Le Tour de France 2012 , a cycling game based on the most prominent professional cycling tour, Le Tour de France , is similar to its predecessor. The player controls a single athlete, who automatically moves forward and steers into general direction with gentle steering, while controlling speed changes.
Energy management is crucial as a fast lead is pointless when the rider is exhausted after half of the stage. Players can communicate with teammates to coordinate tactical maneuvers, but they don't have to personally play all of the tour; a few sections per stage can be simulated by AI based on player-predefined parameters.
The game features refined AI, more interactions with teammates, improved UI, enhanced graphics, and a multiplayer mode. Two players compete during the last few kilometers of a stage, depending on the used athletes.