March 2, 2020

Yesterday, March 1, an exhibition on the French impressionist painter Edgar Degas opened at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C. The exhibition, called “Degas at the Opéra,” celebrates the artists’ many works set in the Paris Opéra. The exhibition includes about 100 of the artist’s most famous paintings, pastels, drawings, prints, and sculptures. “Degas at the Opéra” runs until July 5. Prior to its run at the NGA, the exhibition had been at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris since September 2019, shortly after the Opéra celebrated the 350th anniversary of its founding in 1669.

The Dancing Class by Edgar Degas
credit: The Dance Class 1874 by Edgar Degas. Oil on canvas/The Granger Collection

Like the other impressionists, Degas portrayed situations from modern life. However, he did not share his fellow impressionists’ concentration on light and color. Degas emphasized composition, drawing, and form more than did the other members of the movement. He is best known for his paintings of people in both public and unguarded private moments. He showed his figures in awkward or informal positions to free himself from what he felt were outmoded styles of portraying the human body. But, he composed his pictures carefully both for formal balance and to indicate the social interaction of his figures.

Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas was born on July 19, 1834, in Paris, of wealthy parents. From 1854 to 1859, he spent much time in Italy studying the great Renaissance painters to perfect his draftsmanship and style. Degas intended to become a painter of historical scenes, but he abandoned this career because he felt a need to paint modern subjects. Probably under the influence of the painters Gustave Courbet and Édouard Manet, Degas began to paint scenes from everyday life. He especially enjoyed painting pictures of race-track and theatrical life. Degas painted many pictures in oil, but he also excelled in pastel. In addition, he was a fine sculptor and made many clay or wax figurines. Degas died on Sept. 27, 1917.

December 6, 2019

Yesterday, December 5, the annual Festival of Lights (Fête des Lumières) began in the central French city of Lyon. The four-day festival, which dates back to 1852, is famous for the many light installations that illuminate the city. Houses in Lyon display candles in their windows during the festival, and public buildings and structures glow with elaborate and colorful light patterns. Traditionally, the festival marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), an important event on the Roman Catholic calendar.

Waterfront buildings glow during the Festival of Lights in Lyon, France. Credit: © Nicotrex/Shutterstock

The festival’s roots date back to the 1600′s, when the city was spared from an outbreak of the plague. In thanks, city officials began an annual tribute to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. In 1852, after a period of social unrest and recurring floods, a statue of Mary was unveiled on December 8 on Lyon’s Fourvière Hill. Poor weather delayed the ceremony until nightfall, and the people of Lyon lit candles to illuminate the event, honor the Virgin Mary, and show a spirit of solidarity. The lighting of candles on December 8 became the Festival of Lights, then, which expanded with the advent of electric light in the late 1800′s.

By the 1960′s, the Fête des Lumières had grown to include shop window lighting competitions marking the start of the Christmas season. In 1989, Lyon adopted an artistic lighting policy (the Plan Lumière) throughout the city, with particular attention paid to the city’s historical buildings and landmarks. Nearly all Lyon’s lovely parks and squares were soon aglow during the festival, as were the city’s bridges and banks along the Rhône and Saône rivers. Today, more than 2 million people attend the festival every year.

Lyon was founded in 43 B.C. by Roman soldiers. The town, then known as Lugdunum, served as an important administrative center of the Roman Empire until the middle of the A.D. 200′s. Lyon became part of the kingdom of France in the early 1300′s. During the 1400′s, the city became a prosperous trading and banking center and home to many book printers. The introduction of silk manufacturing from Italy in the 1500′s brought greater, and long-lasting, prosperity. Lyon was a center of French resistance to German occupation forces during World War II (1939-1945).

December 2, 2019

Tomorrow, December 3, marks 100 years since the death of the celebrated French artist Pierre Auguste Renoir in 1919. Renoir, an Impressionist painter, was famous for his pictures of young girls and children and intimate portraits of French middle-class life. He loved to show lively groups in sensuous surroundings. He often used his friends as models and frequently painted his wife and children.

The French artist Pierre Auguste Renoir died 100 years ago on Dec. 3, 1919. Credit: National Library of France

Art museums around the world highlighted their collections of Renoir works to mark the centenary of the artist’s death. In the United States, a special exhibit, “Renoir: the Body, the Senses,” was held at the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts during the summer. The exhibit then moved to the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas, where it is showing until January 2020.

Madame Georges Charpentier and her Children by Pierre Auguste Renoir. Credit: Madame Georges Charpentier and her Children (1878), oil on canvas by Auguste Renoir; Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the 1870′s, Renoir and Claude Monet together developed the broken color technique of the Impressionists. Instead of mixing paints completely, they left small dabs of color in a sketchy manner. But Renoir was more interested in rich color effects and a sense of volume than Monet. Renoir also preferred figure painting to landscapes. During the 1870′s, he painted a large number of portraits on commission. Perhaps his most famous is Mme. Charpentier and Her Children. Many Impressionists brought Japanese qualities into their work. However, Renoir revived the rococo style of such artists as Francois Boucher and Jean Honore Fragonard.

