Tour de France

The Tour de France is a men's professional road cycling race that takes place over multiple stages, mostly in France. It is the oldest and most respected of the three Grand Tours, alongside the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.

The race was first run in 1903 as a way to boost sales for the newspaper *L'Auto*, a forerunner of *L'Équipe*. It has been held every year since, except during the two World Wars (1915–1918 and 1940–1946). As its fame grew, the route became longer and more international riders joined. It is a UCI World Tour event, meaning most competing teams are UCI WorldTeams, though the organizers also invite others.

The race is traditionally held in July. The route changes each year, but the format stays consistent: it includes time trials, passages through the Pyrenees and Alps, and—since 1975, with the exception of 2024—a finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Modern Tours have 21 stages over 23 or 24 days, covering about 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles). The race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France each year.

Between 20 and 23 teams, each with eight riders, usually compete. All stages are timed, and each rider’s times are added to their previous totals. The rider with the lowest cumulative time leads the race and wears the yellow jersey. While the general classification draws the most attention, there are other competitions: the points classification for sprinters (green jersey), the mountains classification for climbers (polka-dot jersey), the young rider classification for those under 26 (white jersey), and the team classification, based on the first three finishers from each team on each stage. Winning a single stage is also prestigious, often done by a team’s sprint specialist or a rider in a breakaway.

A similar race for women existed under various names from 1984 to 2009. After criticism from campaigners and the professional women’s peloton, a one- or two-day race called La Course by Le Tour de France was held from 2014 to 2021. The first Tour de France Femmes took place in 2022.

**History**

**Origins** The Tour de France was created in 1903. Its roots lie in a rivalry between two French sports newspapers. *Le Vélo* was the first and largest daily sports paper, while *L'Auto* was founded in 1899 by journalists and businessmen including Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, Adolphe Clément, and Édouard Michelin. This rival paper emerged from disagreements over the Dreyfus Affair. De Dion, Clément, and Michelin were upset with *Le Vélo*—which covered more than cycling—because its financial backer was the Darracq company, a commercial rival. De Dion believed *Le Vélo* gave Darracq too much attention and him too little. De Dion was wealthy and could afford to act on his whims. The new newspaper appointed Henri Desgrange as editor. He was a prominent cyclist and co-owner, with Victor Goddet, of the velodrome at the Parc des Princes.

*L'Auto* sold fewer copies than its rival, leading to a crisis meeting on 20 November 1902 at the newspaper’s office in Paris. The last to speak was the chief cycling journalist, 26-year-old Géo Lefèvre. He suggested a six-day race across France, similar to track races but much longer. Long-distance cycling races were a popular way to sell newspapers, but nothing of the length Lefèvre proposed had ever been tried.

**The first Tour de France (1903)** The first Tour de France was held in 1903. The original plan was a five-stage race from 31 May to 5 July, starting in Paris and stopping in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Nantes before returning to Paris. Toulouse was added later to break the long stretch across southern France. Stages were meant to run through the night and finish the next afternoon, with rest days in between, but this proved too difficult and expensive, and only 15 riders entered. Desgrange had never been fully convinced and nearly abandoned the idea. Instead, he shortened the race to 19 days, changed the dates to 1–19 July, and offered a daily allowance to riders who averaged at least 20 kilometers per hour (12 mph) on all stages—equal to a factory worker’s daily wage. He also cut the entry fee from 20 to 10 francs and set the first prize at 12,000 francs, with 3,000 francs for each daily winner. The winner would earn six times what most workers made in a year. This attracted between 60 and 80 entrants (the higher number may include serious inquiries and dropouts), including professionals, amateurs, unemployed men, and adventurers.

The first Tour started near the Café Reveil-Matin in the village of Montgeron. The starter, Georges Abran, waved the riders off at 3:16 p.m. on 1 July 1903. *L'Auto* did not put the race on its front page that morning. Competitors included eventual winner Maurice Garin, his sturdy rival Hippolyte Aucouturier, German favorite Josef Fischer, and various adventurers, including one who raced as "Samson." Many riders dropped out after the early stages because the physical demands were too great. Only 24 remained by the end of the fourth stage. The race finished on the edge of Paris at Ville d'Avray.