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Tour de France

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Sports events

   Tour de France logo, arranged on the asphalt at Mulhouse.
   Tour de France
   Local name Le Tour de France
   Region France and nearby countries
   Date July 7 to 29 ( 2007)
   Type Stage Race (Grand Tour)
   General Director Christian Prudhomme
   History
   First edition 1903
   Number of editions 93 (2006)
   First winner France Maurice Garin
   Most wins United States Lance Armstrong (7)
   Most Consecutive wins United States Lance Armstrong (7) 1999- 2005
   Latest winner United States Floyd Landis ( Spain Oscar Pereiro Sio if
   Landis is disqualified, see 2006 edition)
   Most career Yellow Jerseys Belgium Eddy Merckx (96) (111 overall incl.
   half stages)
   Most career stage wins Belgium Eddy Merckx (34)

   Le Tour de France (Tour of France), often referred to as La Grande
   Boucle, Le Tour or The Tour, is the most famous and prestigious road
   bicycle race in the world. With the exception of interruptions for
   World War I and World War II, it has been held annually since 1903. It
   is a long-distance stage race competition for professional cycling
   teams, traveling through France and its nearby countries over the
   course of three weeks each July. The winner is the individual rider who
   finishes the course of the race in the least accumulated time.

   The Tour de France, Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) and the Vuelta a
   España (Tour of Spain) are the three major stage races and the longest
   ones of the UCI International Calendar, at three weeks each. The Giro
   d'Italia, Tour de France, and World Cycling Championship constitute the
   Triple Crown of Cycling. While the other two European Grand Tours are
   well-known in Europe and attract many professional cyclists, they are
   relatively unknown outside the continent, and even the UCI World
   Cycling Championship is only familiar to cycling enthusiasts. The Tour
   de France, in contrast, has long been a household name around the
   globe, even among people who are not generally interested in
   professional cycling; it is for cycling what the FIFA World Cup is to
   football (soccer) in global popularity.

   Since 2005, the race has been a part of the UCI ProTour race series.
   The most recent Tour was the 2006 Tour de France.

History

   [USEMAP:49628.png]

   Note: Timeline out of date indefinitely
   due to software issues.

   The Tour was founded as a publicity event for the newspaper L'Auto
   (predecessor to the present l'Équipe) by its editor and co-founder,
   Henri Desgrange, to rival the Paris-Brest et retour ride (sponsored by
   Le Petit Journal), and Bordeaux-Paris. The idea for a round-France
   stage race is also credited to one of his journalists, Géorges Lefèvre,
   with whom Desgrange had lunch at the Café de Madrid in Paris on
   November 20, 1902. L'Auto announced the race on January 19, 1903.
   Promotion of the Tour de France certainly proved a great success for
   the newspaper; increasing circulation from 25,000 before the 1903 Tour
   to 65,000 after it; in 1908 the race boosted circulation past a quarter
   of a million, and during the 1923 Tour it was selling 500,000 copies a
   day. The record circulation claimed by Desgrange was 854,000, achieved
   during the 1933 Tour. Today, the Tour is organized by the Société du
   Tour de France, a subsidiary of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which
   is part of the media group that owns l'Équipe.

   The Tour is a " stage race", divided into a number of stages, each
   being a race held over one day. The time it takes each rider to
   complete each stage is noted, recorded, and accumulated. Riders who
   finish in the same group are awarded the same time, with possible
   subtractions due to time bonuses. Two riders are said to have finished
   in the same group if the gap between them is less than one bike-length.
   A crash within the final 3 kilometres of a normal stage means that all
   riders in the same group entering the final 3 kilometres are given the
   same time. The ranking of the riders according to accumulated time is
   known as the General Classification, or GC. The overall winner is the
   one who is ranked first on GC at the end of the final stage. It is
   possible to win the overall race without winning any individual stages
   (which Greg LeMond did in 1990). Winning a Tour de France stage is
   considered a great pro cycling achievement, more prestigious than
   winning most single day races, regardless of one's overall standing in
   the GC. Although the number of stages has varied in the past, recently
   the Tour has consisted of about 20 stages, with a total length of
   between 3,000 and 4,000 km (1800 to 2500 mi). In addition to the race
   for the overall win, there are several additional competitions. The
   leaders of these competitions are represented by certain coloured
   jerseys; see below for more information.

   The Tour is nowadays contested by professional teams backed by
   commercial sponsors, but the event began as a race for individuals;
   slipstreaming and other team tactics were initially savagely condemned
   by Desgrange, and he only accepted their inevitability during the
   1920s. Even when commercial cycling teams had become commonplace in
   other events, the Tour was contested by national teams for several
   years during the 1950s and early 1960s.

