The 2021 Tour de France was the 108th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three grand tours. Originally planned for the Danish capital of Copenhagen, the start of the 2021 Tour was transferred to Brest because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Copenhagen hosting four matches in the UEFA Euro 2020, which had also been rescheduled to 2021 because of the pandemic. Originally scheduled for 2 to 25 July 2021, the Tour was moved to 26 June to 18 July 2021 to avoid the rescheduled 2020 Summer Olympics. This would have been the first occasion on which the Tour de France had visited Denmark. Denmark instead hosted the Grand Départ in 2022.

Tadej Pogačar is a Slovenian professional cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam UAE Team Emirates. He won the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Tour de France, winning three different jerseys during each Tour, a feat unseen in nearly four decades. Comfortable in time-trialing, one-day classic riding and grand-tour climbing, he has been compared to legendary all-round cyclists such as Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Induráin and Fausto Coppi.