Tour de France gets military send off in Normandy - Gallery

The Tour de France embraced a World War II D-Day theme Thursday during the team presentation in Sainte-Mere-Eglise in Normandy, using vintage military transport vehicles to drive the teams one by one to the ceremony. Riders transferred to their bikes for the final ride up the ramp to the stage, where the large crowd cheered them on as the leaders answered pre-race questions one more time.

Defending champion Chris Froome, along with top general classification favourites Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador, joined their teammates and the other 19 teams for the presentation just two days before the race begins Saturday on the streets of Le Mont-Saint-Michel.

Check out the photo gallery above for a glimpse of today's presentation, then see the video below to get the Cyclingnews 10 GC riders to watch over the next three weeks.

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