   Most stages take place in France though it is very common to have a few
   stages in nearby countries, such as Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium,
   Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, and the
   United Kingdom (visited in 1974 and 1994, and will start the 2007
   tour). The three weeks usually includes two rest days, which are
   sometimes used to transport the riders long distances between stages.

   In recent years, the first stage had been preceded by a short
   individual time trial (1 to 15 km), called the prologue. This was
   scrapped in 2005, but was reinstated again in 2006. Since 1975, the
   traditional finish is in Paris on the Champs-Élysées. During the Tour,
   various stages occur, including a number of mountain stages, individual
   time trials and a team time trial (scrapped in 2006). The remaining
   stages are held over relatively flat terrain. With the variety of
   stages, sprinters may win stages, but the overall winner is almost
   always a master of the mountain stages and time trials.

   The itinerary of the race changes each year and alternates between
   clockwise and anti-clockwise direction around France. (For example,
   2005 was a clockwise direction Tour — visiting the Alpes first and then
   the Pyrenees — while the 2006 race visits those two mountain ranges in
   the reverse order.) Some of the visited places, especially mountains
   and passes, recur almost annually and are famous on their own. The most
   famous mountains are those in the hors-categorie (peaks where the
   difficulty in climbing is beyond categorization), including the Col du
   Tourmalet, Mont Ventoux, Col du Galibier, the Hautacam, and Alpe
   d'Huez. Although the tour is often won in the mountain stages, the
   length and variety of terrain ensures that only an all-round rider can
   win the race. (A notable exception in recent years being the late Marco
   Pantani, the winner in 1998, who was a mountain climbing specialist.)

   From 1984 to 2003 there was a race called La Grande Boucle Féminine
   Internationale, which was unofficially considered Tour de France for
   women.

Tour directors

     * 1903 to 1939 Henri Desgrange
     * 1947 to 1961 Jacques Goddet
     * 1962 to 1986 Jacques Goddet and Felix Levitan
     * 1987 to 1988 Jean-François Naquet-Radiguet
     * 1988 to 1989 Jean-Pierre Courcol
     * 1989 to 2005 Jean-Marie Leblanc
     * 2005 to present Christian Prudhomme

Famous stages

   Since 1975, the final stage always finishes on the Champs-Élysées in
   Paris, which is cobbled, making it a difficult surface to cycle on,
   though not as hard as the famous Paris-Roubaix. The race takes multiple
   turns over the avenue, which is lined with enormous spectator crowds.
   This stage is not usually competitive in terms of the overall lead
   since it is a flat sprinters' stage, and the leader is likely to have a
   sufficiently large margin to be unchallengeable. There have been
   exceptions, however. In 1987, with Stephen Roche leading Pedro Delgado
   by only 40 seconds after the final time trial, Delgado broke away from
   the peloton on the Champs-Elysées, threatening to snatch victory at the
   last minute. (In fact he was caught, he and Roche both finished in the
   peloton, and Roche thereby won the Tour.)

   In 1989 the Tour organizers experimented by holding the final time
   trial as the final, rather than as the penultimate, stage. Famously,
   this final stage of the Tour saw Greg LeMond overtake Laurent Fignon,
   who held a 50-second overall lead, to win by just 8 seconds, the
   closest winning margin in the Tour's history. It is unlikely that this
   experiment will be repeated in the future.
   Altitude profile of the Alpe d’Huez climb.
   Enlarge
   Altitude profile of the Alpe d’Huez climb.

   The particularly tough climb of Alpe d'Huez is a favourite, providing a
   stage finish in most Tours. In 2004, in another experiment, the
   mountain time trial ended at Alpe d'Huez. This seems less likely to be
   repeated, following complaints of abusive spectator behaviour from the
   riders . Another famous mountain stage is the climb of the Mont
   Ventoux, often claimed to be the hardest climb in the Tour due to the
   harsh conditions there. The Tour usually features only one of these two
   climbs in a year.

   To host a stage start or finish brings prestige, and a lot of business,
   to a town. Whereas formerly each stage would start at the preceding
   stage's finish line, making a continuous course for the race, nowadays
   each stage can often start some distance from the previous day's
   finish, to allow more towns to share in the glory. Sometimes the Tour
   will jump very long distances between stages, requiring a rest day to
   allow riders to be transported.

   The prologue and first stage of the Tour are particularly prestigious
   to host. Usually one town will host the prologue (which is too short to
   go between towns) and also the start of stage 1. In some years, like
   2005, there is no prologue. The Tour alternates between starting inside
   and outside France; traditionally, the first few stages are in a
   neighbouring country.

