Tour de France facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tour de France

2024 Tour de France
Race details
Date	July
Region	France and other European countries
Local name(s)	Tour de France
Discipline	Road
Competition	UCI World Tour
Type	Stage race (Grand Tour)
Organiser	Amaury Sport Organisation
Race director	Christian Prudhomme
History
First edition	1 July 1903; 122 years ago (1903-07-01)
First winner	Maurice Garin (FRA)
Most wins	Jacques Anquetil (FRA)  Eddy Merckx (BEL)  Bernard Hinault (FRA)  Miguel Induráin (ESP) 5 wins each
Most recent	Tadej Pogačar (SVN)

The Tour de France is a famous bicycle race for men. It happens every year, mostly in France. It's the oldest and most important of the three "Grand Tours." The other two are the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.

The race started in 1903. It was created to help sell more copies of a newspaper called L'Auto. The Tour has happened every year since then. The only times it didn't happen were during the two World Wars. As the Tour became more popular, it grew longer. More riders from different countries started to join.

The Tour usually takes place in July. The route changes each year. But the race format stays the same. It includes time trials and stages through big mountains. These mountains are the Pyrenees and the Alps. The race usually ends on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. (But not in 2024 because of the 2024 Summer Olympics!) Modern Tours have 21 daily stages. They cover about 3,500 kilometers in 23 or 24 days.

About 20 to 22 teams compete. Each team has eight riders. All stages are timed. Riders' times are added up. The rider with the lowest total time is the race leader. This leader wears the famous yellow jersey. Besides the main "general classification," there are other contests. These include:

• The points classification for sprinters (green jersey).
• The mountains classification for climbers (polka dot jersey).
• The young rider classification for riders under 26 (white jersey).
• The team classification for the best team.

Winning a stage is also a big deal. Often, a team's fastest rider or a rider in a breakaway wins a stage.

A similar race for women used to happen. It was called the Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale. It ran from 1984 to 2009. Later, a shorter race called La Course by Le Tour de France was held. In 2022, the first official Tour de France Femmes took place.

Tour de France History

How the Tour Began

The Tour de France started in 1903. It began because two sports newspapers in France were rivals. One paper was Le Vélo, and the other was L'Auto. L'Auto was started in 1899 by journalists and business people. They wanted to sell more copies than Le Vélo.

L'Auto's sales were not very good. So, in November 1902, they had a meeting. A young cycling journalist named Géo Lefèvre had an idea. He suggested a long bike race all around France. Long races were popular for selling newspapers. But no race had ever been as long as he suggested.

The First Tour de France (1903)

The first Tour de France happened in 1903. The original plan was a five-stage race. It would run from May 31 to July 5. It would start in Paris and visit other big cities. But this plan was too hard and too expensive. Only 15 riders signed up.

The organizer, Henri Desgrange, almost gave up. Instead, he made the race shorter, only 19 days. He changed the dates to July 1 to 19. He also offered money to riders who kept a good speed. He lowered the entry fee and offered big prizes. The winner could earn six times what most workers made in a year! This attracted many riders, about 60 to 80. They were professionals, amateurs, and adventurers.

The first Tour de France started on July 1, 1903. It began near the Café Reveil-Matin in Montgeron. L'Auto newspaper did not even feature the race on its front page that morning.

Maurice Garin won the race. He was a strong rider. Many riders quit during the race. The effort was too much for them. Only 24 riders finished the fourth stage. Garin won the first and last two stages. He rode at an average speed of 25.68 km/h. The last rider finished almost 65 hours behind him.

L'Auto's goal was met. The newspaper's sales doubled during the race. The Tour became much bigger than Desgrange had ever imagined.

From 1904 to 1939

The first Tour was so exciting that Desgrange thought the 1904 Tour de France would be the last. There was a lot of rule-breaking. Fans even attacked riders. The top riders, including Maurice Garin, were disqualified. Desgrange was very upset and called it "THE END."

But by the next spring, Desgrange was planning a new Tour. It would be longer, with 11 stages instead of 6. This time, all stages would be during the day. This was to make rule-breaking easier to spot. The race became very popular. It continued to grow after World War I.

Desgrange tried different ways to decide the winner. At first, he used total time, like today. But from 1906 to 1912, he used a points system. He found problems with both methods. If a rider had a bike problem, they could lose too much time. But with points, riders didn't try as hard.

