With five mountain top finishes over the total distance of 3,460km it looks set to be more of a legendary year for the polka dot jersey wearers, even with the special edition yellow jerseys being introduced to mark its 100th year. With Polka dot and yellow jerseys on SBProSport nobody needs to miss out.

The race beings in Brussels on Saturday July 6, across a leg aching 21 stages, finishing as usual on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday July 28.

The opening two stages both start and finish in the city of Brussels, with the opening stage a likely bunch finish that should see a sprinter claim the first special edition yellow jersey of the race, which features the iconic Atomium building.

The Tour starts in Belgium to celebrate the 50th anniversary of five-time winner Eddy Merckx’s first victory, who also features on one of the special edition jerseys.

From Brussels the race then heads southward into France with some sprint stages and into the Vosges Mountains. Here the riders will face their first test to the mountain-top finish of La Planche des Belles Filles, where the polka dot jersey will be the one to talk about.

Tough medium mountain stages await them on their way through the Massif Central, before they hit the Pyrenees for three high mountain stages and an individual time trial. On stage 14, the Tour de France will finish on the summit of the Col du Tourmalet, the most used climb in the history of the race.

Following the Pyrenees, the Tour will head along the south coast to Nîmes, where transition stages will take the riders into the Alps via Gap. Some huge stages feature here, with riders traversing the Alps’ highest paved road on the Col d l’Iseran as well as more Tour favourites including the Col d’Izoard and the Col du Galibier. 

The final competitive stage for the yellow jersey will finish to the ski resort of Val Thorens, a rarely used climb that will provide a grand stage for the final showdown. 

While there is the usual coloured jerseys will feature for the young riders (white) and sprinters (green), alongside the polka dot and the distinctive special edition yellow jerseys we particularly like the combativity prize that will be awarded to the most aggressive rider each day, while a super-combativity prize will be awarded to a rider at the end of the Tour, although now jersey this year we hope there will be going forwards. We’re thinking tiger stripes should feature in some way.  What do you think?