Prize money

   Since the first Tour in 1903, prize money is awarded. From a total
   20.000 francs the first year, the total amount of prize money increases
   each year. Prizes and bonuses are awarded according to the
   classification in each stage and the overall classifications at the end
   of the race. A smaller amount is paid to teams as participation expense
   or presence bonus. In 2006, a total of over 3 million Euro was awarded,
   the winner of the individual general classification receiving 450,000
   Euros. Notwithstanding these increasing amounts, the importance of the
   prize money decreased through the years, as riders are well paid by
   their employers -the cycling teams- by contract.

Physical rigor

   "The Tour de France’s is arguably the most physiologically demanding of
   athletic events. The distance and time of the Tour is comparable to
   running a marathon several days a week for nearly three weeks. The
   vertical distance climbed traversing the Alps and Pyrenees is
   equivalent to climbing three Everests. Participants consume and burn as
   much as 10,000 calories per day.

Classification jerseys

   Apart from the overall competition of winning the Tour, each edition of
   the race has two further classifications: the points and the mountain
   competitions. Tallied at the end of each stage, the current leaders of
   the three competitions are required to wear a corresponding, distinctly
   coloured, jersey during the next stage. Jerseys are awarded in a
   ceremony immediately following each stage, sometimes before trailing
   riders have finished the stage. Where a single rider leads in the
   competition for more than one jersey, they wear the most prestigious
   jersey to which they are entitled, and the second-placed rider in each
   of the other classifications becomes entitled to wear the corresponding
   jersey. For example, in the first week it is common for the overall
   classification (yellow jersey) and points (sprint) competition (green
   jersey) to be led by the same rider. In this case the leading rider
   will wear the yellow jersey and the rider placed second in the points
   competition will wear the green jersey.

   A rider who leads a classification for a stage of the Tour gets three
   copies of the coloured jersey. The jersey bears their team logo, and
   the copy that they are awarded immediately after the stage end must
   have the logo attached in a matter of minutes, so this is done by a
   rapid process that can be done in the field but which yields an
   inferior jersey. Overnight, a high-quality jersey is printed to be worn
   the next day. They also get a high-quality jersey to keep as a
   souvenir: the ones that are worn get dirty and are sometimes damaged by
   the day's cycling.

   The Tour's jersey colours have been adopted by other cycling stage
   races, and have thus come to have meaning within cycling generally,
   rather than solely in the Tour. For example, the Tour of Britain has
   yellow, green, and polka-dot jerseys with the same meaning as in the
   Tour de France. The Giro d’Italia notably differs in awarding the
   overall leader a pink jersey, having been organized and sponsored by La
   Gazzetta dello Sport, an Italian sports daily newspaper with pink
   pages.

Overall leader

   Seven-time winner Lance Armstrong in the maillot jaune.
   Enlarge
   Seven-time winner Lance Armstrong in the maillot jaune.

   The maillot jaune (yellow jersey), which is worn by the overall time
   leader, is the most prized. It is awarded by calculating the total
   combined race time up to that point for each rider. The rider with the
   lowest total time is the leader, and at the end of the event is
   declared the overall winner of the Tour. Desgrange added the yellow
   jersey in 1919 because he wanted the race leader to wear something
   distinctive and because the pages of his magazine, L'Auto, were yellow.
   Additional time bonuses, in the form of a number of seconds to be
   deducted from the rider's overall time, are available to the first 3
   riders to finish the stage or cross an intermediate sprint (see below).
   As of 2005, the first 3 places to finish are awarded bonuses of 20, 12,
   and 8 seconds respectively, while the first 3 places at intermediate
   sprints are awarded 6, 4, and 2 seconds. However, these bonuses are
   rarely significant enough to cause major upset in the classement
   géneral (General Classification).

   Sometimes a rider takes the overall lead during a stage and gets
   sufficiently far ahead of the yellow jersey wearer his current lead is
   greater than his time deficit to the yellow jersey in the general
   classification; when this happens, this rider may be referred to as
   being "the yellow jersey on the road". Obviously, no jerseys can be
   exchanged in this situation, which is why in some other languages the
   leading rider is referred to as the "virtual yellow".

Points competition

   The maillot vert (green jersey) is awarded for sprint points. At the
   end of each stage, points for this jersey are earned by the riders who
   finish first, second, etc. The number of points for each place and the
   number of riders rewarded varies depending on the type of stage - flat
   stages give the winner 35 points down to 1 point for the 25th rider;
   medium mountain stages give the winner 25 points down to 1 point for
   the 20th rider; high mountain stages give the winner 20 points down to
   1 point for the 15th rider. This is because, generally speaking, the
   more mountainous a stage is, the less likely a sprint finish between
   many riders is. Points are also awarded for individual time trial
   stages: 15 for the winner down to 1 for the 10th rider. Additional
   points are available at intermediate sprint contests, usually occurring
   2 or 3 times in each stage at pre-determined locations; currently 6, 4
   and 2 points are available to the first 3 riders at each sprint.