The race format changed over time. The Tour first went around the edges of France. The first mountain stages appeared in the 1910 in the Pyrenees. Early Tours had long stages that lasted many days. By 1936, some days even had three stages.

Desgrange wanted the Tour to be a race of individuals. At first, anyone could compete. Most riders were on teams. But there were also "touriste-routiers," who were private riders. They had to fix their own bikes. Desgrange also didn't like multiple gears. For many years, he insisted riders use wooden wheel rims. He worried that metal rims would melt glue from braking on mountains. Metal rims were finally allowed in 1937.

By the late 1920s, Desgrange felt teams were using unfair tactics. In 1930, he changed the rules again. Riders had to enter in national teams. They also had to ride plain yellow bikes provided by the organizers. This meant no team names on the bikes.

Desgrange passed away in 1940. His assistant, Jacques Goddet, took over. The Tour was stopped again during World War II. It did not return until 1947.

From 1947 to 1969

After World War II, the newspaper L'Auto was closed. The government took over the Tour. Jacques Goddet was allowed to start a new sports paper, L'Équipe. L'Équipe was given the right to organize the 1947 Tour de France. Goddet teamed up with Félix Lévitan, a newspaper owner. Goddet handled the sports side, and Lévitan managed the money.

When the Tour returned, it had 20 to 25 stages. Most stages lasted one day. In 1953, the Green Jersey competition was added. National teams competed until 1961. These teams were popular. But riders from rival trade teams sometimes had loyalty issues.

In 1962, the Tour went back to trade teams. This was because bicycle sales were falling. Factories needed the publicity from the Tour. In the same year, Émilion Amaury, owner of le Parisien Libéré, became involved. He made Lévitan a co-organizer. The Tour was for professional cyclists. But in 1961, the Tour de l'Avenir was created for amateur riders.

Italian rider Fausto Coppi won both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in 1949 and 1952. He was the first to do this. Louison Bobet was the first French rider to win the Tour three years in a row (1953, 1954, 1955).

Jacques Anquetil was the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times. He won in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He was very good at individual time trial stages. This earned him the nickname "Monsieur Chrono." Anquetil had a famous rivalry with Raymond Poulidor. Poulidor was known as "The Eternal Second." He never won the Tour, but he finished second three times.

Concerns about unfair advantages became a serious issue. After a rider's death in 1967, new rules were made. Limits were set on distances. Rest days were added. The Tour returned to national teams for 1967 and 1968. But it went back to trade teams in 1969.

From 1969 to 1987

In the early 1970s, Eddy Merckx was the top rider. He won the main race five times. He also won the mountains competition twice and the points competition three times. He held the record for most stage wins (34) for a long time. Merckx's strong riding style earned him the nickname "The Cannibal." In 1969, he had a huge lead. He attacked alone in the mountains. No other top rider could keep up. He won by almost 18 minutes.

In 1975, the polka-dot jersey was added for the mountains winner. Also in 1975, the Tour started finishing on the Champs-Élysées. This final stage is usually a celebration. It's often a sprint for the fastest riders.

From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, French rider Bernard Hinault was dominant. He became the third rider to win five times. In 1986, Hinault had won the year before. He promised to help American rider Greg LeMond. But Hinault attacked during the race. This caused problems between them. LeMond still won. It was the first win for a rider from outside Europe. This 1986 Tour is remembered as a great battle.

The 1987 Tour was more open. Previous winners had retired or were injured. The lead changed eight times. Stephen Roche won. Later that year, Roche also won the World Championship Road Race. He became only the second rider to win cycling's "Triple Crown." This means winning the Giro d'Italia, the Tour, and the Road World Cycling Championship in one year.

The Tour became more international. Roche was the first Irish winner. Riders from many other countries started to join. In 1982, Sean Kelly (Ireland) and Phil Anderson (Australia) won classifications. In 1984, the first Tour de France Féminin for women was held. It was won by Marianne Martin.

From 1988 to 1997

In 1988, Xavier Louy became the Tour director. Later, Jean-Marie Leblanc took over in 1989. In 2007, Christian Prudhomme became the director. In 1993, the company Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) was formed. It now runs the Tour.

The late 1980s saw new challenges. Pedro Delgado won the 1988 Tour de France by a large amount. In 1989 and 1990, Greg LeMond won again. The 1989 race was the closest in Tour history. LeMond won by just 8 seconds in the final time trial.

The early 1990s were dominated by Miguel Induráin from Spain. He won five Tours in a row from 1991 to 1995. He is the only rider to win five times consecutively. Induráin was very strong in time trials. He would gain time there and then defend his lead in the mountains.

