Cartoon Fun
and

History of
The Tour de France

 

 

2013 Tour de France was the 100th Anniversary!

Note: The bicycle in my illustration was obtained from Bicycle Stuff.com
free clipart section. I took the liberty of customizing this bike for our bear with
the fluffy seat (to help prevent soreness), a light, some streamers, and well, if
you notice he carries the Finish Line with him so he always wins!
Lance Armstrong, look out! (wink!)

July is the month for the now  world-famous Tour de France bicycle race.
And it all began due to ego!  

The Tour de France goes back to 1903, when 2 Paris sports publications called "Le Velo" and "L'Auto" were competing for readers.  Henri Desgrange was the editor of the "L'Auto" publication and also a former cycling champ.  The "Le Velo" had already organized a 400-mile race called the Bordeaux-to-Paris and the 700-mile Paris-Brest-Paris races.  So Henri decided to create an even more grueling and awesome race that would last an entire month and take it's competitors on a 1,500 mile route through France that begins in Paris and ends in Paris.  The original title was "Le Tour de France Cycliste" and was an instant success, drawing huge crowds and also doing what Henri wanted....doubling the readership of his paper the "L' Auto."

The original 1,500 miles is now 2,500 miles and includes some really tough stretches of biking through the Alps, the Massif Central, the Pyrenees mountains and ending at Paris' Arc de Triomphe.

What separates the Tour de France from other competitions is it's physical demands and it's format.  The race is divided into 23 timed stages (or legs of the race), covering over a 3-week period with only ONE DAY OF REST! There are 20 teams, with up to 10 riders per team making a total of 200 riders in the race. Some team riders are to "clear the way" for the team's best cyclists.  The best riding teams have members who are specialized in such certain bicycling skills such as sprinting, climbing hills and speed.   Then there are some team members who are the logistics support (along the same lines as a race driver has a pit crew to help him?) in which their sole purpose is to clear a path for the team's leader, even if it means giving him your bike or say tire if need be.  

It may seem odd, but a rider could win 4 to 5  of the daily stages and yet still end up finishing behind the actual winner (determined by the cyclist with the lowest cumulative time for ALL stages combined) of the Tour de France.  Ironically, that means that it's also possible to win only one stage or even NO stages of this race, and yet end up winning the race merely by staying close to the daily leaders day by day and wait for either them to mess up somehow and then take the lead or....some other strategy? ;) The race is a stage race, with each stage basically being a day long. (Some stages take more than a day.)  Ranking the riders according to their accumulated time is called "General Classification." The winner is the one who is ranked first in General Classification. The stages have varied through the years.  Today, there's about 20 stages, with each stage being about 50 to 200 miles long. ( The Tour will vary; but, all the stages add up to about 1,800 to 2,500 miles total. ) And, even though it's called the Tour de France, some of the stages are not in France, but are  in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.
The first stage of the Tour de France is called the prologue. It starts in France. And the end of the race is called the Champs-Élysées and ends in Paris.

 (The entire point system, as well as the different stages to me is extremely complicated and is explained in better detail on the official Tour de France website. )

In brief, the key to winning the Tour de France is consistency.  The winners also become international celebrities.  Some more than others.

The most well-known winners are listed chronologically as follows:
(a listing of all the winners is below)

Jacques Anquetil 
(1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964)

Eddie Mercks 
(1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974)
(From Belgiam and considered by many the world's greatest cyclist)

Bernard Hinault
 (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985)

Miguel Indurain
 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)

 

Chris Froome
(2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)

The first American to win the Tour de France is:

Greg LeMond
 (1986, 1989, 1990)

 

For a complete listing of all the  le Tour de France winners (single and multiple), scroll down the page a little bit.

A couple of other interesting stories of courage and determination include Eugene Cristophe in 1913 (who was in 2nd place at the time)  and suddenly broke the fork of his bike on a steep climb through the Pyrenees Mountains.  In this area, attacks by bears are a common danger.  Knowing this, Eugene ran 10 miles carrying his bike to the nearest village where he used a blacksmith's forge to repair it and then continue.

Another story is of Tom Simpson,  a former world champion cyclist, who collapsed and died while climbing Mont Ventoux in the 1967 race.  His last words were, "Put me on the bike!"  Later, tests showed that performance-enhancing drugs were believed to have been a big player in his death.  As a result, drug scandals have plagued this competition ever since. Riders are now routinely tested for drugs during the month the race goes on.

The Tour de France is considered the most prestigious bike race in the world today.  This is probably due to television.  It is said to attract more viewers than any other sporting event.  I am not sure how this is determined?  I guess considering it goes for an entire month, it probably does compared to few weeks of the Olympics, Word Series or even a one-day event like the Super Bowl?  And since it covers the entire country of France, it is estimated that 14.6 million live viewers stand along the roads to catch a glimpse of the racers as they go by.

The biggest crowd for the Tour de France forms along the Champs-Elysees, the most famous boulevard in Paris.  The last stage of the race creates a spectacular view for the racers as they go by some famous sights like the Lourvre, the Tuileries Gardens, the arcades of the Rue de Rivoli, the Place de la Concorde and lastly the Arc de Rriomphe (Arch of Triomph).  Photographs usually show the winner passing the Arch and has become the symbol for victory of this race.

The Arc de Triomphe was originally commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 and is the monumental tomb site for their Unknown Soldier (who is buried in the center).