King of the Mountains

   Michael Rasmussen wearing the polka dot jersey in 2005.
   Enlarge
   Michael Rasmussen wearing the polka dot jersey in 2005.

   The " King of the Mountains" wears a white jersey with red dots
   (maillot à pois rouges), referred to as the "polka dot jersey". At the
   top of each climb in the Tour, there are points for the riders who are
   first over the top. The climbs are divided into categories from 1 (most
   difficult) to 4 (least difficult) based on their difficulty, measured
   as a function of their steepness and length. A fifth category, called
   Hors categorie (outside category), is formed by mountains even more
   difficult than those of the first category.

   Although the best climber was first recognised in 1933, the distinctive
   jersey was not introduced until 1975. The colours were decided by the
   then sponsor, Poulain Chocolate, to match a popular product. In 2004,
   the scoring system was changed such that the first rider over a fourth
   category climb was awarded 3 points while the first to complete a hors
   category climb would win 20 points. Further points over a fourth
   category climb are only for the top three places while on a hors
   category climb the top ten riders are rewarded. Additionally, beginning
   in 2004, points scored on the final climb of the day were doubled if
   said climb was at least a second category climb.

Other classifications

   There are three lesser classifications, though only one of them awards
   the leader with a jersey. The maillot blanc (white jersey) is like the
   yellow jersey, but only open for young riders who are under 25 years
   old on January 1 of the year the Tour is ridden.

   The "fighting spirit" award goes to the most combative rider of the
   previous stage. Each day, a group of judges awards points to riders who
   made particularly attacking moves the day before, and the rider with
   most points in total gets a white-on-red (instead of a black-on-white)
   identification number. While this is usually given to the winner of the
   previous stage, it is not always so, especially during flat stages
   where AGHH aggressive riders might be caught by the peloton before a
   mass sprint. At the end of the tour, an award is given to the rider who
   was thought to be the most aggressive bike racer throughout the entire
   three week tour.

   There is also a team classification calculated by adding together the
   times of the top three riders of a team after each stage. The team
   classification is not associated with a particular jersey design, but
   beginning in 2006, all members of the leading team receive a
   black-on-yellow (as opposed to a black-on-white) identification number.
   Currently, the 20 teams licensed by the UCI ProTour participate in the
   Tour de France, along with any additional wildcard teams invited by the
   Tour organizers. Each team consists of 9 riders each (when starting),
   each sponsored by one or more companies - although at some stages of
   its history, the teams have been divided instead by nationality.

   As in all road races, current national road race champions can wear
   their national jerseys in "ordinary stages"; the current world champion
   can wear the rainbow jersey. National time-trial champions are allowed
   to wear their national jerseys in time-trial stages only. National
   championships are held the weekend before the tour starts, and many of
   the tour favourites and team leaders do not compete in them. Often,
   therefore, national championship titles are held by domestiques or
   young, "up-and-coming" riders.

Historical jerseys

   Historically, there was a red jersey for the standings in
   non-stage-finish sprints: points were awarded to the first three riders
   to pass two or three intermediate points during the stage. These
   sprints also scored points towards the green jersey and bonus seconds
   towards the overall classification, as well as cash prizes offered by
   the residents of the area where the sprint took place. The sprints
   remain, with all these additional effects, the most significant now
   being the points for the green jersey. The red jersey was abolished in
   1989.

   There also used to be a combination jersey, scored on a points system
   based on standings for the yellow, green, red, and polka-dot jerseys.
   The jersey design was a patchwork, with areas resembling each
   individual jersey design. This was abolished in the same year as the
   red jersey.

Stages

Mass-start stages

   A collected peloton in the 2005 Tour.
   Enlarge
   A collected peloton in the 2005 Tour.

   In an ordinary stage, all riders start simultaneously and share the
   road. The real start ( départ réel) usually is some 2 to 5 km away from
   the starting point, and is announced by the Tour director in the
   officials' car waving a white flag.

   Riders are permitted to touch (but not push or nudge) and to shelter
   behind each other, in slipstream. The latter is called drafting and is
   an essential technique. The one who crosses the finish line first wins.
   In the first week of the Tour, this usually leads to spectacular mass
   sprints.

   While only finishers are awarded sprint points, all riders finishing in
   an identifiable group (with no significant gap to the rider in front,
   as determined by race officials) are deemed to have finished the stage
   in the same time as the lead rider of that group for overall
   classification purposes. This avoids what would otherwise be dangerous
   mass sprints. It is not unusual for the entire field to finish in a
   single group, taking some time to cross the line, but being credited
   with the same time as the stage winner.
   Arrival of the 2005 Tour de France in Mulhouse.
   Enlarge
   Arrival of the 2005 Tour de France in Mulhouse.