More international riders continued to win. In 1996, Bjarne Riis from Denmark won. He was the first Danish winner. In 1997, Jan Ullrich became the first German winner.

From 1998 to 2011

The 1998 Tour de France faced big problems. Many riders and teams were removed from the race. In the end, Marco Pantani won. The 1999 Tour de France was called the "Tour of Renewal." Lance Armstrong won his first of seven straight Tours. However, these wins were later removed due to rule violations.

After Armstrong retired, Floyd Landis won in 2006. But his win was also taken away due to rule violations. Alberto Contador became a new star. In 2007, he won after the leader, Michael Rasmussen, was removed by his own team. In 2008, Carlos Sastre won. He was a rider known for following the rules.

In 2009, Lance Armstrong returned. Contador won again. In 2011, Cadel Evans became the first Australian to win the Tour.

The 2012 Tour de France was won by Bradley Wiggins. He was the first British rider to win. Chris Froome finished just behind him. Froome and Contador became the next big stars.

A major investigation into rule violations in cycling happened around this time. As a result, Lance Armstrong's seven wins were officially removed. This decision helped clear the names of many people. In some cases, like Landis in 2006 and Contador in 2010, new winners were named. But for Armstrong's seven Tours, no new winners were declared.

Since 2012

Team Sky dominated the Tour for several years. Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome (four times), and Geraint Thomas all won. In 2019, Egan Bernal became the first Colombian winner. Only Vincenzo Nibali's win in 2014 broke their winning streak.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Tour started in late August. This was the first time since World War II that it wasn't held in July. Tadej Pogačar from Slovenia won in 2020 and 2021. He was the first Slovenian winner. He was also the second youngest winner ever (at 21). He won the mountain and youth classifications too. This made him the first rider since Eddy Merckx in 1972 to win three jerseys in one Tour. In 2021, sprinter Mark Cavendish tied Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage wins.

Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard won in 2022 and 2023. Pogačar finished second both times. The Tour de France Femmes for women followed the men's race in 2022.

In the 2024 Tour de France, Mark Cavendish broke Eddy Merckx's record. He achieved his 35th stage win.

Tour de France Classifications

The oldest and most important competition in the Tour de France is the "general classification." The winner of this classification wins the entire race and wears the yellow jersey. There are three other main competitions for different types of riders. These are for points, mountains, and young riders. The leader of each competition wears a special jersey. If a rider leads more than one, they wear the yellow jersey because it's the most important.

General Classification: The Yellow Jersey

The general classification is the most desired prize. All stages are timed. A rider's time from each stage is added to their previous times. The rider with the lowest total time is the race leader. After each stage, the leader gets to wear the yellow jersey for the next stage. If they lead other competitions too, they still wear the yellow jersey.

From 1905 to 1912, the winner was decided by a points system. This was because of rule-breaking in the 1904 race. The rider with the fewest points won.

In the first Tour, the leader wore a green armband. The yellow jersey was added in 1919. It was chosen because the newspaper that started the Tour, L'Auto, was printed on yellow paper. The yellow jersey is now a symbol of the Tour de France. Riders try to keep the jersey as long as possible. This gives their team and sponsors more attention. Eddy Merckx wore the yellow jersey for 96 stages. This is more than any other rider. Four riders have won the general classification five times: Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Induráin.

Mountains Classification: The Polka Dot Jersey

The mountains classification is the second oldest jersey competition. It was added in 1933. Points are given to the first riders to reach the top of certain climbs. Harder climbs give more points. Climbs are ranked from Category 4 (easiest) to Hors Catégorie (hardest).

The leader of this classification wears a white jersey with red dots. This is called the "polka dot" jersey. If the overall race leader also leads the mountains, the next rider in the mountains standings wears the polka dot jersey. The rider with the most points at the end wins. Some riders focus on winning this competition. Richard Virenque won the mountains classification a record seven times.

The points for mountains in 2019 were:

Type		1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th
	Hors catégorie	20	15	12	10	8	6	4	2
	First Category	10	8	6	4	2	1
	Second Category	5	3	2	1
	Third Category	2	1
	Fourth Category	1

• Points are doubled for HC climbs over 2000m altitude.

Points Classification: The Green Jersey

The points classification is the third oldest jersey competition. It started in 1953. It was added to attract sprinters. Points are given to the first 15 riders to finish a stage. Extra points are given for crossing special "sprint" points during a stage. The leader wears the green jersey.

