The 1998 Tour was pushed back one week from its original start date, so as not to overlap too much with the 1998 FIFA World Cup, also held in France, which ended on 12 July, one day after the prologue. The -race lasted 23 days, including the rest day, and ended on 2 August. The longest mass-start stage was the fourth at , and stage 20 was the shortest at . The race contained three individual time trials, one of which was the prologue, totalling . Of the remaining stages, twelve were officially classified as flat, two as mountain and five as high mountain. There were only two summit finishes, which were both at ski resorts, one at Plateau de Beille on stage 11 and another on stage 15 at Les Deux Alpes. The highest point of elevation in the race was at the summit of the Col du Galibier mountain pass on stage 15. It was among five hors catégorie (beyond category) rated climbs in the race. Cycling journalist Samuel Abt considered the route easier than the 1997 edition. Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc countered criticism by Virenque and Pantani that the race was not mountainous enough, saying: The course is tough enough with 23 mountains. That is eight more than last year.