   Time bonuses are awarded at some intermediate sprints and stage
   finishes to the first three riders who reach the specified point. These
   bonuses generally are a maximum of 20 seconds, and can allow a good
   sprinter to qualify for the yellow jersey early in the Tour.

   Riders who crash within the last 3 kilometres of the stage are credited
   with the finishing time of the group that they were with when they
   crashed . This prevents riders from being penalised for accidents that
   do not accurately reflect their performance on the stage as a whole
   given that crashes in the final kilometre can be huge pileups that are
   hard to avoid for a rider farther back in the peloton. A crashed
   sprinter inside the final kilometre will not win the sprint, but avoids
   being penalised in the overall classification. The final kilometre is
   indicated in the race course by a red triangular pennant - known as the
   flamme rouge - raised above the road.

   Some ordinary stages take place in the mountains, almost always causing
   major shifts in the General Classification. On ordinary stages that do
   not have extended mountain climbs, most riders can manage to stay
   together in the peloton all the way to the finish; during mountain
   stages, however, it is not uncommon for some riders to lose 40 minutes
   to the winner of the stage. The so called mountain stages are often the
   deciding factor in determining the winner of the Tour de France. With
   the exception of the now traditional finish at the Champs-Elysées all
   famous stages, like Alpe d'Huez and Mont Ventoux, are mountain stages,
   and these often bring out the most spectators who line up the roads by
   the thousands to cheer and encourage the cyclists and support their
   favorites.

Individual time trials

   Lance Armstrong riding the prologue of the 2004 Tour.
   Enlarge
   Lance Armstrong riding the prologue of the 2004 Tour.

   In an individual time trial each rider rides individually. The first
   stage of the tour is often a very short time trial, known as a
   prologue. Here, riders start in reverse order of race number, meaning
   the weakest rider on the lowest ranked team will be first off, with the
   final rider being the defending champion, wearing Number 1. If the
   champion of the last year does not take part, number 1 will be given to
   the first rider of the team of the former champion. The purpose of the
   prologue is to decide who gets to wear yellow on the opening day, and
   provide a large and prestigious spectacle for one lucky city.

   There are usually three or four time trials during the Tour. One of
   these may be a team time trial (see below). Traditionally the final
   time trial has been the penultimate stage, and effectively determines
   the winner before the final ordinary stage which is not ridden
   competitively. On a few occasions, the race organisers made the final
   stage into Paris a time trial. The most recent occasion on which this
   was done, in 1989, yielded the closest ever finish in Tour history,
   when Greg LeMond beat Laurent Fignon by eight seconds overall. Fignon
   wore the yellow jersey for the final stage, with a narrow lead of 50
   seconds, and was beaten by LeMond's superior time trial performance.
   Although other riders had used aerodynamic aids in previous tours,
   LeMond's aero handlebars and helmet were considered a major factor in
   his victory.

Team time trial

   Team CSC in the 2004 TTT.
   Enlarge
   Team CSC in the 2004 TTT.

   Often in the first week of the Tour there is a team time trial (TTT),
   in which each team rides together without interference from competing
   teams. The team time is determined by the fifth rider to cross the
   line; all riders ahead of the fifth rider, and those finishing within
   one bike length of each other, are awarded this same time. Riders who
   finish more than one bike-length behind their respective teams are
   awarded their own individual times.

   CAPTION: 2005 time limits

   2nd: 20"     12th: 2' 00"
   3rd: 30"     13th: 2' 10"
   4th: 40"     14th: 2' 20"
   5th: 50"     15th: 2' 30"
   6th: 1'      16th: 2' 35"
   7th: 1' 10"  17th: 2' 40"
   8th: 1' 20"  18th: 2' 45"
   9th: 1' 30"  19th: 2' 50"
   10th: 1' 40" 20th: 2' 55"
   11th: 1' 50" 21st: 3' 00"

   The TTT has been criticized for strongly favoring the strong teams and
   handicapping strong riders from weaker teams. To address this
   criticism, the 2004 and 2005 editions of the Tour limited the maximum
   team time difference relative to the fastest team, according to the
   team rankings on the stage. The following table indicates the maximum
   time penalty added to the winning team's time that a team will receive,
   according to its team time placing. However, this does not apply to
   riders finishing behind their own teams, and does not protect riders in
   case of crashing in the last kilometre, unlike during normal stages.

   For example, a team that finishes in 14th place, six minutes behind the
   winning team, would lose only two minutes and 20 seconds in the General
   Classification relative to the winners of the TTT. If the team time had
   been 2:13 behind the winning team, then the team time will be 2:13
   assuming that this were still the 14th place.

