Tour de France [turdə Frà ː s], road cycling: The most significant multi-stage race in the world for professional cyclists, the year in July in France is discharged.
Tracks and jerseys
The first tour was run in 1903, since then (except 1915–18 and 1940–46) it has been held annually in July. The 107th edition was postponed by two months to late summer due to the coronavirus pandemic (29.8. – 20.9.2020).
Today the route is around 3,500 km over 21 stages. The longest journey (1926) was 5,745 km. Since 1954 it has been customary to irregularly include neighboring countries (Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain) in the routing (first start on Corsica in 2013). Important and often decisive mountain tests are held in the Pyrenees and Alps. In addition to daily sections through different terrain, there are also time trials: prologue (short individual time trial at the beginning of a Tour de France), team time trials and longer individual time trials. The »Tour« always ends in Paris, since 1975 on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. During the race, the leader in the individual classification wears that Yellow jerseyintroduced in 1919. Since 1933 there has been a mountain classification (dotted jersey; white with red dots) and since 1953 a points classification (green jersey) for the best sprinter (points in intermediate sprints and crossings). The best young driver (up to 25 years of age) has been wearing a white jersey since 1999 .
Driver and History
The most successful drivers so far are J. Anquetil, E. Merckx, B. Hinault and M. Induráin Larraya with five overall wins each. L. Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times, but his titles were stripped from him in 2012 because of doping. The first German overall victory came in 1997 with J. Ullrich. E. Zabel won the sprint classification in 1996-2001.
Doping has been a dominant topic in the Tour de France for many years. In 1998 two teams were excluded from the race after a systematic doping practice was discovered. J. Ullrich, not admitted. The provisional winner of the Tour de France 2006, Floyd Landis (* 1975), was stripped of victory after a positive doping test. In the years that followed, there were numerous other doping violations. Also A. Contador, winner of the Tour de France in 2007, 2009 and 2010, the victory in 2010 was subsequently charged with doping again denied. The L. Armstrong revoked titles from 1999-2005 were not reassigned.
Tour de France: Winner from 1947
| Tour de France: The winners since 1947 | ||
| 1947 | J. Robic | France |
| 1948 | G. Bartali | Italy |
| 1949 | F. Coppi | Italy |
| 1950 | F. Kübler | Switzerland |
| 1951 | H. Koblet | Switzerland |
| 1952 | F. Coppi | Italy |
| 1953 | L. Bobet | France |
| 1954 | L. Bobet | France |
| 1955 | L. Bobet | France |
| 1956 | R. Walkowiak | France |
| 1957 | J. Anquetil | France |
| 1958 | C. Gaul | Luxembourg |
| 1959 | F. Bahamontes | Spain |
| 1960 | G. Nencini | Italy |
| 1961 | J. Anquetil | France |
| 1962 | J. Anquetil | France |
| 1963 | J. Anquetil | France |
| 1964 | J. Anquetil | France |
| 1965 | F. Gimondi | Italy |
| 1966 | L. Aimar | France |
| 1967 | R. Pingeon | France |
| 1968 | J. Janssen | Netherlands |
| 1969 | E. Merckx | Belgium |
| 1970 | E. Merckx | Belgium |
| 1971 | E. Merckx | Belgium |
| 1972 | E. Merckx | Belgium |
| 1973 | L. Ocaña | Spain |
| 1974 | E. Merckx | Belgium |
| 1975 | B. Thévenet | France |
| 1976 | L. Van Impe | Belgium |
| 1977 | B. Thévenet | France |
| 1978 | B. Hinault | France |
| 1979 | B. Hinault | France |
| 1980 | J. Zoetemelk | Netherlands |
| 1981 | B. Hinault | France |
| 1982 | B. Hinault | France |
| 1983 | L. Fignon | France |
| 1984 | L. Fignon | France |
| 1985 | B. Hinault | France |
| 1986 | G. LeMond | USA |
| 1987 | S. Roche | Ireland |
| 1988 | P. Delgado | Spain |
| 1989 | G. LeMond | USA |
| 1990 | G. LeMond | USA |
| 1991 | M. Induráin Larraya | Spain |
| 1992 | M. Induráin Larraya | Spain |
| 1993 | M. Induráin Larraya | Spain |
| 1994 | M. Induráin Larraya | Spain |
| 1995 | M. Induráin Larraya | Spain |
| 1996 | B. Riis | Denmark |
| 1997 | J. Ullrich | Germany |
| 1998 | M. Pantani | Italy |
| 1999 | – 1) | USA |
| 2000 | – 1) | USA |
| 2001 | – 1) | USA |
| 2002 | – 1) | USA |
| 2003 | – 1) | USA |
| 2004 | – 1) | USA |
| 2005 | – 1) | USA |
| 2006 | O. Pereiro 2) | Spain |
| 2007 | A. Contador | Spain |
| 2008 | C. Sastre | Spain |
| 2009 | A. Contador | Spain |
| 2010 | A. Schleck 3) | Luxembourg |
| 2011 | C. Evans | Australia |
| 2012 | B. Wiggins | Great Britain |
| 2013 | C. Froome | Great Britain |
| 2014 | V. Nibali | Italy |
| 2015 | C. Froome | Great Britain |
| 2016 | C. Froome | Great Britain |
| 2017 | C. Froome | Great Britain |
| 2018 | G. Thomas | Great Britain |
| 2019 | E. Bernal | Colombia |
| 2020 | T. Pogačar | Slovenia |
| 2021 | T. Pogačar | Slovenia |
| 1) L. Armstrong (USA) were stripped of all titles after August 1st, 1998 because of doping; his 7 Tour de France titles have not been reassigned.2) F. Landis (USA) was subsequently revoked because of doping.
3) A. Contador (Spain) was subsequently revoked because of doping. |
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