In 1984 the Tour Feminin was created for female cyclists to compete.  It is only 625 miles and is run concurrently with the last two weeks of the men's tour.

What's with all the shirt colors?

In 1919 a tradition began of acknowledging (and making it easier to recognize) the current leader with the lowest accumulated points by being the riding who wears a YELLOW jersey. This person is the overall time leader.

Now the last place cyclist is then given a RED jersey and is referred to as the "Red Lantern."   It reminds me of the red caboose on a train. The red jersey, however, is no longer given out. It was abolished in 1989.

They also have the GREEN jersey, which is awarded to the rider with the most sprint points. The points vary, depending on the type of stage in the race it is. Flat stages give more points that the Mountainous stages.  Riders are given points based on how they come in as in...  first, second, etc. Points are also awarded for individual time achievements.

Then in the 1930's they added a WHITE jersey with red polka dots, as an acknowledgement for "The King of the Mountains" to the rider who excelled in the climbing phase of the race.

 

All the Tour de France Winners

Race Year	The Winner + Country	Note:
1903	Maurice Garin, France
1904	Henri Cornet, France
1905	Louis Trousselier, France
1906	René Pottier, France
1907	Lucien Petit-Breton, France
1908	Lucien Petit-Breton, France
1909	Francois Faber, Luxembourg
1910	Octave Lapize, France
1911	Gustave Garrigou, France
1912	Odile Defraye, Belgium
1913	Philippe Thys, Belgium
1914	Philippe Thys, Belgium
1915-18		NOT HELD
1919	Firmin Lambot, Belgium
1920	Philippe Thys, Belgium
1921	Léon Scieur, Belgium
1922	Firmin Lambot, Belgium
1923	Henri Pelissier, France
1924	Ottavio Bottecchia, Italy
1925	Ottavio Bottecchia, Italy
1926	Lucien Buysse, Belgium
1927	Nicholas Frantz, Luxembourg
1928	Nicholas Frantz, Luxembourg
1929	Maurice Dewaele, Belgium
1930	André Leducq France
1931	Antonin Magne France
1932	André Leducq France
1933	Georges Speicher, France
1934	Antonin Magne France
1935	Romain Maes Belgium
1936	Sylvere Maes Belgium
1937	Roger Lapebie, France
1938	Gino Bartali, Italy
1939	Sylvere Maes, Belgium
1940-45		NOT HELD
1946	Jean Lazarides, France	(Five-day race)
1947	Jean Robic, France
1948	Gino Bartali, Italy
1949	Fausto Coppi, Italy
1950	Ferdinand Kubler, Switzerland
1951	Hugo Koblet, Switzerland
1952	Fausto Coppi, Italy
1953	Louison Bobet, France
1954	Louison Bobet, France
1955	Louison Bobet, France
1956	Roger Walkowiak, France
1957	Jacques Anquetil, France
1958	Charly Gaul, Luxembourg
1959	Federico Bahamontes, Spain
1960	Gastone Nencini, Italy
1961	Jacques Anquetil, France
1962	Jacques Anquetil, France
1963	Jacques Anquetil, France
1964	Jacques Anquetil, France
1965	Felice Gimondi, Italy
1966	Lucien Aimar, France
1967	Roger Pingeon, France
1968	Jan Janssen, Holland
1969	Eddy Merckx, Belgium
1970	Eddy Merckx, Belgium
1971	Eddy Merckx, Belgium
1972	Eddy Merckx, Belgium
1973	Luis Ocana, Spain
1974	Eddy Merckx, Belgium
1975	Bernard Thevenet, France
1976	Lucien van Impe, Belgium
1977	Bernard Thevenet, France
1978	Bernard Hinault, France
1979	Bernard Hinault, France
1980	Joop Zoetemelk, Holland
1981	Bernard Hinault, France
1982	Bernard Hinault, France
1983	Laurent Fignon, France
1984	Laurent Fignon, France
1985	Bernard Hinault, France
1986	Greg LeMond, US
1987	Stephen Roche, Ireland
1988	Pedro Delgado, Spain
1989	Greg LeMond, US
1990	Greg LeMond, US
1991	Miguel Induráin, Spain
1992	Miguel Induráin, Spain
1993	Miguel Induráin, Spain
1994	Miguel Induráin, Spain
1995	Miguel Induráin, Spain
1996	Bjarne Riis, Denmark
1997	Jan Ullrich, Germany
1998	Marco Pantani, Italy
1999	Lance Armstrong, US	(Removed) *
2000	Lance Armstrong, US	(Removed) *
2001	Lance Armstrong, US	(Removed) *
2002	Lance Armstrong, US	(Removed) *
2003	Lance Armstrong, US	(Removed) *
2004	Lance Armstrong, US	(Removed) *
2005	Lance Armstrong, US	(Removed) *
2006	Oscar Pereiro, Spain   *
2007	Alberto Contador, Spain
2008	Carlos Sastre, Spain
2009	Alberto Contador, Spain
2010	Alberto Contador, Spain
2011	Cadel Evans, Australia	(First time win for this country.)
2012	Bradley Wiggins, Great Britian	(First time win for this country.)
2013	Chris Froome, Great Britian
2014	Vincenzo Nibali, Italy
2015	Chris Froome, Great Britian
2016	Chris Froome, Great Britian
2017	Chris Froome, Great Britian
2018	Geraint Thomas, Wales
2019	*Egan Bernal, Columbia
2020	Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia
2021	Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia
2022	Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark
2023	Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark
2024	Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030