At first, riders got penalty points for not finishing high. The rider with the fewest points won. But from 1959, riders got points for high finishes. The rider with the most points wins. Flat stages give the most points at the finish. Time trials and mountain stages give fewer points. This helps sprinters win this competition.

The winner is the rider with the most points at the end. If there's a tie, stage wins decide it. Then, intermediate sprint wins. Finally, their rank in the general classification. Peter Sagan has won this classification a record seven times.

The green jersey was first sponsored by a lawn mower company. That's why it's green. In 1968, it was red for a sponsor, but it changed back to green the next year.

As of 2015, the points awarded are:

Type		1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th
	Flat stage finish	50	30	20	18	16	14	12	10	8	7	6	5	4	3	2
	Medium mountain stage finish	30	25	22	19	17	15	13	11	9
	High mountain stage finish	20	17	15	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
	Individual time trial
	Intermediate sprint

Young Rider Classification: The White Jersey

The young rider classification works like the general classification. Riders' times are added up. The eligible rider with the lowest total time leads. This classification is for riders who will be under 26 years old in the race year.

This competition started in 1975. Francesco Moser was the first winner. The Tour de France gives a white jersey to the leader. This jersey was not used between 1989 and 2000. Six riders have won both the young rider and general classifications in the same year. These include Laurent Fignon (1983) and Tadej Pogačar (2020 and 2021). Three riders have won the young rider classification three times: Jan Ullrich, Andy Schleck, and Tadej Pogačar.

Other Awards and Prizes

The prix de la combativité (combativity award) goes to the rider who tries hardest to attack or break away. This rider wears a special number the next day. An overall award is given to the most aggressive rider of the entire Tour. This award started in 1958. Eddy Merckx has won this overall award four times.

The team classification is based on team times. The times of each team's best three riders are added up daily. The leading team's riders wear yellow helmets since 2012. Before 1990, they wore yellow caps.

The lanterne rouge (red lantern) is the name for the rider who finishes last. In the past, this rider sometimes carried a small red light.

Prize money has always been given in the Tour. The first prize in 1903 was 20,000 French francs. In 2009, the winner received €450,000. Each stage winner got €8,000. Winners of the points and mountains classifications each won €25,000. The young rider and combativity prize winners got €20,000. The winning team received €50,000.

Special awards honor the Tour's founders. The Souvenir Henri Desgrange is for the first rider over the Col du Galibier. The Souvenir Jacques Goddet is for the first rider over the Col du Tourmalet.

Tour de France Stages

The modern Tour usually has 21 stages, one each day.

Mass-Start Stages

Tour directors classify stages as 'flat,' 'hilly,' or 'mountain.' This affects how points are given in the sprint competition. It also affects the time limit for riders to finish. Time bonuses are given to the first three finishers.

Time Trials

The first time trial in the Tour was in 1934. The first stage is often a short time trial called a prologue. This decides who wears the yellow jersey on day one. There are usually two or three time trials in total. The final time trial is sometimes the last stage.

Famous Stages

Since 1975, the race has ended with laps around the Champs-Élysées in Paris. As riders arrive, the French Air Force flies over. This stage usually doesn't change the overall winner. Riders often celebrate with champagne. The only time the yellow jersey was seriously challenged on this stage was in 1979. In 1989, the last stage was a time trial. Greg LeMond won the Tour by just eight seconds. This is the closest finish in Tour history.

The climb of Alpe d'Huez is one of the most famous mountain stages. It's known for its 21 hairpin bends. Many spectators gather there. Mont Ventoux is often called the hardest climb. This is because of its harsh conditions. The Col du Tourmalet is the most visited mountain in Tour history. The Col du Galibier is the most visited mountain in the Alps. The 2011 Tour de France stage to Galibier had the highest finish ever, at 2,645 meters. Some mountain stages are memorable for extreme weather. In 1996, a snowstorm shortened a stage. In 2019, landslides and hail storms shortened two stages.

Choosing the Route

Hosting a stage start or finish brings fame and business to a town. The first stage, called the Grand Départ, is very special. The race often starts outside France. The Tour organizers, ASO, have about 70 full-time staff. This number grows to about 220 during the race. They also hire 500 contractors. These workers set up barriers, stages, and signs. ASO also organizes other big bike races.