The Swing, an Impressionist painting by Renoir, shows the effects of sunlight on figures set against an outdoor background. Credit: Oil painting on canvas (1876), Musee d’Orsay, Paris; Giraudon/Art Resource

Renoir visited Italy in 1881 and 1882. His study of Renaissance painters there led him to a new appreciation of the importance of line. He returned to France, where he gave up his broad, coloristic manner and spent several years concentrating on drawing. Renoir painted a famous series, The Bathers, during this time.

The happy quality of Renoir’s later work does not show the agony he suffered from arthritis, which finally crippled his hands. He had brushes tied to his hands and developed a final style of painting in broad brush strokes and vivid colors.

Renoir was born in Limoges, France, on Feb. 25, 1841. He was apprenticed to learn porcelain painting after he showed an early talent for drawing. He painted window shades and fans in Paris. He studied at Charles Gleyre’s studio. There, he met Monet and other young painters who were to form the Impressionist group. He was influenced also by Édouard Manet and the color methods of Eugene Delacroix. Renoir’s three sons were also artists, the most famous of whom was the film director Jean Renoir.

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 10, 2019

On Sunday, July 7, at the Stade de Lyon in Décines-Charpieu, France, the United States Women’s National Team defeated the Netherlands 2-0 to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer championship. It was the fourth world title for the U.S. women, who first won the tournament in 1991, the year it was first held. For the Netherlands, it was the team’s first trip to the World Cup final. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). Soccer is called football or association football in much of the world. FIFA is soccer’s world governing body. Held every four years, the Women’s World Cup is the world’s most important and prestigious women’s soccer tournament.

Members of the United States Women’s National Team celebrate winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 7, 2019, at the Stade de Lyon in France. Credit: © Philippe Desmazes, AFP/Getty Images

The United States, the defending champions, entered the 2019 World Cup as heavy favorites. The team thumped Thailand to open the group stage, 13-0—the largest winning margin in World Cup history (men or women). They then took down Chile, Sweden, and Spain on their way to the quarterfinals, where the U.S. women eliminated host France, 2-1. A tough 2-1 semifinal victory over England sent the Americans to the title match against the Netherlands. The Dutch women, playing in the team’s second World Cup, also rolled through the tournament undefeated. The Oranje (Orange) allowed just three total goals in their wins over New Zealand, Cameroon, Canada, Japan, Italy, and Sweden before reaching La Grande Finale in suburban Lyon.

Before 57,900 fans crammed into the Stade de Lyon, the Dutch did what no other team had yet accomplished: they held the vaunted U.S. offense scoreless in the first half (45 minutes of play). A penalty in the 58th minute, however, gave U.S. star Megan Rapinoe the opportunity to break a 0-0 tie. Sporting a pinkish-purple mop of normally blonde hair, the veteran midfielder calmly stuck home a penalty kick to give the Americans a 1-0 advantage at the 61-minute mark. Eight minutes later, U.S. midfielder Rose Lavelle drilled a left-footed strike into the net for what turned out to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead. Emotions built on the U.S. sideline as the clock steadily counted toward 90, and after the final whistle blew, the U.S. women rushed the field for a joyous celebration.

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup was played in nine stadiums in various French cities. The 24 entrants included 4 teams making their Women’s World Cup debuts: Chile, Jamaica, Scotland, and South Africa. The opening group stage of the World Cup divided the entrants into six groups of four. The top two teams of each group advanced after playing the other three teams in their group, as did the four best third-place teams. The round of 16 then trimmed the field to 8, and the quarterfinals reduced the tournament to a final 4. The United States downed England in the semifinals, and the Netherlands beat Sweden. The day before the United States took the final, Sweden beat England 2-1 in the anticlimactic battle for third place. All four semifinalists received automatic bids to the women’s soccer tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan.

U.S. manager Jill Ellis, who also led the 2015 championship squad, became the first head coach to win two Women’s World Cup titles. The U.S. team set a record by scoring 26 goals during the tournament. Rapinoe earned the Golden Boot Award as the leading goal scorer (6), and she was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Sari van Veenendaal of the Netherlands earned the Golden Glove Award as the World Cup’s top goalkeeper. The U.S. Women’s National Team returned home to cheers and numerous honors, including a ticker tape parade down a section of Broadway in New York City known as the “Canyon of Heroes.”

Sunday, July 7, was a busy soccer day elsewhere in the world, too. Shortly after the end of the Women’s World Cup, the Brazilian national men’s team defeated Peru 3-1 to win the Copa América, the championship of South American soccer, at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. That night, at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Mexican national men’s team beat the United States 1-0 to win the Gold Cup, the championship of Caribbean, Central American, and North American soccer.

