July 31, 2019

On Sunday, July 28, the Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal raced to his first victory in the Tour de France (Tour de Francia in Bernal’s native Spanish). Bernal is the first Colombian cyclist to win the Tour de France, and at just 22-years old, he is the youngest champion since 1909. Bernal completed the race 1 minute and 11 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher and last year’s champion, the Welsh rider Geraint Thomas. The Dutch racer Steven Kruijswijk finished third, 20 seconds behind Thomas. The Tour de France, nicknamed la Grande Boucle (the Big Loop), is one of the most popular sporting events in the world.

Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal wears the yellow leader jersey as he rides by the Arc De Triomphe near the end of the Tour de France on July 28, 2019 in Paris, France. Credit: © Justin Setterfield, Getty Images

In the race’s largely ceremonial 21st and final stage on Sunday, Bernal entered Paris wearing the leader’s distinctive yellow jersey as he coasted in a comfortable peloton (pack of riders) amid thousands of cheering fans and multiple layers of police and other security. After crossing the finish line on the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a jubilant Bernal saluted his home country, which was well represented in the race: the Colombians Rigoberto Uran and Nairo Quintana also finished in the top ten.

Tour de France racers pedal through the tough mountain stages in the Alps of southeastern France. Credit: © Bogdan Cristel, Reuters

In 2019—the 106^th Tour de France—Belgium hosted the Grand Départ (Big Start) on July 6 and 7 with stages that began and ended in Brussels, the Belgian capital. The racers then biked into northern France, passing through Épernay on the way to Reims and Nancy. The racers chugged through Alsace-Lorraine before angling 143 miles (230 kilometers, the longest daily stage) to Chalon-sur-Saône on July 12. A transfer to Mâcon sent the cyclists through the regions of Auvergne and Occitanie, where the racers took a well-earned rest day in the picturesque town of Albi on July 16.

A pass through the city of Toulouse preceded the tough mountain stages in the Pyrenees along the Spanish border. A transfer to Nîmes gave the riders another rest day on July 22 ahead of a race to the Alpine town of Gap and further mountain stages to Albertville. On July 27, an air transfer took the riders to the Parisian suburb of Rambouillet, where the riders ceremoniously pedaled their way to the big finish in central Paris.

Bernal ran steadily through race, slowly advancing through the front ten. In the mountainous stage 18, Bernal crept into second behind the French cyclist Julian Alaphilippe, who had thrilled the home crowds by wearing the yellow jersey for 14 of the first 18 stages. Alaphilippe’s bid to become the first French champion since 1985 ended during the weather-shortened 19th stage, however, when he permanently fell behind Bernal (Alaphilippe finished fifth). Bernal clung to the overall lead through the tenacious 20th stage and eventually crossed the finish line with the best time of 82 hours and 57 minutes. The 2019 Tour de France began with 176 riders from all over the world, and 155 cyclists completed the grueling 2,162-mile (3,480-kilometer) race.

The Tour de France leader wears the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) for each stage he maintains the overall advantage. (This year marked the yellow jersey’s 100th anniversary—the first race took place in 1903, but the tradition of the leader’s yellow jersey did not begin until 1919.) Bernal earned the yellow jersey as well as the maillot blanc (white jersey), worn by the race’s best young rider. Romain Bardet of France earned the maillot à pois (polka dot jersey) as the race’s best climber in the tough mountain stages. The maillot vert (green jersey) went to Slovakia’s Peter Sagan as the overall leader in points (awarded for consistently high stage finishes).

The Tour de France is one of three major touring races of cycling; the others are the Giro d’Italia (every May to June in Italy) and the Vuelta a España (every August to September in Spain).

July 31, 2018

On Sunday, July 29, Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas raced to his first Tour de France victory. The 32-year-old Thomas, who won cycling gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, crossed the finish line nearly two minutes ahead of second-place rider Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands. Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome, a member of Thomas’s Team Sky, finished in third place, 33 seconds behind Dumoulin. The race, nicknamed la Grande Boucle (the Big Loop), is one of the most popular sporting events in the world.

Geraint Thomas wears the leader’s yellow jersey ahead of other riders during stage 14 of the Tour de France on July 21, 2018. Credit: © Radu Razvan, Shutterstock

In the race’s largely ceremonial 21st and final stage on Sunday, Thomas entered Paris wearing the leader’s distinctive yellow jersey as he coasted in a comfortable peloton (pack of riders) amid thousands of cheering fans and multiple layers of police and other security. After crossing the finish line on the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a jubilant Thomas grasped the Welsh flag and saluted the many people from Wales who had come to see him finish. He is the first Welsh cyclist to win the Tour de France.

Tour de France racers pedal through the tough mountain stages in the Alps of southeastern France. Credit: © Bogdan Cristel, Reuters

In 2018—the 105^th Tour de France—the race began July 7 on Noirmoutier, an island connected by causeway to the Pays de la Loire region of western France. The route wound through the Loire Valley, up through Brittany, and across Normandy before shooting north to the border town of Roubaix near Lille. A rest-day air transfer carried the riders to Annecy in the shadow of Mont Blanc in southeastern France, where the race resumed on July 17. Thrilling mountain rides whisked the riders through the Alps and down into the Rhône Valley, where the riders crossed the foothills of the Pyrenees along France’s border with Spain. After a rest day in the picturesque city of Carcassonne on July 23, the race resumed with tough mountain stages to Pau and Lourdes before a blistering individual time trial—and for all intents and purposes, the end of the race—in the Basque Country on July 28. A second air transfer then took the riders to the Parisian suburb of Houilles, where the riders ceremoniously pedaled their way to the big finish.

