The History of The Tour de France

The Tour de France of simply the Tour is probably one of the hardest endurance races in the world. Teams of cyclists snake through the European mountains and flat areas covering anywhere from 3000 km to 4,000 kilometres over some three weeks as they attempt to be crowned as the world’s best cyclist.

The Tour de France is run in stages with each day covering a stage. The overall winner of the Tour is the rider who has accumulated the least amount of time over all the stages of the Tour. There are also other winners in the Tour. The Tour de France is so difficult that even winning one stage in the race is considered a great achievement.

Since it goes through different terrain, there are many classifications for winners. The overall winner is given the yellow jersey, the winner of flat stages is given the green jersey and these are normally sprinters while the winner of the mountain stages is given the polka dot jersey. New riders in the tour wear the white jersey if they are the best.

On January 19 1903, the Tour de France was born out of the need to increase circulation for the L’Auto newspaper. The original plan was a five week tour but the 15 entries made the editors cut it to 19 day and the dates from July 1st to 19th. The French public became very excited about a race whose average length was about 400km per stage of 6 stages. The winner of the initial race was Maurice Garin. The race was so successful for the newspaper that the claimed that their circulation had grown from 25,000 before the race to 854,000 by 1933.

The race became popular all over Europe but the 1939 Tour did not have teams from Italy, Germany or Spain due to World War 2 politics. The race did not regain its glory again until 1947 when Jean Robic became its new winner.

One of the greatest spectacles in the Tour comes during the mountain sections in the Pyrenean climbs. These climbs are so tough that it is nearly impossible for an every day rider to do them. It is here that legends like Miguel Indurain and Lance Armstrong have made their names. It was introduced in 1910 to add a little more toughness to the competition.

Lance Armstrong goes down in history as the most successful individual rider in the Tour. His seven consecutive wins seem super human in today’s age of better cycling technology. The French still claim the most wins in the race with 36 total wins followed by Belgium with 18.

The tour has been hit by it’s own controversies including the serious taking of performance enhancing drugs which have made tour winners like Floyd Landis lose their titles. There have also been deaths during the races including the death of Fabio Casartelli who was Lance Armstrong’s team mate on July 18 1995.

However, the Tour de France remains one of the most endearing races in the world. The mountain climbs in the Alps and the Pyrenees can attract hundreds of thousands of spectators. While the final stage to the Champs -Elysees in Paris is one not to be missed. Over time the Tour de France has earned its place in sporting folklore thanks to a writer and an editor who met at a bar in Montmartre in Paris on November 20, 1902.

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