The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple stage bicycle race. Riders have to cover approximately 4800 km / 3000 miles of primarily French countryside during a three-week period each July. About 10 million people watch the race live each year.
Stagnating sales for sports newspaper L'Auto led to a crisis meeting on November 20, 1902. The last to speak was their chief cycling journalist, a 26-year-old named Géo Lefèvre, who suggested holding a cycling race across France. The editor Henri Desgrange announced the race a couple of months later.
The plan worked. Before the first race started in 1903 L'Auto sold 25,000 copies. Afterwards it stood at 65,000. Five years later it had surpassed the 250,000 mark.
The first Tour de France was won by Maurice Garin. During that first race in 1903 each stage was over 400 km (249 ml) long.
The second Tour de France, which took place in 1904, was marred by controversy and accusations of cheating. The first four finishers -- Hippolyte Aucouturier, Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq, Ferdinand Payan, and Marcel Cadolle -- were all disqualified after it was discovered that they had taken a train during the race. The disqualification caused a great deal of outrage at the time, and it was several years before the Tour de France regained its credibility.
In the early years of the Tour the race comprised of just six stages. But the riders were expected to ride through the night, with no breaks for sleep.
In the 1907 Tour de France, some participants treated the race as a pleasure ride, stopping for lunch when they chose and spending the night in the best hotels they could find.
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HISTORY
Stagnating sales for sports newspaper L'Auto led to a crisis meeting on November 20, 1902. The last to speak was their chief cycling journalist, a 26-year-old named Géo Lefèvre, who suggested holding a cycling race across France. The editor Henri Desgrange announced the race a couple of months later.
The plan worked. Before the first race started in 1903 L'Auto sold 25,000 copies. Afterwards it stood at 65,000. Five years later it had surpassed the 250,000 mark.
The first Tour de France was won by Maurice Garin. During that first race in 1903 each stage was over 400 km (249 ml) long.
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| Maurice Garin, winner of the first Tour de France standing on the right. |
The second Tour de France, which took place in 1904, was marred by controversy and accusations of cheating. The first four finishers -- Hippolyte Aucouturier, Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq, Ferdinand Payan, and Marcel Cadolle -- were all disqualified after it was discovered that they had taken a train during the race. The disqualification caused a great deal of outrage at the time, and it was several years before the Tour de France regained its credibility.
In the early years of the Tour the race comprised of just six stages. But the riders were expected to ride through the night, with no breaks for sleep.
In the 1907 Tour de France, some participants treated the race as a pleasure ride, stopping for lunch when they chose and spending the night in the best hotels they could find.
During the early years of the Tour de France, regulations required that riders fend entirely for themselves. Beer, brandy and wine were drank copiously as they were considered safer to drink than water from questionable roadside wells or springs.
In 1986, Greg LeMond became the first non-European professional cyclist to win the Tour de France. He remains the only American cyclist to have won the Tour.
In 1999 Lance Armstrong came back from testicular cancer to win his first Tour de France. He went on to win it a record seven consecutive times between 1999-2005.
In 2012, a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation concluded that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career. As a result he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.
The Tour de France consists of 21 day-long stages over a 23-day period and cover around 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi).
There are nine days racing on the flat, five days over hills, two time trials and five days over the mountains. 23 mountains are scaled including parts of the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and the Alps.
The race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France.
80mph is the cyclists' top speed when they're going downhill. During the time trial, their average speed is 31mph.
Each rider loses an average of 4.4lb each on tour.
One of the 'unwritten rules' is if the Tour is passing through where one of the riders grew up, everyone will slow down to let that rider lead the whole Tour through his hometown.
Around half the world's population is said to watch television coverage of the Tour de France, which is broadcast to 188 countries.
Taken From: Europress Family Encyclopedia 1999. Kent on Sunday 8th July 2007
In 1986, Greg LeMond became the first non-European professional cyclist to win the Tour de France. He remains the only American cyclist to have won the Tour.
In 1999 Lance Armstrong came back from testicular cancer to win his first Tour de France. He went on to win it a record seven consecutive times between 1999-2005.
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| Armstrong riding on Stage 17 of the 2009 Tour de France. By McSmit |
In 2012, a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation concluded that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career. As a result he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.
FUN TOUR DE FRANCE FACTS
While the Tour De France route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same with the appearance over three weeks of racing of time trials, the passage through the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps, and the finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. |
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The Tour de France consists of 21 day-long stages over a 23-day period and cover around 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi).
There are nine days racing on the flat, five days over hills, two time trials and five days over the mountains. 23 mountains are scaled including parts of the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and the Alps.
The race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France.
80mph is the cyclists' top speed when they're going downhill. During the time trial, their average speed is 31mph.
Each rider loses an average of 4.4lb each on tour.
One of the 'unwritten rules' is if the Tour is passing through where one of the riders grew up, everyone will slow down to let that rider lead the whole Tour through his hometown.
Around half the world's population is said to watch television coverage of the Tour de France, which is broadcast to 188 countries.
Taken From: Europress Family Encyclopedia 1999. Kent on Sunday 8th July 2007
The longest-ever stage in Tour de France history took place in 1919. It was a 482km long journey that took riders from Les Sables-d’Olonne to Bayonne. It took the winner Jean Alavoine 18 hours and 54 minutes to complete.
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