The 21-day, 2,175-mile Tour de France is the most prestigious cycling race in the world. The purse consists of $3.85 million, of which $515,000 goes to the winner.

Organization

4,500 accompanying people

1,500 vehicles

60 permanent staff

200 temporary staff

180 service providers

14 medical staff

1,200 hotel rooms reserved daily

Security

13,000 "gendarmes"

45 "gardes républicains"

9,000 police staff

3,000 government officials from the French Ministère de l'Équipement

Public

15 million spectators

Men: 68 percent - Women: 32 percent

71 percent under 50

42 percent under 34

76 percent of all French people have attended a stage of the Tour at least once

Brand recognition (a measure of how well known the TDF is): 96 percent in France, 90 percent in Europe

30 percent of spectators in the mountain stages are foreign, representing 22 nationalities

Publicity Caravan (follows the riders)

200 vehicles

40 brand names represented

11 million gifts distributed

Media

2,300 accredited journalists

1,200 reporters, photographers, camera operators and TV directors

1,100 technicians and drivers

TV Coverage

78 channels in 170 countries

2 billion viewers

2,400 hours of TV coverage

Internet

350 mllion pages viewed in 2004 (+17 percent from 2003)

7.7 million unique visitors

The Course

Running from Saturday, July 2, to Sunday, July 24, the 92nd Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 2,175 miles. Among the 21 stages, nine will be flat, three will be medium mountain stages, six will be full mountain stages, two will be individual time-trial stages, and one will be a team time-trial stage.

Source: Tour de France official Web site