Advertising Caravan

In 1930, the Tour started using national teams. The organizers had to pay for the riders. To raise money, they allowed advertisers to drive before the race. This parade of colorful trucks and cars became the "publicity caravan." Companies had already been following the race. But this made it official.

The first company to join was Menier chocolate. They paid 50,000 francs. They gave out tons of chocolate and hats. This was very successful. The caravan became a regular part of the Tour.

The caravan was most popular before television advertising. Companies competed to get attention. Motorcycle acrobats performed. A famous accordion player, Yvette Horner, played on a car roof. Today, there are rules about what advertisers can do.

Advertisers pay a lot to have vehicles in the caravan. They also pay for samples to throw to the crowd. About 11 million items are given out each year. The vehicles are decorated each morning and then taken apart. There are usually about 250 vehicles. They travel in groups of five. Their order is set by contract, with the biggest sponsors first.

The caravan starts two hours before the riders. It then regroups to be about an hour and a half ahead. It stretches for 20 to 25 kilometers. It takes 40 minutes to pass by. Six police motorcyclists ride with them.

Politics and the Tour

The first three Tours (1903-1905) stayed in France. The 1906 race went into Alsace-Lorraine. This area was controlled by Germany at the time. The Tour got permission to pass through.

In 1939, no teams from Italy, Germany, or Spain rode. This was because of tensions before World War II. The Tour was not held again until 1947. The first German team after the war was in 1960. The Tour has started in Germany four times since then.

Corsica's First Tour Visit

Before 2013, the Tour de France had visited every region of France except Corsica. The organizer, Jean-Marie Leblanc, said the island had never asked to host a stage. He also said it would be hard to find housing for 4,000 people. But the opening three stages of the 2013 Tour de France were held on Corsica. This was part of the celebrations for the 100th Tour.

Tour Start and Finish Locations

Most stages are in mainland France. But since the 1950s, the Tour often visits nearby countries. The Tour has visited 13 different countries. These include Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. All of these have hosted stages. Since 1975, the race has finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Before that, it finished at different stadiums in Paris. In the 111th edition, the race will end outside Paris for the first time. It will finish in Nice, because of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Starts Outside France

The Tour has started outside France many times:

Broadcasting the Tour

At first, only journalists from L'Auto followed the Tour. The newspaper didn't want rivals to benefit. In 1921, other papers were finally allowed.

The Tour was first shown in cinema newsreels. These were shown a day or more later. The first live radio broadcast was in 1929. They used telephone lines. In 1932, they recorded sounds from a mountain climb. They broadcast it later.

The first TV pictures were shown a day after a stage. Film was flown or taken by train to Paris. It was edited and shown the next day.

The first live TV broadcast was in 1948. It showed the finish in Paris. Live coverage from the road started in 1958. Helicopters were first used for TV coverage in 1959.

French TV was mostly state-owned until 1982. Then, private broadcasters were allowed. Competition between channels increased how much they paid to show the race. Broadcasting time also increased. Today, France 2 and France 3 still show the race in France. They provide pictures for broadcasters worldwide.

The TV stations use 300 staff. They use four helicopters, two aircraft, and many vehicles. They have 20 cameras at the finish line. Helicopters de France has provided aerial filming since 1999.

In the UK, ITV has shown the Tour since 2002. They show daily live coverage on ITV4. In the US, NBC Sports Group has broadcast the Tour since 1999. All stages stream on Peacock. Some stages are also shown on NBC.

The Tour's popularity grew after 2009. The most watched stage in 2009 had 44 million viewers worldwide. This made it one of the most watched sports events that year.

Tour de France Culture

The Tour is a very important cultural event in Europe. Millions of fans line the route. Some even camp for a week to get the best view.

The Tour de France was popular from the start. It helped create a feeling of national unity in France. Many people in France didn't know much about their own country. The Tour helped them learn by showing maps of the race.

Arts and the Tour

The Tour has inspired many popular French songs. The German electronic group Kraftwerk made a song called "Tour de France" in 1983. They also made an album called Tour de France Soundtracks in 2003.

The Tour is mentioned in Ernest Hemingway's book The Sun Also Rises.

Several films have featured the Tour. Five Red Tulips (1949) and Les Cracks (1967) used it as a background. Footage from the 1970 Tour is in Jorgen Leth's film Eddy Merckx in the Vicinity of a Cup of Coffee. The comedy Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert (2001) was about the 1974 Tour.

