• http://www.tourdefrancenews.com/tourdefrance (in English)
  Useful background information on the Tour de France
  

• http://www.letour.fr
  Official site of the Tour de France, 2005. Especially worth noting is the rubric "Videos / Photos / TV", as well as "Rules & Stakes of the Tour."
  
  
• http://www.olntv.com/tdf/
  "Outdoor Life Network" site contains videos, images, and other information on the Tour.
  
  
• http://www.procycling.com
  Procycling: British magazine available on the web and in specialized bookstores or media outlets. Special annual "Tour de France" authorized editions.
  
  
• http://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme/index.html
  L’Equipe: Daily French Sports Paper
  
  
• http://www.letour.fr/2002/fr/reglement.html
  Rules of the Tour
  
  
• http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2003/tour03/?id=features/caravane
  This site contains photos of the Publicity Caravan dating back to 1930.

• Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. «Le Tour de France comme épopée.» Paris : Ed. Seuil, 1957.
  Although challenging due to its references, this essay does an excellent job of analyzing the popularity of the Tour.
  
• Vélo
  French cycling magazine only available in France.

C. Films about the Tour de France

1. Les Triplettes de Belleville (2003, Sylvain Chomet). The first animated feature film about the Tour de France. This fable takes place in the 1950s, where a Tour hero is kidnapped during the race by a strange millionaire. *Official Selection, Cannes Film Festival

See a clip from Les Triplettes de Belleville

Official Website: www.lestriplettesdebelleville.com

2. Jour de fête (1947, Jacques Tati) starring Tati himself. About a bicycling postman's misadventures as he seeks to become a faster deliveryman (and cyclist). A charming and funny film that features exciting bicycle riding in almost every scene.

3. La Course en tête (1974, Joël Santoni). About 5-time tour winner Eddy Merckx, this film goes backstage to show the real Tour de France.

4. Deux Secondes (1998, Manon Briand, québécois). A mountain bike champion is changed into a road racer in this confrontation between a woman and a former Italian bike racer. * Festival de film à Montréal 98: Prix de la mise en scène, Meilleur film canadien, Meilleur premier film, Film canadien le plus populaire.

5. Anquetil et Poulidor: Les grands duels de sport (2001, ARTE). A France “qui n'aime pas celui qui gagne” is divided for a decade by the politics and publicity surrounding the Anquetil-Poulidor duel. Documentary.

6. Le vélo de Ghislain Lambert (2002, Philippe Harel) with Benoit Poelvoorde and José Garcia.
A comedy that traces the fictional rivalry between a Belgian and a Spanish rider.

7. Miroirs du Tour (2003, Christophe Muel and Jean-Maurice Ooghe). A series of three 52-minute documentaries : Les Forçats de la route, Les Géants de la route, and Les Stars de la route.

8. Brainpower (2004/2005, Bayley Silleck). This yet-to-be released IMAX uses American racer Tyler Hamilton to explain how athletes experience the Tour and to teach the audience about the mechanisms of the brain, including vision, memory, and pain.