Factbox: Tour de France

4 Jul 2012, 9:20 am   -   Source: SBS
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This year, the Tour de France runs through 20 stages and cyclists will cover a total distance of 3,497 kilometres. (Getty Images)

This year, the Tour de France runs through 20 stages and cyclists will cover a total distance of 3,497 kilometres. (Getty Images)

Are you behind the pack on Tour de France facts? Take a look at our quick guide.

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HISTORY OF THE RACE

The first Tour de France kicked off on July 1, 1903. It was the brainchild of French journalist Géo Lefèvre, who was a cycling enthusiast and writer for L’Auto magazine.

RELATED: Cycling Central

Lefèvre proposed the idea of an extended cycling race at a crisis meeting for L’Auto, which was experiencing financial difficulties.

The magazine’s management team saw potential in a race determined to offer an extreme challenge to the best cyclists of the era. Sixty competitors departed Montgeron, outside Paris, at the inaugural Tour de France. Only 21 lasted the distance to cross the finish line. 

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY WINNERS?

There are 20 stages to the race, each designed to test cyclists in a specific way (the flat stages test speed, while the mountain stages test climbing ability). At the end of each stage, scores are calculated and jerseys are allocated to riders leading particular categories.

Yellow Jersey: Awarded to the cyclist in the overall lead position at the end of each stage. The famed yellow jersey gets its colour from the yellow paper L’Auto was printed on.
Green Jersey: Awarded to the best sprinter, scored on points.
Polka Dot Jersey: Worn by the best climber (also known as ‘King of the Mountains’).
White Jersey: Worn by the best young rider aged 25 or younger. 

TOUR ROUTE

This year, the Tour de France runs through 20 stages and cyclists will cover a total distance of 3,497 kilometres. Click here for more details on the 2012 route.

The race often veers out of its native France. In 1987, the Tour headed to Berlin to race under the shadow of the city’s separation wall. In 2012, the race begins in Belgium and will also detour through Switzerland.

PRIZE MONEY

Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France race in 1903, and was rewarded with prize money of 6,075 francs.

Today, the race remains lucrative with around 2 million euros in prize money up for grabs. The individual winner of the general classification will claim around 450 000 euros.

MISHAPS AND SCANDALS

Tour cyclists are no strangers to spills and injuries, but many of the worst race-related accidents have happened off course.

The first fatality occurred in 1910, when French racer Adolphe Hélière drowned during a rest day. In recent years, three spectators have also been killed in separate incidents after being hit by publicity vehicles attached to the race.

A major doping scandal rocked the tour and the cycling world in 1998, when the entire Festina team were banned from the race. A medical exam later showed eight of the nine Festina cyclists used a banned substance.

Not all towns have welcomed the race with open arms. The Capricornian newspaper, receiving a cablegram from London on the race in 1904, reported that year was a particularly tough one for riders. “Near the town of St. Etienne, some persons bearing spite against the competitors had strewn the road with nails and broken bottles,” an article in the paper declared.

Later in the same race, leading competitors were fired at with revolvers, but escaped injury. 

Tour de France

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Your Comments

Overall times - how do they work?

martin - from balmain, 11 months ago

Cadel was 17s behind after day one, and has been every day. Does this mean he crossed the finish line at exactly the same time as the leader every day? How is this calculated?

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