelling action with new analysis, interviews, and updates. Coverage culminates with the final stage on Sunday, July 29, live at 9:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN.

The 2018 Tour de France will cover a total distance of just over 2,080 miles, and begin in Noirmoutier-en-l’île, France, where competitors will ride along sea shores of Vendée. Great Britain’s Chris Froome (Team Sky) returns to defend his 2017 title and makes a run at a fifth career and fourth consecutive victory. His challengers include Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) of Colombia, who looks for his first Tour de France title after finishing second to Froome in 2013 and 2015, 2014 Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain–Merida) of Italy, Richie Porte (BMC Racing Team) of Australia, who clinched the overall victory at the 2018 Tour de Suisse, and Mikel Landa (Movistar Team) of Spain. American Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team) returns to the Tour de France after being absent in 2017, and is expected to be a strong support rider to Porte.

Phil Liggett (play-by-play) and Paul Sherwen (analyst), the voices of cycling, will call the race action for NBC Sports’ coverage. The 105^th Tour de France marks Liggett and Sherwen’s 33rd year calling the race together. Liggett and Sherwen will be joined in France by former professional cyclist and analyst Jens Voigt. Voigt won the Critérium International a record five times, and has two Tour de France stage wins. Paul Burmeister will host daily pre-race, post-race and primetime studio coverage, along with former professional cyclist and analyst Christian Vande Velde and analyst Bob Roll. Steve Schlanger and Steve Porino (‘Inside-the-Race’) will serve as reporters.
PRODUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

NBC Sports Group will integrate several features into its coverage of this year’s Tour de France, including:

• Vande Velde will preview critical points on seven key stages of the Tour. On several of these previews, the audience will be presented with onscreen telemetry showing his speed, watts and heart rate. The glasses he’ll be equipped with feature the same technology used by U.S. fighter pilots in the visors of their helmets, and HD re cording of his perspective and data will be used during NBC Sports’ coverage;
• For the first time, Porino will have a camera focused on him as he reports Inside-the-Race to offer real-time updates on race situations, while traveling aboard a motorcycle on the course;
• Real-time data of course gradients;
• 3-D animated maps that track where the riders are in real-time on the route.

NBC Sports Group’s coverage will include real time speeds of both the leaders and the peloton, and additional maps that show more detailed versions of the finishes and each mountain climb.

NBC and NBCSN will also utilize several production enhancements, including a pointer feature which will easily identify and focus on one rider in the peloton and exclusive profiles and features on teams and riders.
DIGITAL COVERAGE

In addition to live TV coverage of the Tour de France, NBC Sports Digital will once again provide extensive digital coverage of all 21 stages of the race.

NBC SPORTS GOLD: NBC Sports Gold – NBC Sports Digital’s direct-to-consumer live streaming product – features live, commercial-free, start-to-finish coverage of every stage of the Tour de France, and includes two ways to watch -- an ad-free World Feed with nearly 20 bonus hours of coverage, or the NBC Sports telecast feed featuring commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.

NBC Sports Gold’s live stream of the 2018 Tour de France also includes access to a live GPS tracking map to follow the riders’ progress, an enhanced interactive map for each stage, the ability to pause the video, full stage video replay, highlights, and short‐form video clips, and more.

Before the Tour:

• Stage-by-stage descriptions and previews, featuring historical stage and technical information, as well as travelogue vignettes
• Breakdown of top contenders
• Full event replays of every stage of the 2017 Tour de France

During the Tour:

• Live streaming video
• More than 30 hours of exclusive bonus HD video coverage
• Full stage video replays including highlights, stage recaps, and rider interviews
• Route and stage previews, course and stage maps, elevation profiles, and stage descriptions
• GPS race tracking presented in three ways: a list of rider groups on the road, a live profile of the stage, and a live map of the stage
• Live stage results and detailed standings
• Rider profiles by country and team
• News feed for each stage providing minute-by-minute updates from the race, and real time commentary feeds from media covering the Tour

The platform will host the data in easy-to-use organized tabs, including “Feed” for news, “Track” for GPS, “Standings” for rider standings in every jersey category, “Riders” for comprehensive rider information, and “More” for additional data about the Tour and NBC Sports Gold’s coverage.

The NBC Sports Gold app is available on Apple iOS, Android, Apple TV V4, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast, and online at NBCSportsGold.com. NBC Sports Gold is powered by Playmaker Media, NBC Sports Digital’s technology service which provides end-to-end support for companies in need of best-in-class live streaming and VOD solutions.

The “Cycling Pass,” which gives fans in the U.S. access to premiere cycling races from July 2018 through June 2019, can be purchased in advance of the 2018 Tour de France for $49.99 by visiting NBCSportsGold.com.

NBC Sports Gold is powered by Playmaker Media, NBC Sports Digital’s new technology service which provides end-to-end support for companies in need of best-in-class live streaming and VOD solutions.

NBC SPORTS GROUP SOCIAL MEDIA: Fans can keep up with the Tour de France through NBC Sports Group’s social media platforms throughout the race, including exclusive behind-the-scenes photos, interviews, video clips, up-to-date news reports and stories from around the cycling world through the NBC Sports Cycling Facebook page and @NBCSNCycling on Twitter. In addition, fans can visit https://www.nbcsports.com/tour-de-france for a live stream schedule, stage maps, results, routes and more.

NBC SPORTS GROUP’S 2018 TOUR DE FRANCE SCHEDULE (subject to change, all times ET)***All live coverage on NBC and NBCSN is also available on NBC Sports Gold and the NBC Sports app:

--NBC SPORTS GROUP--