Tour de France

All you need to know about the Tour de France including Results, Interviews, Prize Money, Previews, Profiles, Calendars and Race Reports!

The Tour de France is an annual men’s cycle stage race around France. It is organized by Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), which also runs the Tour de France Femmes.

The race is part of the UCI Men’s World Tour and is considered one of the biggest events on the cycling’s calendar.

Tour de France Guide

Introduction

The Tour de France is cycling's most prestigious event. Over the course of 21 days in the summer, the French stage-race is incredibly popular and a cornerstone of cycling history, having taken place for the first time in 1903 as advertising for the L'Auto newspaper, which had a yellow colour to it, which is the reason why until today the leader of the race wears a yellow jersey.

Le Tour de France is an annual men’s multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. The race covers more than 3,500 kilometers (2,200 mi) throughout France and is the best-known and most prestigious of cycling’s three “Grand Tours”; the others are the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España. This event is in fact so big that whole books have been dedicated to it as the race grasps so many people's imagination and admiration for the riders competing in it. Thousands and thousands of people even plan their holidays to experience the event live.

History

The race was first organized in 1903 to increase paper sales for the magazine L’Auto and is currently run by the Amaury Sport Organisation. The race has been held annually since that first edition except when it was stopped for the two World Wars. As the Tour gained prominence and popularity, the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend around the globe. Participation expanded from a primarily French field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year. The Tour is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams, with the exception of the teams that the organizers invite.

Traditionally, the race is held primarily in the month of July. While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same with the appearance of time trials, the passage through the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps, and the finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments (stages) over a 23-day period and cover around 3,500 kilometers (2,200 mi). The race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France.

Classifications

There are usually between 20 and 22 teams, with eight riders in each. All of the stages are timed to the finish; after finishing, the riders’ times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and wears a yellow jersey. While the general classification garners most attention there are other contests held within the Tour: points classification for sprinters, mountains classification for climbers, young rider classification for riders under 26 years old, and team classification for teams based on their individual times.

Prestigious event

The Tour de France has been described as “the world’s most prestigious and most difficult bicycle race.” Of course, not all stages are created equal. Climbs rated as hors catégorie (HC) or beyond categorization are considered to be extremely difficult and often decisive to overall victory in general classification. The most famous HC climbs include Col du Galibier, Mont Ventoux, Col du Tourmalet, Alpe d’Huez and Col de l’Iseran.

Lance Armstrong

The race has had its share of controversies over its long history. Doping has been a persistent issue in professional cycling and has plagued many riders at Le Tour de France. In recent years there have been several high-profile cases involving top riders such as Lance Armstrong who was stripped of his seven consecutive Tour general classification titles between 1999 and 2005 after it emerged that he had used performance-enhancing drugs.

Despite these controversies, Le Tour de France remains one of cycling’s most exciting events. It attracts millions of spectators along its route each year and is broadcast to over 200 countries worldwide! The race has a significant economic impact on host cities and towns along its route as well as on its sponsors. Le Tour de France is not just a bike race but also a cultural phenomenon that captures imaginations around the world.

Most recent Tour de France 2023

The last edition of the Tour de France was held in 2023 and was won by Jonas Vingegaard of Jumbo-Visma.

The race covered a distance of 3,404 kilometers (2,115 miles) and started in Bilbao, Spain before finishing in Paris . The race consisted of 21 stages and was the 110th edition of the Tour de France. The foundation of Vingegaard’s second Tour win was a steadfast resistance to Pogacar’s pyrotechnics, which fizzled out as the peloton arrived in the Alps.
The overall podium included Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in second place and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) in third place.

The green jersey is awarded to the leader of the points classification, which is based on points awarded for high finishes in a stage and for winning intermediate sprints. Jasper Philipsen won that points competition with a total of 377 points.

In 2023, the winner of the polka dot jersey in the Tour de France was Giulio Ciccone. The polka dot jersey is awarded to the leader of the mountains classification, which is based on points awarded for being the first to reach the summit of categorized climbs. Giulio Ciccone won the mountains competition with a total of 106 points.  

Tadej Pogačar won the white jersey for a record-breaking fourth time. The white jersey is awarded to the best young rider (25 years or younger) in the Tour de France.

Tour de France final podiums:

2022 - Jonas Vingegaard - Tadej Pogacar - Geraint Thomas

2021 - Tadej Pogacar - Jonas Vingegaard - Richard Carapaz

2020 - Tadej Pogacar - Primoz Roglic - Richie Porte

2019 - Egan Bernal - Geraint Thomas - Steven Kruijswijk

2018 - Geraint Thomas - Tom Dumoulin - Chris Froome

2017 - Chris Froome - Rigoberto Urán - Romain Bardet

2016 - Chris Froome - Romain Bardet - Nairo Quintana

2015 - Chris Froome - Nairo Quintana - Alejandro Valverde

2014 - Vincenzo Nibali - Jean-Christophe Peraud - Thibaut Pinot

2013 - Chris Froome - Nairo Quintana - Joaquim Rodríguez

2012 - Bradley Wiggins - Chris Froome - Vincenzo Nibali