In 2005, three films followed teams in the Tour. Höllentour (Hell on Wheels) showed the 2003 race. Overcoming showed the 2004 Tour. Wired to Win followed riders in 2003. It looked at how the brain works during the race.

Vive Le Tour by Louis Malle is a short film from 1962. Claude Lelouch filmed the 1965 Tour in Pour un Maillot Jaune.

The animated movie The Triplets of Belleville (2003) is also connected to the Tour de France.

Netflix and the Tour organizers made a documentary series. It's called Tour de France: Unchained. It follows eight major teams during the 2022 Tour de France. It was released in June 2023.

Post-Tour Criteriums

After the Tour de France, there are special races called criteriums. These happen in the Netherlands and Belgium. They are public events where fans can see their favorite Tour riders. These races cost a lot of money. Most of it goes to the riders. Famous riders can earn a lot of money for just starting these races.

Tour de France Records and Statistics

One rider, Eddy Merckx in 1969, won the King of the Mountains, the combination classification, the combativity award, the points competition, and the Tour all in the same year.

Twice, the Tour was won by a rider who only wore the yellow jersey after the race was over. Jean Robic did this in 1947. Jan Janssen did it in 1968.

Three riders have worn the yellow jersey from the very first stage to the end. Maurice Garin did it in 1903. Ottavio Bottecchia did it in 1924. Nicolas Frantz did it in 1928. Jacques Anquetil wore the yellow jersey from start to finish in 1961.

The record for most appearances in the Tour is 18, held by Sylvain Chavanel. Joop Zoetemelk and Chavanel share the record for most finishes, with 16 each. Zoetemelk finished in the top five 11 times. He also won the 1980 Tour de France.

In the early Tours, riders rode alone. This led to huge time differences between the winner and second place. Today, riders usually stay together in a group called a peloton. So, the time differences are much smaller. The smallest winning margin was 8 seconds. This was between Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon in 1989. The largest margin was in the first Tour in 1903. Maurice Garin won by almost 3 hours.

Raymond Poulidor has the most podium finishes (top three) with eight. He never won the Tour.

Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich had many podium finishes. However, their results were later removed due to rule violations.

Three riders have won 8 stages in a single year: Charles Pélissier (1930), Eddy Merckx (1970, 1974), and Freddy Maertens (1976). Mark Cavendish has the most mass finish stage wins with 35 as of 2024.

The fastest mass-start stage was in 1999. Mario Cipollini won it at 50.4 km/h. The fastest time trial was by Rohan Dennis in 2015. He rode at 55.446 km/h. The fastest team time trial was by Orica GreenEDGE in 2013. They rode at 57.8 km/h.

The longest successful solo breakaway after World War II was by Albert Bourlon in 1947. He rode alone for 253 km. He finished 16 minutes and 30 seconds ahead. The biggest time gap in a stage win was by José-Luis Viejo in 1976. He won by over 22 minutes.

Eddy Merckx holds the record for wearing the yellow jersey for the most days, with 96 days.

Record Winners

Four riders have won the Tour de France five times:

• Jacques Anquetil (France)
• Eddy Merckx (Belgium)
• Bernard Hinault (France)
• Miguel Induráin (Spain)

Induráin is the only one to win five times in a row.

Wins	Rider	Editions
5	Jacques Anquetil (FRA)	1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964
	Eddy Merckx (BEL)	1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974
	Bernard Hinault (FRA)	1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985
	Miguel Induráin (ESP)	1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
4	Chris Froome (GBR)	2013, 2015, 2016, 2017
3	Philippe Thys (BEL)	1913, 1914, 1920
	Louison Bobet (FRA)	1953, 1954, 1955
	Greg LeMond (USA)	1986, 1989, 1990
	Tadej Pogačar (SVN)	2020, 2021, 2024

Related Cycling Events

L'Étape du Tour is a special event. It lets amateur cyclists ride the same route as a Tour de France stage. It happens every July, usually on a Tour rest day.

Several women's Tour de France races were held in the past. But they faced problems like high costs.

In 2014, La Course by Le Tour de France was launched. This was a one-day race for women. It was held with the men's race.

From 2022, the Tour de France Femmes started. This is an 8-day stage race for women. It happens after the men's Tour. The first edition in 2022 was won by Annemiek van Vleuten.

Other Tour de France related events are held around the world. The Tour de France Saitama criterium has been held in Saitama, Japan since 2013. The Tour de France Singapore criterium has been held in Singapore since 2022.

See also

In Spanish: Tour de Francia para niños