Thomas ran steadily early in the race, creeping into second place behind leader Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium in the tour’s sixth stage in Brittany. Thomas clung to second place before finally overtaking Van Avermaet in the Alpine stage 11 to grab the lead. Thomas won stage 12 too, and kept the yellow jersey on his back for the rest of the race. He finished with an overall time of 80 hours, 30 minutes, and 37 seconds. The 2018 Tour de France began with 176 riders from 30 countries, and 145 cyclists completed the grueling race. The tour’s 21 stages were won by 13 different racers. Van Avermaet, who donned the yellow jersey from stages 3 through 10, faded to a 28th-place finish.

The Tour de France leader wears the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) for each stage he maintains the overall advantage. This year, France’s Pierre Latour won the maillot blanc (white jersey) as the race’s best young rider. Julian Alaphilippe of France earned the maillot à pois (polka dot jersey) as the race’s best climber in the tough mountain stages. The maillot vert (green jersey) went to Slovakia’s Peter Sagan as the overall leader in points (awarded for consistently high stage finishes). The Tour de France is one of three major touring races of cycling; the others are the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.

July 25, 2017

On Sunday, July 23, British cyclist Chris Froome raced to his fourth Tour de France victory in the last five years. The 32-year-old Froome, who previously won in 2013, 2015, and 2016, crossed the finish line with a 54-second lead over second-place rider Rigoberto Urán of Colombia. The race, nicknamed la Grande Boucle (the Big Loop), is one of the most popular sporting events in the world.

British cyclist Chris Froome wears the leader’s yellow jersey near the end of the Tour de France in Paris, France. Credit: © Frederic Legrand, COMEO/Shutterstock

Wearing the leader’s distinctive yellow jersey, Froome coasted through the largely ceremonial 21^st and final stage, finishing on the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Froome, a member of Team Sky, marveled at riding through the Beaux-Arts Grand Palais exhibition hall—a unique “tunnel” added this year—on the way to the finish line. The majestic glass-roofed Grand Palais was built in 1897 for a world’s fair. Froome rode just behind the final stage’s leader in a comfortable pack amidst thousands of cheering fans and multiple layers of police and other security.

Tour de France racers pedal through the tough mountain stages in the Alps of southeastern France. Credit: © Bogdan Cristel, Reuters

This year—the 104^th Tour de France—the race began July 1 in šDüsseldorf, Germany, and ran through Belgium and Luxembourg before stretching the bulk of its 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometers) through France. The French route took 198 riders to Chambéry in the Alps before a rest-day air transfer carried them west to the Dordogne department (administrative district). Tough stages in the Pyrenees mountains led riders back to the Alps before they raced through Provence to Marseille on the Mediterranean coast. Another air transfer carried the racers to the Parisian suburb of Montgeron for the big finish.

Froome ran near the top in most stages, but won the Tour de France without ever actually finishing first. The race is won by overall time, and nobody else ran the entire race in less time than Froome. The race’s 21 stages were won by 15 different riders. Marcel Kittel of Germany won five stages before a crash forced him from the race during stage 17.

Froome wore the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) as the race’s leader from stage 14 through the finish. Briton Simon Yates donned the maillot blanc (white jersey) as the race’s best young rider (his twin brother, Adam, won last year’s white jersey). Warren Barguil of France earned the maillot à pois (polka dot jersey) as the race’s best climber in the tough mountain stages. The maillot vert (green jersey) went to Australia’s Michael Matthews as the overall leader in points (awarded for consistently high stage finishes). The Tour de France is one of three major touring races of cycling; the others are the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.

July 27, 2016

On Sunday, July 24, British cyclist Chris Froome raced to his third Tour de France victory in the last four years. The 31-year-old Froome, who previously won in 2013 and 2015, established a comfortable 4-minute lead over the race’s grueling first 20 stages and 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers). Wearing the leader’s distinctive yellow jersey, Froome coasted through the largely ceremonial 21^st and final stage, finishing on the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris arm-in-arm with other members of his Team Sky. As Froome accepted the winner’s trophy, he reflected on the terrorist attack that took place 10 days earlier in Nice, France, as the cyclists competed roughly 175 miles (280 kilometers) away. “This Tour has obviously taken place against the backdrop of terrible events in Nice and we pay tribute to those who have lost their lives,” he said. “These events put sport into perspective but it also shows the value of sport to free society.”

British cyclist Chris Froome (wearing the leader’s yellow jersey) and Peter Sagan of Slovakia (in green) ride with the pack down the Champs-Élysées in the final stage of the Tour de France. Credit: © Christophe Ena, AP Photo

Froome, a veteran racer, stayed near the front during the tour’s first week before snatching the lead in stage 8 at Bagnères-de-Luchon on the Spanish border. On Bastille Day, July 14 (the day of the Nice attack), Froome crashed ascending Mont Ventoux in Provence, disabling his bicycle. Losing time, he trotted up the course on foot until the arrival of a replacement bike. In the Swiss Alps, Froome pulled away from the pack, padding his lead despite another crash coming down the mountains on stage 19. Two days later, he completed his second straight Tour de France victory. Only two rest days are included over the course of the three-week endurance event.

French cyclist Romain Bardet finished second in the race, followed closely by Colombia’s Nairo Quintana and the United Kingdom’s Adam Yates. Aside from the race winner’s maillot jaune (yellow jersey), the maillot blanc (white jersey) signifies the race’s best young rider (worn by Yates); the best climber in the tough mountain stages wears the maillot à pois rouges (polka dot jersey); and the maillot vert (green jersey) marks the overall leader in points (awarded for consistently high stage finishes). This year, the climbing “King of the Mountain” was Rafal Majka of Poland, while Slovakia’s Peter Sagan won the green jersey. The Tour de France is one of three major touring races of cycling; the others are the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.

Other World Book article:

• Bicycle racing
• Bastille Day Terror in France