   In 2006 there was no TTT in the Tour.

Culture

   Spectator camps in 2005 at stage 14 to the Ax 3 Domaines ski station.
   Enlarge
   Spectator camps in 2005 at stage 14 to the Ax 3 Domaines ski station.

   The Tour is immensely popular and important in France, not only as a
   sporting event but also as a matter of national identity and pride. Any
   Frenchman who has won the Tour becomes an object of public adoration in
   his native land. It is said that any French rider who has worn the
   yellow jersey, even for a day, will never go hungry or thirsty again in
   France. Millions of spectators line the route every year to see the
   Tour firsthand, some of them having encamped a week in advance to get
   the best views. A recognizable part of the crowd each day is Didi Senft
   who, dressed in a red devil costume, has been known as the Tour de
   France devil or El Diablo since 1993. The inspiration for the costume
   is attributed to the final kilometre of each Tour stage, called the Red
   Devil's Lap.
   A vehicle in the 2005 commercial caravan.
   Enlarge
   A vehicle in the 2005 commercial caravan.

   In the hours before the riders pass, a carnival atmosphere prevails.
   Any amateur cyclist is free to attempt the course on his bicycle in the
   morning, and after which begins a garish cavalcade of advertising
   vehicles blaring music and tossing hats, souvenirs, sweets and free
   samples of all sorts. As word passes that the riders are approaching,
   the fans begin to encroach on the road until they are often just an
   arm’s length from the riders.

Customs

   The riders, unlike some of their fans, have traditionally tempered
   their competitiveness and enthusiasm with an elaborate but unwritten
   code of conduct. Whenever reasonably possible, one allows a rider to
   lead the peloton when the race passes through his home village or on
   his birthday, and it often happens that the winner of the stage held on
   Bastille Day is French. One does not attack a leading rider who has
   suffered a mechanical breakdown or other misfortune, one who is eating
   in the feed zone or one who is enjoying un besoin naturel (roughly
   translated to "a natural need", referring to urinating, for which
   sometimes the entire peloton will stop simultaneously on slow stages
   where the riders are hyperhydrated). Some riders do not always adhere
   to these customs, which can often lead to animosity in the peloton.
   Unless the final stage is a time trial, riders generally do not launch
   attacks on the leader of the Tour on the final stage, giving the leader
   one final day to bask in the glory of winning the yellow jersey.

   The rider ranked last in the general classification, who may wind up in
   Paris with an overall time five or more hours slower than that of the
   winner, is called the lanterne rouge. The rider may just be a lowly
   domestique, but such is the sympathy of the French public that
   finishing last is actually very prestigious. The money a rider can
   generate through publicity is much greater if he finishes last than
   second from last. Thus, in the past many riders have attempted to
   engineer themselves into last place by artificial means. Other riders
   may just be ill or slightly injured and unwillingly end up as the
   lanterne rouge.

Terminology

   Much of the terminology used to describe the Tour de France is
   frequently used in bicycle racing across the world. Terms specific to
   the Tour de France include:
     * flamme rouge, or red kite - the red pennant hanging from an archway
       at the start of the final kilometre (it may not always be exactly
       one kilometre from the finish; it is roughly 1000 metres from the
       finish, sometimes before where a crash may be likely, and/or where
       the erection of a large, tent-like inflatable arch is easiest)
     * lanterne rouge - meaning "red lantern" (as found at the end of a
       rail train), the name for the overall last-place rider.
     * voiture balai - the "broom wagon" is the Tour's van that follows
       the end of the stage scooping up riders who have abandoned the race
       due to exhaustion or injury. Some retiring riders, however, prefer
       to avoid embarrassment and choose to be picked up by the team's
       support car instead. Riders are generally expected to finish the
       race within 10–12 percent of the winner’s time or risk being
       dropped from the tour.

Films

   A casual fan, Scott Coady attended the 2000 Tour de France with the aim
   to follow the entire Tour de France with a handheld video camera. By
   chance, he got a press accreditation and went on to make The Tour Baby!
   which has gained cult status among cyclist around the world. He made
   the film to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation raising over
   $160,000 for the foundation.

   In 2005, two films were released, each chronicling the efforts of a
   single team competing in the Tour de France. The German film
   Höllentour, translated as "Hell on Wheels" in English, records the 90th
   Tour de France in 2003, the centenary year, from the perspective of
   Team Telekom. The film is directed by Pepe Danquart who won an Academy
   Award for Live Action Short Film in 1993 for Black Rider
   (Schwarzfahrer). Also released was Danish film Overcoming by Tómas
   Gislason, which records the 2004 Tour de France from the perspective of
   Team CSC.

