The official website of the Tour de France is accessed at LeTour.fr. Although, somewhat counterintuitive, the domain name captures the popular identity of the event. Whereas the logo of the Tour is modern and dynamic, the website's splash page – displaying pictures of the race jerseys – is unfortunately rather static. The splash however does redirect visitors to sites in local languages, honoring the international flair of this event.

TV stations are associated with each national page. Besides France 2 and France 3 for France, ONL ensures the coverage for the US, NOS for Holland, etc. The French can get live video streaming for a small fee. This is a feature that all major leagues and sports events should emulate immediately. The US site provides only video footages and interviews, but the complete live coverage is nonetheless available in an audio webcast in English. Again, this is a brilliant feature for fans, wherever ones location.

Every national page is a portal, displaying newsflashes where the fan can follow minute to minute (e.g., “Heras Has Crashed!” “Heras Riding Again...” “Heras Appears to Be Okay...” “Heras Back with Peloton”) as well as times and standings. The excitement is made palpable by these real time updates.

Pages tend to suffer a bit of disarray with buttons and links spread all over the layout. However, the navigation menu is logically organized and leads to interviews, maps, rules, photo galleries, sponsors, and other practical features.

LeTour.fr again stands out by allowing the user to cycle through previous websites, since 1995. This is a most interesting way of offering archive services, as the visitor is allowed to literally go back in time.

Many people watch the Tour de France for the beauty of the French sceneries – North, Bretagne, Pyrenées, Provence and Alps – to name a few that the peloton crosses. Unfortunately, little of that magnificence transpires on the website, which is bare (and swathed in bright yellow). The race could go under the Eiffel Tower and the website would only make a headline of it! From a branding viewpoint, LeTour.fr offers little visual imagery that could create an emotional response.

The result is a site that satisfies the diehard fan in its thoroughness, but perhaps misses an opportunity to expand its base. But if LeTour.fr may sometimes fall behind in terms of usability and imagery, the quality of its features and the consistency of its international pages make it nonetheless a noteworthy benchmark among sports websites appealing to a multi-nation audience.