Cycling History and Information, Winners

Cycling
Cycling is a recreation, a sport, and a means of transport across land. It involves riding bicycles, unicycles, tricycles, and other human powered vehicles (HPVs). As a sport it is governed internationally by the Union Cycliste Internationale in Switzerland (for upright bicycles) and by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (for other HPVs). Cycling for transport and touring is promoted on a European level by the European Cyclists' Federation, and regular conferences are held under the auspices of Velo City, whereas global conferences are coordinated by Velo Mondial

Tour De France
Local name Le Tour de France , Region France and adjacent countries, Date July
Type Stage Race (Grand Tour)

 

History of Tour De France
First race 1903
Number of races 92 (2005)
First winner Maurice Garin, (France)
Most wins Lance Armstrong, (United States), 7 times
Latest winner Lance Armstrong, (United States), 2005
Most career Yellow Jerseys Eddy Merckx (Belgium) 111
Most career stage wins Eddy Merckx (Belgium) 33
The Tour de France (French for "Tour of France"), often referred to as La Grande Boucle, Le Tour or The Tour, is a long-distance road bicycle racing competition for professionals held over three weeks in July in and around France. It has been held annually since 1903, interrupted only by World War I and World War II. The most recent Tour was the 2005 Tour de France.

The Tour de France is by far the most prestigious of all cycling competitions in the world. While the other two European Grand Tours are well-known in Europe and attract many professional cyclists, they are relatively unknown outside the continent, and even the UCI World Cycling Championship is only familiar to cycling enthusiasts. The Tour de France, in contrast, has long been a household name around the globe, even amongst people who are not generally interested in pro cycling, and is for cycling what the FIFA World Cup is to football (soccer) in terms of global popularity. Only the best cycling teams in the world are chosen to compete and competitors must have an invitation to enter the race. It is also the world's largest annual pro sporting event, measured in the number of viewers.