   Perhaps the most famous film about the Tour is Vive Le Tour by Louis
   Malle. This 18 minute short takes a humorous look at the 1962 edition
   of La Grande Boucle. The 1965 Tour was filmed by Claude Lelouch in Pour
   un Maillot Jaune. This 30 minute documentary contains no narration and
   relies instead on the sights and sounds of the Tour itself.
     * Höllentour at the Internet Movie Database
     * Overcoming at the Internet Movie Database
     * Vive Le Tour at the Internet Movie Database
     * Pour un Maillot Jaune at the Internet Movie Database

   In fiction, the plot of the 2003 cartoon "Les Triplettes de Belleville"
   ( The Triplets of Belleville) ties into the Tour De France.
     * Triplettes de Belleville, Les at the Internet Movie Database

Music

   The Tour de France also inspired Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of
   Queen, to write the song " Bicycle Race" in 1978.

   In 1983, the German music group Kraftwerk released the single Tour de
   France which was described as a minimalistic "melding of man and
   machine". The single was later included on an entire Kraftwerk record
   dedicated to the race, the Tour de France Soundtracks album from 2003.

   The German band Sweetbox wrote a song titled Tour De France dedicated
   for the race which was supposed to be on the European edition of the
   Adagio album in 2004. It didn't make the album cut, but was later
   released on the Raw Treasures Volume 1 album in 2005, a special album
   with some of the demos and songs that were unreleased.

Doping

   Allegations of doping have plagued the Tour almost since its beginning
   in 1903. Early Tour riders were said to have consumed alcohol and used
   ether, among other substances, as a means of dulling the pain of
   competing in endurance cycling. As time went by, riders began using
   substances as a means of increasing performance rather than dulling the
   senses, and organizing bodies such as the Tour and the International
   Cycling Union ( UCI), as well as government bodies, enacted policies to
   combat the practice.

   On July 13, 1967, British cyclist Tom Simpson died climbing Mont
   Ventoux following usage of amphetamines, probably complicated by the
   now defunct practice of limiting daily water intake to only four
   bidons, circa 2 litres. His now-famous last words were said to have
   been "put me back on my bike", although this is disputed.

   At the 1998 Tour de France, dubbed the "Tour of Shame", a major doping
   scandal erupted when Willy Voet, one of the soigneurs for the Festina
   cycling team, was arrested for the possession of erythropoietin (EPO),
   growth hormones, testosterone and amphetamines. French police raided
   several teams in their hotels and found doping products in the
   possession of the TVM team. The riders staged a "sit-down strike" on
   stage 17 and refused to continue. After mediation by Jean-Marie
   Leblanc, the Director of the Tour, police agreed to limit the most
   heavy-handed tactics and the riders agreed to continue. Many riders and
   teams had already abandoned, and only 96 riders rode the competition to
   its end. In a 2000 criminal trial, it became clear that the management
   and health officials of the Festina team had organised the doping.

   In the years following the Festina scandal, anti-doping measures were
   put into effect by race organizers and the UCI, including more frequent
   testing of riders and new tests for blood doping ( transfusions and EPO
   use). A new, independent organization, the World Anti-Doping Agency
   (WADA), was also created. Evidence of doping has however persisted. In
   2002, the wife of Raimondas Rumsas, third-place finisher in the 2002
   Tour de France, was arrested by French police after EPO and anabolic
   steroids were found in her car. Rumsas, who had not failed any doping
   test, was not sanctioned. In 2004, Philippe Gaumont, a rider with the
   Cofidis team, told investigators and the press that doping with various
   substances was endemic to the team. Fellow Cofidis rider David Millar
   also confessed to EPO use. In the same year, Jesus Manzano, a rider
   with the Kelme team, described in bitter tones and lurid detail how he
   had allegedly been forced by his team to use banned substances.

   Doping controversy has surrounded seven-time Tour champion Lance
   Armstrong for some time, although there has never been evidence
   sufficient for him to be sanctioned by any sports authority. In late
   August 2005, one month after Lance Armstrong's seventh consecutive Tour
   victory, the French sports newspaper l'Équipe claimed to have uncovered
   evidence that Armstrong had used EPO in the 1999 Tour de France.
   Armstrong denied using EPO and the UCI did not sanction him. In
   response to the L'Equipe allegations, an "independent" investigation
   was begun by the International Cycling Union in October of 2005. The
   investigation has reported that Armstrong did not engage in doping and
   that the actions of the World Anti-Doping Agency were "completely
   inconsistent" with testing rules. At the same 1999 Tour, Armstrong's
   urine showed traces of a glucocorticosteroid hormone, although the
   amount detected was well below the “positive” threshold. However, by
   the UCI's own rules at the time, Armstrong should in fact have been
   sanctioned. The cream was not listed on Armstrong's TUE for the tour
   that year, where all medicines used by the athlete should have been
   listed. Armstrong explained that he had used the skin cream Cemalyt
   containing triamcinolone for treatment of saddle sores. Armstrong had,
   in fact, received permission from the UCI to use this skin cream for
   his saddle sores.

