The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race that is primarily held in France. This year’s event will be especially interesting because the race will be starting in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and will go through London before returning to France. The riders will cover 2,272 miles during the 23 day event. Here are some fun facts about the Tour de France:
- The first Tour de France was held on July 1, 1903. Maurice Garin, of Italy, dominated the event.
- Riders in the event burn an average of 5,900 calories per day.
- The oldest rider to win the event was 36 year old Firmin Lambot, of Belgium, in 1922.
- Lance Armstrong holds the record as the only rider to have won the Tour seven times. He was later disqualified from all those races and banned from competitive cycling.
- Four racers have died while competing in the Tour.
- They estimate that over 15 million people will line the route to watch during the three week race.
- Henri Cornet, of France, became the youngest winner of the Tour in 1904. He was two weeks shy of his 20th birthday.
- Greg LeMond became the first non-European to win the Tour in 1986.
- 1919 was the worst-ever year for the number of finishers. Only 10 out of 69 starters finished the event.
- The smallest winning margin of an event was only 8 seconds (Greg LeMond–Laurent Fignon in 1989).
- Over 25,000 security personnel will be on duty during the race.
- This year’s winner will receive over $600,000 in prize money.
- France is the country with the most wins (36), followed by Belgium (18), then Spain (12).
- Joop Zoetemelk (Netherlands) holds the record for most tours completed as a rider at 16.