Tour de France past winners

Tour	Year	Winner	Nationality	Team
92	2005	Lance Armstrong	United States	Discovery Channel
91	2004	Lance Armstrong	United States	U.S. Postal
90	2003	Lance Armstrong	United States	U.S. Postal
89	2002	Lance Armstrong	United States	U.S. Postal
88	2001	Lance Armstrong	United States	U.S. Postal
87	2000	Lance Armstrong	United States	U.S. Postal
86	1999	Lance Armstrong	United States	U.S. Postal
85	1998	Marco Pantani	Italy	Mercatone Uno
84	1997	Jan Ullrich	Germany	Telekom
83	1996	Bjarne Riis	Denmark	Telekom
82	1995	Miguel Induráin	Spain	Banesto
81	1994	Miguel Induráin	Spain	Banesto
80	1993	Miguel Induráin	Spain	Banesto
79	1992	Miguel Induráin	Spain	Banesto
78	1991	Miguel Induráin	Spain	Banesto
77	1990	Greg LeMond	United States	Z
76	1989	Greg LeMond	United States	ADR
75	1988	Pedro Delgado	Spain	Reynolds
74	1987	Stephen Roche	Ireland	Carrera
73	1986	Greg LeMond	United States	La Vie Claire
72	1985	Bernard Hinault	France	La Vie Claire
71	1984	Laurent Fignon	France	Renault
70	1983	Laurent Fignon	France	Renault
69	1982	Bernard Hinault	France	Renault
68	1981	Bernard Hinault	France	Renault
67	1980	Joop Zoetemelk	Netherlands	TI Raleigh
66	1979	Bernard Hinault	France	Renault
65	1978	Bernard Hinault	France	Renault
64	1977	Bernard Thévenet	France	Peugeot
63	1976	Lucien Van Impe	Belgium	Gitane
62	1975	Bernard Thévenet	France	Peugeot
61	1974	Eddy Merckx	Belgium	Molteni
60	1973	Luis Ocaña	Spain	Bic
59	1972	Eddy Merckx	Belgium	Molteni
58	1971	Eddy Merckx	Belgium	Molteni
57	1970	Eddy Merckx	Belgium	Faemino
56	1969	Eddy Merckx	Belgium	Faema
55	1968	Jan Janssen	Netherlands	Holland
54	1967	Roger Pingeon	France	France
53	1966	Lucien Aimar	France	Ford
52	1965	Felice Gimondi	Italy	Salvarini
51	1964	Jacques Anquetil	France	St-Raphael
50	1963	Jacques Anquetil	France	St-Raphael
49	1962	Jacques Anquetil	France	St-Raphael
48	1961	Jacques Anquetil	France	France
47	1960	Gastone Nencini	Italy	Italy
46	1959	Federico Bahamontes	Spain	Spain
45	1958	Charly Gaul	Luxembourg	Holland-Luxembourg
44	1957	Jacques Anquetil	France	France
43	1956	Roger Walkowiak	France	Nord-Est-Centre
42	1955	Louison Bobet	France	France
41	1954	Louison Bobet	France	France
40	1953	Louison Bobet	France	France
39	1952	Fausto Coppi	Italy	Italy
38	1951	Hugo Koblet	Switzerland	Switzerland
37	1950	Ferdinand Kubler	Switzerland	Switzerland
36	1949	Fausto Coppi	Italy	Italy
35	1948	Gino Bartali	Italy	Italy
34	1947	Jean Robic	France	Ouest
1940-1946 World War II
33	1939	Sylvère Maes	Belgium	Belgium
32	1938	Gino Bartali	Italy	Italy
31	1937	Roger Lapébie	France	France
30	1936	Sylvère Maes	Belgium	Belgium
29	1935	Romain Maes	Belgium	Belgium
28	1934	Antonin Magne	France	France
27	1933	Georges Speicher	France	France
26	1932	André Leducq	France	France
25	1931	Antonin Magne	France	France
24	1930	André Leducq	France	France
23	1929	Maurice De Waele	Belgium	Alcyon
22	1928	Nicolas Frantz	Luxembourg	Alcyon
21	1927	Nicolas Frantz	Luxembourg	Alcyon
20	1926	Lucien Buysse	Belgium	Automoto
19	1925	Ottavio Bottecchia	Italy	Automoto
18	1924	Ottavio Bottecchia	Italy	Automoto
17	1923	Henri Pélissier	France	Automoto
16	1922	Firmin Lambot	Belgium	Cycles Peugeot
15	1921	Léon Scieur	Belgium	La Sportive
14	1920	Philippe Thys	Belgium	La Sportive
13	1919	Firmin Lambot	Belgium	La Sportive
1915 to 1918 World War I
12	1914	Philippe Thys	Belgium	Cycles Peugeot
11	1913	Philippe Thys	Belgium	Cycles Peugeot
10	1912	Odile Defraye	Belgium	Alycon
09	1911	Gustave Garrigou	France	Alycon
08	1910	Octave Lapize	France	Alycon
07	1909	François Faber	Luxembourg	Alycon
06	1908	Lucien Petit-Breton	France	Cycles Peugeot
05	1907	Lucien Petit-Breton	France	Cycles Peugeot
04	1906	René Pottier	France	Cycles Peugeot
03	1905	Louis Trousselier	France	Cycles Peugeot
02	1904	Henri Cornet	France	Cycles JC
01	1903	Maurice Garin	France	La Française

 

Historical jerseys
Historically, there was a red jersey for the standings in non-stage-finish sprints: points were awarded to the first three riders to pass two or three intermediate points during the stage. These sprints also scored points towards the green jersey and bonus seconds towards the overall classification, as well as cash prizes offered by the residents of the area where the sprint took place. The sprints remain, with all these additional effects, the most significant now being the points for the green jersey. The red jersey was abolished in 1989.

There also used to be a combination jersey, scored on a points system based on standings for the yellow, green, red, and polka-dot jerseys. The jersey design was a patchwork, with areas resembling each individual jersey design. This was abolished in the same year as the red jersey.

Championship Jerseys
As in all road races, current national road race champions can wear their national jerseys in "ordinary stages"; the current world champion can wear the rainbow jersey. National time-trial champions are allowed to wear their national jerseys in time-trial stages only. National championships are held the weekend before the tour starts, and many of the tour favourites and team leaders do not compete in them. Often, therefore, national championship titles are held by domestiques or young, "up-and-coming" riders.

Wearing jerseys
The rider leading a classification at the end of a stage is required to wear the corresponding jersey during the next stage. Jerseys are awarded in a ceremony immediately following the stage, sometimes before trailing riders have finished the stage.