   The 2006 Tour had been plagued by the Operación Puerto doping case
   before its beginning, when many of the riders considered to be
   favorites, such as Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso were banned from
   competing by their respective teams one day prior to the Prologue due
   to doping allegations. 17 riders were implicated in the scandal. Then,
   one of the most serious doping outrages in Tour history emerged when
   four days after apparently winning the 2006 Tour de France, Floyd
   Landis was announced as having given a positive test result, in his 'A'
   sample, for a testosterone imbalance, after his Stage 17 win. This was
   confirmed in his 'B' sample result published on August 5, 2006. The
   decision to strip Landis of the victory rests with the International
   Cycling Union, but Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said:
   "It goes without saying that for us Floyd Landis is no longer the
   winner of the 2006 Tour de France". Floyd Landis has stated that he
   will fight to clear his name.

Deaths

     * 1910: French racer Adolphe Helière drowned at the French Riviera
       during a rest day.
     * 1935: Spanish racer Francisco Cepeda died after plunging down a
       ravine on the Col du Galibier.
     * 1967: July 13, Stage 13: English rider Tom Simpson died of heart
       failure on the ascent of Mont Ventoux. Amphetamines and alcohol
       were found on Simpson's jersey and in his bloodstream. His death
       prompted tour officials to begin a program of drug testing.
     * 1995: July 18, stage 15: Italian racer Fabio Casartelli crashed at
       approximately 88 km/h descending the Col de Portet d'Aspet.
       Casartelli received massive head trauma from a concrete block and
       died on the scene. He did not have a helmet, although it is
       unlikely wearing one would have saved him at that speed.

   Apart from the deaths of riders, another two fatal accidents have also
   occurred.
     * 1957: July 14, motorcycle rider Rene Wagter and his passenger
       journalist for Radio Radio-Luxembourg Alex Virot slipped on road
       metal (gravel) off a road without railing in the mountains near
       Ax-les-Thermes.
     * 1958: An official, Constant Wouters, died after an accident with
       sprinter Andre Darrigade in the 6^th stage of the tour.

Statistics

Competition winners

   One rider has won the Tour a record seven times:
     * Lance Armstrong (USA) in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and
       2005 (seven consecutive years).

   Four other riders have won the Tour five times:
     * Jacques Anquetil (France) in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964;
     * Eddy Merckx (Belgium) in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974;
     * Bernard Hinault (France) in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985;
     * Miguel Indurain (Spain) in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 (the
       first to do so in five consecutive years).

   Three other riders have won the Tour three times:
     * Philippe Thys (Belgium) in 1913, 1914, and 1920;
     * Louison Bobet (France) in 1953, 1954, and 1955;
     * Greg LeMond (USA) in 1986, 1989, and 1990.

   Gino Bartali holds the record of longest time span between titles,
   having earned his first and last Tour victories 10 years apart (in 1938
   and 1948).

   Riders from France have won most Tours (36), followed by Belgium (18),
   United States (11), Italy (9), Spain (8), Luxembourg (4), Switzerland
   and the Netherlands (2 each) and Ireland, Denmark and Germany (1 each).

   One rider has won the points competition a record six times:
     * Erik Zabel (Germany) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 (six
       consecutive years)

   One rider has won the "King of the Mountains" a record seven times:
     * Richard Virenque (France) in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003 and
       2004.

   Two riders have won the "King of the Mountains" six times:
     * Federico Bahamontes (Spain) in 1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964
     * Lucien Van Impe (Belgium) in 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983

Physical statistics

   To finish the Tour de France, a cyclist must be in a very good physical
   state. That said, even a rider who is chosen to ride but does not
   finish the race will have had to have been very fit to be selected.
   Analysis of the 2005 competitors shows that:
     * The tallest rider was Johan Van Summeren at 1.98 metres (6 ft 5.5
       in).
     * The shortest was Samuel Dumoulin at 1.58 metres (5 ft 2 in).
     * The heaviest rider was Magnus Bäckstedt at 95 kg (209 lb or 14
       stone 13 lb).
     * The lightest was Leonardo Piepoli at 57 kg (126 lb or 9 stone).
     * Chris Horner and Laurent Lefevre shared the lowest resting heart
       rate, 35 beats per minute.
     * The average rider in 2005 was 1.79 metres (5 ft 10 in) tall,
       weighed 71 kg (157 lb, 11 stone 3 lb), and had a resting heart rate
       of 50 beats per minute.

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