Birth of the Tour
The Tour de France was created in 1903 for its first edition. It took place from July 1st to 19th, 1903. It consisted of 6 stages, bringing together 59 riders ready to cover 2500 km day and night. But where did the Tour come from?
Henri Desgrange is the father of the Tour de France. A former cyclist, he founded a newspaper, L'Auto, but its sales were not doing well. This is when Géo Lefèvre, a journalist, suggested he create a cycling race that would go around France. Henri Desgrange embraced the idea, which would finally allow him to compete with his rival newspaper, Le Vélo, and that is how the Tour de France was born.
This first Tour allowed the first favorites of the race to emerge, such as Maurice Garin, nicknamed the "Little Chimney Sweep". At 32 years old, this cyclist had already won several races, including Paris-Roubaix twice. He would be the winner of the first edition.
While the first edition was a hit, the second was a little more overshadowed. Indeed, public excesses, accusations of cheating, and rivalry tarnished the race and led to changes in the Tour's regulations.
The Jerseys
Tour de France means jerseys. However, do you know when they appeared and what they represent?
- Yellow Jersey Its first appearance dates back to 1919 during the 11th edition of the Tour. This jersey is worn by the leader of the general classification. Its color refers to the paper of the newspaper that covered the Tour in its early days.
- Green Jersey Worn by the best in the points classification, it is the trophy for sprinters. It made its debut on the Tour in 1953 to celebrate the 50th edition.
- Polka Dot Jersey This time, climbers battle for it on mountain stages. Indeed, it rewards the best climber in the points classification. It was created in 1975.
- White Jersey Worn by the best young rider, meaning a rider under 25, in the general classification since 1975.
The 2022 Edition
The 2022 edition of the Tour featured 21 stages covering 3350.1 km. A challenge that 176 riders from 22 teams were ready to face. This year, the start was in Copenhagen and the finish, as every year, in Paris on the Champs Elysées. The program included: 6 flat stages, 7 hilly stages, 6 mountain stages, and 2 time trials. All while crossing Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, and of course, France. This year, the Tour was won by Jonas Vingegaard, who was also the best climber of the Tour.
A Tour de France for Women?
Like many sports, the Tour de France was historically reserved for men. This situation later began to evolve in 1955 when the first attempt at a women's Tour de France appeared. However, it wasn't until the editions from 1984 to 1989 that this women's Tour found success. This success would nonetheless be fleeting, as it took until 2022, 70 years of struggle later, for women to have their own grand loop.
0 comments