GoPro is about to forever change how we watch the Tour de France

A team mechanic installs a GoPro camera under a rider's saddle.

And then installs a second GoPro on the front of the bike, under the handlebar.

While onboard cameras have been tested in races in the past, this year's Tour riders will be on camera in greater and more consistent numbers.

With onboard cams it's like climbing in the pack alongside the world's fittest athletes.

With a cam mounted on a rider's handlebar we get us a close-up look at the athlete's face, breathing, and reactions as he focuses on the wheel in front of him at between 20 and 70 miles an hour depending on terrain.

Normally we wouldn't get to see such close-up images of a guy hugging the side of the road like this as the bunch is ripping along.

From deep inside the peloton we get to see the nervous moments — such as rain-soaked riders fighting for position and quite literally rubbing elbows. There are effectively four riders in a space that would normally allow for just three.

Imagine watching the Tour's yellow jersey this close in a team time trial, at 30 to 50 mph, from his trusted teammate's saddle cam less than a foot from his wheel.

Seeing riders take tight turns this close at speed from inside the peloton is intense.

We can watch the race from a bike that's not being ridden, from a cam installed on spare bike atop a team car. Multiple points of view will give us unprecedented insights.

We've never really been so close to the riders in action at the Tour — until now.

Here, a rider's GoPro shows his teammates lined out in front of him, hammering during a team time trial. (Those tube-like things you see on the left are the rider's aerobars.)

GoPros pick up the crashes too — this one involved a rider who went tumbling with a cam apparently intact.

With bike cams we'll get into the mix and dangerous argy-bargy of the hectic, high-speed field sprints, when the fastest riders fight for position before the final 200 meters.

Rival bike-cam company Shimano has used cameras in races as well. This video, from 2014's Tour of California, gave us a rare look inside the intense finale of a sprinting stage.

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At this year's Tour Down Under, Jérémy Roy caught this wild crash on his Shimano handlebar cam.

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Watch the promo video below from GoPro as it brings its cameras to the Tour de France:

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