Tour de France

I

Introduction

Tour de France, best-known bicycle race in the world and the most challenging in professional cycling competition. The Tour de France, often called the Tour, is held each July. Around 200 competitors race along a course that covers about 3,200 km (about 2,000 mi) of European roads. The Tour usually lasts approximately three weeks.

II

Racecourse

The course of the Tour changes each year. It lies mostly in France, but it has also passed through neighboring countries such as Belgium, Spain, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. The final stretch of the course always runs along the Champs-Élysées, a famous avenue in Paris. Only about two-thirds of the cyclists who enter the Tour finish the race.

III

Rules and Procedures

The Tour de France is a stage race—that is, it follows a course that is divided into sections, or stages. There is a stage almost every day, and some stages emphasize a particular cycling skill, such as climbing hills or performance in time-trial races. The number of stages can vary with annual changes in the course route. In recent years, most Tours have included about 20 stages and 2 or 3 rest days.

Cyclists are timed for each stage of the Tour. During the race, the cyclist with the lowest cumulative time wears the prized maillot jaune (yellow jersey). In this way, the yellow jersey indicates the current race leader. At the conclusion of the race, the cyclist with the lowest total time is the winner and receives the yellow jersey as a trophy in a ceremony in Paris.

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Other colored jerseys are worn by riders who win various prizes during the course of the race. The maillot verde (green jersey) is worn by the cyclist who has the highest number of sprint points, which are awarded at the finish line of most stages and at one or two locations within the stages. The polka-dotted “King of the Mountains” jersey is worn by the rider who accumulates the most points for being the first over the tops of major peaks in the mountain stages.

Each competitor in the Tour belongs to a team of nine cyclists. Each team has a leader, who is its best all-around cyclist. Other team members, called domestiques, help the leader. They may shield the leader from wind, provide food or drink, chase down cyclists who have broken from the pack, or offer support to the leader while climbing hills. Prize money awarded to winners usually is shared among team members.

Teams also include coaches, bicycle mechanics, physicians, massage therapists, and cooks. A team vehicle carrying spare bicycles and parts, food, and other supplies follows the racers. Officials, broadcasters, and sports reporters follow the cyclists along the Tour route. Corporations or other organizations provide each team with financial support, and team members typically wear matching jerseys that bear the sponsor’s name or logo.

IV

History of the Tour de France

A

The First Tour de France and Notable Events

Henri Desgranges, a French journalist and cyclist, organized the first Tour de France in 1903. It included six stages and covered about 2,400 km (about 1,500 mi). Cyclists used heavy steel bikes without gear systems. The Tour proved widely popular. In the second year of the race, however, the Tour was marred by controversy. Overzealous fans put up roadblocks and spread tacks on the road to hinder cyclists they opposed. After the race, French cycling officials took measures to prevent such behavior and to improve the safety of the race.

Although crashes are commonplace in the Tour de France, accidents resulting in serious injuries or death are rare. In 1995, Italian cyclist Fabio Casartelli died in a crash, becoming the third fatality in the race’s history. The other deaths occurred in 1935 and 1967.

Since its beginning, the Tour has been held every year except during World War I from 1915 through 1918 and from 1940 through 1946, during and just after World War II. Most winners of the Tour have been from Europe, where cycling has a long history and a devoted following. Great European competitors in the Tour have included Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault of France, Eddy Merckx of Belgium, and Miguel Induráin of Spain, each of whom won five Tours. In the 1990s Induráin became the first cyclist to win five consecutive Tours (1991-1995).

The first American and first non-European to win the race was Greg LeMond, who captured titles in 1986, 1989, and 1990. Beginning in 1999 cyclist Lance Armstrong of the United States started a string of Tour de France victories. He established himself as the Tour’s most successful rider when he captured his sixth straight Tour in 2004. Diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer in 1996, Armstrong had overcome the life-threatening illness and eventually emerged as one of the most dominant athletes of his era. He won a record seventh consecutive Tour de France in 2005. The successes of LeMond and Armstrong did much to promote the popularity of competitive cycling in the United States.

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