Where a single rider leads in the competition for more than one jersey, they wear the most prestigious jersey to which they are entitled, and the second-placed rider in each of the other classifications becomes entitled to wear the corresponding jersey. For example, in the first week it is common for the overall classification (yellow jersey) and points (sprint) competition (green jersey) to be led by the same rider. In this case the leading rider will wear the yellow jersey and the rider placed second in the points competition will wear the green jersey.

Not an actual jersey, a red number is given to and worn by the rider who a panelist of judges deemed the most aggressive bike racer the day before. While this is usually is given to the winner of the previous stage, it is not always, especially during a mass sprint. At the end of the tour an award is given to the rider who was thought to be the most aggressive bike racer throughout the entire three week tour.

A rider who leads a classification for a stage of the Tour gets three copies of the coloured jersey. The jersey bears their team logo, and the copy that they are awarded immediately after the stage end must have the logo attached in a matter of minutes, so this is done by a rapid process that can be done in the field but which yields an inferior jersey. Overnight, a high-quality jersey is printed to be worn the next day. They also get a high-quality jersey to keep as a souvenir: the ones that are worn get dirty and are sometimes damaged by the day's cycling.

Sometimes a rider takes the overall lead during a stage and gets sufficiently far ahead of the yellow jersey wearer such that his current time lead is greater than his time deficit to the yellow jersey in the general classification; when this happens, this rider may be referred to as being "the yellow jersey on the road". No jerseys are exchanged in this situation.

Types of stages
Ordinary/Normal stage
In an ordinary stage, all riders start simultaneously and share the road. The real start (départ réel) usually is some 2 to 5 km away from the starting point, and is announced by the Tour director in the officials' car waving a white flag.

Riders are permitted to touch (but not push or nudge) and to shelter behind each other, in slipstream. The latter is called drafting and is an essential technique. The one who crosses the finish line first wins. In the first week of the Tour, this usually leads to spectacular mass sprints.

While only finishers are awarded sprint points, all riders finishing in an identifiable group (with no significant gap to the rider in front, as determined by race officials) are deemed to have finished the stage in the same time as the lead rider of that group for overall classification purposes. This avoids what would otherwise be dangerous mass sprints. It is not unusual for the entire field to finish in a single group, taking some time to cross the line, but being credited with the same time as the stage winner.

Arrival of the 2005 Tour de France in Mulhouse. Time bonuses are awarded at some intermediate sprints and stage finishes to the first three riders who reach the specified point. These bonuses generally are a maximum of 20 seconds, and can allow a good sprinter to qualify for the Yellow Jersey early in the Tour.

Riders who crash within the last kilometre of the stage are credited with the finishing time of the group that they were with when they crashed. This prevents riders from being penalised for accidents that do not accurately reflect their performance on the stage as a whole given that crashes in the final kilometre can be huge pileups that are hard to avoid for a rider farther back in the peloton. A crashed sprinter inside the final kilometre will not win the sprint, but avoids being penalised in the overall classification. The final kilometre is indicated in the race course by a red triangular pennant - known as the flamme rouge - raised above the road[2].

Some ordinary stages take place in the mountains, almost always causing major shifts in the General Classification. On ordinary stages that do not have extended mountain climbs, most riders can manage to stay together in the peloton all the way to the finish; during mountain stages, however, it is not uncommon for some riders to lose 40 minutes to the winner of the stage. The so called mountain stages are often the deciding factor in determining the winner of the Tour de France. With the exception of the now traditional finish at the Champs-Elysées all famous stages, like Alpe d'Huez and Mont Ventoux, are mountain stages, and these often bring out the most spectators who line up the roads by the thousands to cheer and encourage the cyclists and support their favorites.

Individual time trial Tour de France
In an individual time trial each rider rides individually. The first stage of the tour is often a time trial, known as a prologue. Here, riders start in reverse order of race number, meaning the weakest rider on the lowest ranked team will be first off, with the final rider being the defending champion, wearing Number 1. The purpose of the prologue is to decide who gets to wear yellow on the opening day, and provide a large and prestigious spectacle for one lucky city.

There are usually three or four time trials during the Tour. One of these may be a team time trial (see below). Traditionally the final time trial has been the penultimate stage, and effectively determines the winner before the final ordinary stage which is not ridden competitively. On a few occasions, the race organisers made the final stage into Paris a time trial. The most recent occasion on which this was done, in 1989, yielded the closest ever finish in Tour history, when Greg LeMond beat Laurent Fignon by eight seconds overall. Fignon wore the yellow jersey for the final stage, with a narrow lead of 50 seconds, and was beaten by LeMond's superior time trial performance. Although other riders had used aerodynamic aids in previous tours, LeMond's aero handlebars and helmet were considered a major factor in his victory.

