Froome, Bardet, Cavendish and others watch on in the Palais des Congres
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A selection of star riders on the stage (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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The riders sit next to each other as the route in unveiled (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Christian Prudhomme going through the route stage-by-stage (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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The Palais des Congres was the setting for the unveiling of the route (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Raymond Poulidor watches on (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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ASO President Jean-Etienne Amaury on the stage (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Chris Froome with his Velo d'Or trophy (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Christian Prudhomme unveils the 21 stages (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Prudhomme holds up a jersey urging drivers to give cyclists space when overtaking (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Christian Prudhomme takes the opportunity to call for awareness of cyclists' safety on the open roads (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Chris Froome was presented with the Velo d'Or award (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Chris Froome was presented with the Velo d'Or award (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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A selection of star riders on the stage (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Warren Barguil likes the look of the stages in his home region of Brittany (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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French sprinter Arnaud Demare points to stage 8 into Amiens as his favourite stage (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Nairo Quintana is expected to lead Movistar at the 2018 Tour (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Alberto Contador was sat alongside Nairo Quintana in the Palais des Congres (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Chris Froome and Alberto Contador enjoying a joke (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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The Palais des Congres (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Romain Bardet mulls over the parcours (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
As Christian Prudhomme unveiled the 21 stages that will make up the 2018 Tour de France, watching on from the front rows of Paris' Palais des Congres were many of the riders who will be competing for stage victories and the overall classification next July.
2017 champion and four-time winner Chris Froome was in attendance, heading up on stage to receive the Vélo d'Or award before later sharing his reaction to what is a testing and varied route.
Sat alongside the Briton were Romain Bardet, who has finished behind him on the podium in the last two years, and Alberto Contador, who has won the race twice but recently retired from the sport. Nairo Quintana was there and no doubt pleased that the individual time trialling is limited to 31 hilly kilometres, while Thibaut Pinot was another attendee expected to challenge Froome for the yellow jersey.
Mark Cavendish, second on the all-time stage victory standings, watched on as eight potential sprint opportunities were unveiled, and he was joined by French sprinters Arnaud Demare and Nacer Bouhanni.
Lilian Calmejane and Warren Barguil, who both won hillier stages at this year's Tour, were also there and joined the others on the stage before picking out their favourite stages from the official 2018 Tour de France map.
Click or swipe through the gallery above to see all the photos from the event.
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