The Tour de France is a cycling game that covers the most prominent professional cycling tour, the Tour de France. In contrast to the Pro Cycling Manager series from the same developer, the player does not take control over a whole team but only a single athlete.
The game is still more of a game of tactics. The rider takes one of the typical cycling roles and automatically moves forward. The player gently steers into the general direction and controls speed changes (breaking and attacking). However, energy management is crucial - trying to get a fast lead is useless when the rider is exhausted after half of the stage. There is also the option to communicate with other athletes from the same team in order to coordinate tactical maneuvers.
The game's AI allows players to simulate certain sections of the tour before their turn, making it possible to prepare and plan accordingly.