The Tour de France – who has been watching it?!

July 25, 2014

• Topical

The highlight of the cycling calendar is the Tour de France, a gruelling 3500km race held over 3 weeks. This year marks the 101^st tour of this iconic race which has had its share of ups and downs over its history and that’s not just in that Alps! It ends on the 27th July so not long to go… Read on for some facts about this famous cycling race:

• The tour was the brain child of Géo Lefèvre who worked as a journalist at L’Auto magazine in 1903. The first tour consisted of 6 stages going around France covering approximately 2458km. Only 21 of the original 60 that set off managed to finish the race.
• The yellow jersey is given to the rider with the lowest cumulative time. It was first worn in 1919 by Eugène Christophe. Yellow was chosen as it is the colour of the pages on which the magazine L’Auto is printed. Originally, the race leaders wore a green armband but changed to a jersey to make them easier to spot.
• The polka dot jersey is given to the ‘King of the Mountain’. The scheme here came from the first sponsor of the jersey, Chocolat Poulain who sold chocolate bars with polka dot wrapping. It was first worn in 1975.
• 1975 was also the first year the Champs-Éllésse was used as the finishing line of the tour. Each year it alternates between cyclists going clockwise and anticlockwise.
• In 1930 the publicity caravan was created. It still goes around the route before the riders set off. Menier was the first, handing out chocolate and policemen’s hats with the company’s name printed on it. This publicity caravan still continues today although it attract around 250 vehicles.
• 1954 the tour started in Amsterdam, the first time it had started outside of France. It was also when the team time trial was introduced.
• In 2013, the Tour was held solely in France to mark the 100^th tour. It was however, its 110^th birthday as the tour did not run during the world wars.
• Despite the fact the tour running over thousands of kilometers, the winner is usually ahead by just a couple of minutes. The largest margin was 28minutes & 27 seconds in 1952 and the smallest being 8 seconds in 1989.
• After the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, he was stripped of his record 7 consecutive titles from 1999-2005. The tour does not list the winner, or the official race times from these years.
• Despite being arguably one of the most difficult sporting events, only four people have died during the race. Three died in on the course and one died whilst swimming on a rest day.
• The race was intended to be as gruelling as possible, one of the founders of the race wanted to make it so difficult that only one rider made it back to Paris.
• Each year, the route, length as well as number of stages and teams that competes varies. This year there will be 21 stages with 22 teams (each consisting of 9 men) who will try and complete 3663.5km of track.
• Bradley Wiggins was the first British rider to win the Tour in all of its history. The following year it was won by another British cyclist, Christopher Froome. France has had the most success with 16 winners.
• The tour has been won twice by someone who has not had the yellow jersey until the race finished, Jean Robic in 1947 and Jan Janssen in 1968. It has been won three times by someone who led since the first stage.

Do you have any Tour de France fun fact? We would love to hear them, get in touch with us at Kings Tutors.