Team time trial Tour de France
Often in the first week of the Tour there is a team time trial (TTT). Each member of the team who crosses the finish line ahead of or with the fifth (or last, if the team has less than five riders) member of the team is credited with the time of the fifth (last) team member to cross the finish line; this is the middle member of a nine-person team. Members who finish clearly behind the fifth member of their team receive their individual actual time for the stage.

2nd: 20" 12th: 2' 00"
3rd: 30" 13th: 2' 10"
4th: 40" 14th: 2' 20"
5th: 50" 15th: 2' 30"
6th: 1' 16th: 2' 35"
7th: 1' 10" 17th: 2' 40"
8th: 1' 20" 18th: 2' 45"
9th: 1' 30" 19th: 2' 50"
10th: 1' 40" 20th: 2' 55"
11th: 1' 50" 21st: 3' 00"

Traditionally, riders received the actual time recorded by the fifth member of their team in that stage. However, since the 2004 Tour, the only riders that necessarily receive actual time are those on the winning team; members on trailing teams (who finish ahead of or with the fifth member of their team) receive either the fifth member's actual time, or a computed time based on the winning team's time plus a penalty based on their team's placing in that stage, whichever is lower. The following table indicates the time penalty added to the winning team's time that a member finishing with his team will receive, according to his team's placing, if their actual time is greater than the winning team's time plus this penalty.

For example, riders on a team that finished in 14th place, six minutes behind the winning team, would lose only two minutes and 20 seconds in the General Classification relative to the winners of the TTT. However, if they finished two minutes behind (still assuming 14th place), they would only lose the two minutes. If they finished in sixth place (still assuming two minutes behind the winning team), they would lose only one minute (per the table).

Some people speculate that the motivation behind the TTT rule change was an attempt by the race organisers to "Lance-proof" the Tour, limiting how much time Lance Armstrong could gain in this stage. There is, however, no evidence that indicates this is true, and it is more reasonable to conclude that the new rules are simply designed to limit how much time any legitimate contender for the overall win could lose in the TTT stage due to being on a weak team (e.g. Jan Ullrich on Team Bianchi in the 2003).

Famous stages of the Tour de France
Since 1975, the final stage always finishes on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, which, being cobbled, is an unpleasant surface to cycle on, though not as much as the famous Paris-Roubaix. The race takes multiple turns over the avenue, which is lined with enormous spectator crowds. This stage is not usually competitive in terms of the overall lead since it is a flat sprinters' stage, and the leader is likely to have a sufficiently large margin to be unchallengeable. There have been exceptions, however. In 1987, with Stephen Roche leading Pedro Delgado by only 40 seconds after the final time trial, Delgado broke away from the peloton on the Champs-Elysées, threatening to snatch victory at the last minute. (In fact he was caught, he and Roche both finished in the peloton, and Roche thereby won the Tour.)

In recent years the Tour organisers have experimented with holding the final time trial as the final, rather than as the penultimate, stage. Most famously, the final stage of the 1989 Tour saw Greg LeMond overtake Laurent Fignon's overall lead by just 8 seconds, the closest winning margin in the Tour's history. It is unlikely that this would be repeated in the future.

The particularly tough climb of Alpe d'Huez is a favourite, providing a stage finish in most Tours. In 2004, in another experiment, the mountain time trial ended at Alpe d'Huez. This seems less likely to be repeated, following complaints from the riders. Another famous mountain stage is the climb of the Mont Ventoux, often claimed to be the hardest climb in the Tour due to the harsh conditions there. The Tour usually features only one of these two climbs in a year.

To host a stage start or finish brings prestige, and a lot of business, to a town. Whereas formerly each stage would start at the preceding stage's finish line, making a continuous course for the race, nowadays each stage can often start some distance from the previous day's finish, to allow more towns to share in the glory. Sometimes the Tour will jump very long distances between stages, requiring a rest day to allow riders to be transported.

The prologue and first stage of the Tour are particularly prestigious to host. Usually one town will host the prologue (which is too short to go between towns) and also the start of stage 1. In some years, like 2005, there is no prologue. The Tour alternates between starting inside and outside France; traditionally, the first few stages are in a neighbouring country.