All About the Tour De France!

Widely considered to be the world’s most prestigious and difficult bike race, the Tour De France is an annual three-week-long bike race that covers over 2,000 miles. This year, 2025, is the 112th Tour De France and will be taking place from July 5th until July 27th, over the course of 21 different stages. This year the Tour will begin in the town of Lille and end in Paris, crossing four mountain ranges and topping five summits on the way. While an amazing feat to complete, the Tour De France is not the only large bike race in the world - so what makes it so special? To find out what has kept the Tour so prominent in the cycling community for over 100 years, we have to go back to its inception in 1903.

Henri Desgrange established the Tour De France in 1903, and the race has been run every year since, barring only years during the two World Wars. The race was started to boost tourism and newspaper circulation. The first race hosted 60 men and the prize money was 20,000 francs. Each of these 60 riders rode as individuals with no helmets, support cars, or repair teams. Only 21 of the 60 finished. Slowly but surely, the race grew from there. The Tour De France is now recognized as the most popular bike race in modern day. Not only now do riders need repair teams and support, but also multiple bikes. Cyclists competing typically have three different bikes that they use for the race: one for time trials, one for flat roads, and one for climbing. All bicycles being used in the race must be preapproved and meet the standards of the International Cycling Union. The iconic yellow jersey was first introduced in 1919, symbolizing the yellow of the sports newspaper L’Auto. The yellow jersey is awarded to whichever cyclist has the lowest cumulative time at the end of each day. Along with this yellow jersey, the race also awards a polka-dotted jersey and a white jersey.

The Tour De France is both an individual and a team race. Although only one person can technically “win” the Tour, riders depend on their team members for tactics such as pace setting, drafting, and blocking rivals. Oftentimes, the winner will share his prize money with members of his team. There are four riders who have won the race a record number of five times: Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. Lance Armstrong won the race seven times but had all seven of his titles stripped after he was found guilty of doping.

There have been many momentous moments throughout the history of the Tour. The first rider to wear a helmet in the Tour de France was in 1975, but helmets weren’t widely used in the Tour until the 90s, the pinnacle moment being in 1994 when Italian Rider Fabio Casartelli died during the race as a result of a crash. About 10 years after his death, and 100 after the race’s conception, in 2005, helmets became fully mandatory in the Tour De France. Casartelli was not the first death in the race, however. In 1935, Spanish rider Francesco Cepeda died when he fell into a ravine, and in 1967, Brit Tom Simpson died from heat exhaustion.

If you want to follow the 2025 Tour De France, you can follow their official Instagram and TikTok accounts for live updates. Also, the Tour and the Tour de Femmes (the women’s Tour) will be streamed live on Peacock. Check it out and get inspired to go riding yourself!

Resources:

• Almond, Elliot. “Crash Kills Cyclist in Pyrenees : Tour de France: Casartelli Fails to Make a Turn at 55 m.p.h. and Becomes Third to Die in 92-Year History of Race.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 1995, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-19-sp-25419-story.html.
• Klein, Christopher. “The Birth of the Tour de France.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 27 May 2025, www.history.com/articles/the-birth-of-the-tour-de-france.
  
• “Official Website of Tour de France 2025.” Official Website of Tour de France 2025, www.letour.fr/en/. Accessed 28 May 2025.
  
• “Tour de France.” Cycling Weekly, 25 June 2024, www.cyclingweekly.com/racing/tour-de-france.
• “Tour de France.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 20 May 2025, www.britannica.com/sports/Tour-de-France.
  
• Venutolo-Mantovani, Michael. “The Biggest Champions in Tour de France History.” Bicycling, 24 June 2024, www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france/a61239458/most-famous-tour-de-france-winners/.