Tour de France: 114 years since the first crowning
As the 104th edition of the event progresses in France, a quick look at the most prestigious stage of cycling.
The Tour de France is probably the world's most famous cycle race. The over a century old annual race was suspended only twice in history due to the raging World Wars. Here are a few things to know about one of the biggest sporting events in the world. (A
The Tour de France takes place over 23 days and covers over 2,200 miles (3540 kilometres). Each year the race takes a different route, but has a fixed finish at Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris. (AP)
TdF doesn’t just take place in France – most years it has some stages in other countries like Belgium, Corsica, the UK and the Netherlands. (AP)
Every racing day of the event is called a ‘Stage’, which can last up to six hours. At the end of each day, the rider who crosses the finish line first is the ‘Stage Winner’ and gets to go up onto the podium. The 23 days of the race consist of 21 stages and two rest days. The overall winner of the TdF is the rider with the quickest time for all the stages put together. (AP)
It is possible for a rider who has not been in the lead to win the overall TdF by clocking a wonder on the last day. This has happened twice so far in 1947 and 1968. Winners under various categories are awarded special cycling attire known as a ‘Jersey’. (AP)
The time taken by each cyclist to cross the finish line is recorded as their stage timing. The participant with the quickest overall time from the start wins the Yellow Jersey. The best sprinter gets the Green jersey, while the best performer along the steep mountain stages wins the Polka Dot Jersey. (AP)
Approximately 15 million spectators hit the route of the Tour every year, making it one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Fans come and camp along the route days prior to the event. Residents decorate their houses, paint the roads and display yellow bikes on the side of the road in solidarity. (AP)
The first Tour de France race was held in 1903. Frenchman Maurice Garin won the race on July19, which had six stages and 70 cyclists. The youngest winner in history was 19-year-old Henri Cornet of France in 1904 and the oldest was Belgian Firmin Lambot, who was 36 years old when he won in 1922. (Courtesy - BikeraceInfo.com)
Britishman Chris Froome of Team Sky is the defending champion.This year's edition was flagged off from Düsseldorf in Germany on July 1. This year, it involves 9 flat stages, 5 hilly stages, 5 mountain stages and 2-time trial stages. (AP)
France has won the race the most with 36 titles to boast about. The overall winner bags a prize money of 450,000 Euros (Rs. 3,33,82,118). (AP)
The longest day in 2017 race is Stage 19, which is scheduled for July 21, Friday. The participants will cycle a total of 222.5km from Embrun to Salon-de-Provence in Southern France. They will be later airlifted to the province which hosts the 20th Stage. (AP)