April 16, 2019

Yesterday, on April 15, a destructive fire broke out at the famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. The fire, which most likely started accidentally during restoration work, destroyed the central spire and much of the cathedral’s roof. However, the main structure and the famous bell towers survived. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged that the historic symbol of France would be repaired and reopened.

Flames and smoke billow from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, on April 15, 2019. Credit: © Veronique de Viguerie, Getty Images

Notre Dame Cathedral stands on the Île de la Cité, a small island in the Seine River in the center of Paris. The Catholic cathedral is dedicated to Notre Dame, French for Our Lady (the Virgin Mary). The cathedral is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture. A number of other cathedrals are also named Notre Dame, including those in Amiens, Chartres, and Reims, France.

Notre Dame’s steeple and central spire collapse during a destructive fire on April 15, 2019. Credit: © Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt, AFP/Getty Images

The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris stands on the site of two earlier churches. Construction of the present building occurred from 1163 to 1250. Notre Dame was one of the first buildings to have flying buttresses (arched exterior supports). The buttresses strengthen the walls and permit the use of large stained-glass windows that allow light to enter the building. The cathedral’s main entrances are elaborately decorated with stone sculptures.

During the French Revolution in the late 1700′s, Notre Dame was heavily damaged by mobs that regarded the church as a symbol of the hated monarchy. Beginning in 1845, the French architect Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc directed extensive restorations of Notre Dame. He also added the tall central spire (destroyed in yesterday’s fire) to replace an older wooden spire that had been removed some years earlier because it had fallen into disrepair. Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for much of the cathedral’s present appearance.

October 24, 2018

On Oct. 24, 1260, 758 years ago today, Chartres Cathedral was consecrated in the city of Chartres, France, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Paris. Chartres Cathedral, one of the most magnificent examples of Gothic architecture, is also known as the Cathedral of Notre Dame (Our Lady) because it is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Most of the present cathedral was built between 1194 and 1260. The cathedral is legally recognized as a Roman Catholic building.

Chartres Cathedral is a masterpiece of medieval Gothic architecture. The cathedral is particularly known for its stained glass windows and its two giant towers topped by steeples. Credit: © Shutterstock

Chartres Cathedral was designed like a typical Gothic cathedral. From a distance, the most striking features are two giant towers topped by steeples. The south tower was built from about 1140 to 1160. The spire of the north tower was begun in 1507. The main entrance to the cathedral is called the west facade. The west facade has three doorways, called the Royal Portal. They are decorated with many sculptures portraying figures from the Bible. Above the Royal Portal is a rose window (ornamental circular window). It contains beautiful examples of medieval stained glass. The interior of the cathedral is dominated by stone vaults (arched ceilings) 118 feet (36 meters) above the floor. Stained glass windows are set into the lower walls and into upper walls called clerestories.

Click to view larger image
Chartres lies southwest of Paris in northern France. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

France’s King Louis IX, who was known for his piety and later canonized as Saint Louis, attended the cathedral’s consecration in 1260. Chartres was later the coronation site of Henry IV in 1594. Unlike many cathedrals in France, Chartres was not looted or badly damaged during the French Revolution (1789-1799). The cathedral also escaped damage during World War II (1939-1945), when the city of Chartres and much of the surrounding region were largely destroyed.

Chartres Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Such sites are places of unique cultural or natural importance, as designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

October 8, 2018

On Oct. 8, 1918, 100 years ago today, Alvin York, a soldier in the United States Army, killed more than 20 German troops and forced 132 others to surrender during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France during World War I (1914-1918). York was a member of a patrol sent to silence German machine-gun nests. An expert marksman, York shot about 25 enemy soldiers and forced a German major to order the survivors to surrender. For his deed, York received the Medal of Honor, the highest award for courage given by the U.S. military. Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France called York’s action “the greatest thing accomplished by any private soldier of all the armies of Europe.” Although he became famous as “Sergeant York,” he held the rank of corporal at the time of his incredible feat.

Sergeant Alvin C. York is seen here in 1919 aboard the USS Ohioan, the troop transport that returned him to the United States after the end of World War I. Credit: National Archives

York’s Medal of Honor citation reads, “After his platoon had suffered heavy casualties and 3 other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading 7 men, he charged with great daring a machine gun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machine gun nest was taken, together with 4 officers and 128 men and several guns.”

Alvin Cullum York was born on Dec. 13, 1887, in Fentress County, Tennessee, and grew up on a mountain farm. He developed amazing marksmanship with the rifle and pistol while a boy. He became deeply religious and sought exemption from the draft because he believed war was wrong. But he was denied exemption.

The 1941 motion picture Sergeant York told York’s life story and detailed his exploits of October 1918. York died on Sept. 2, 1964.

August 8, 2018

On Aug. 8, 1588, 430 years ago today, the British Navy defeated the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Gravelines off the coast of France. The Spanish Armada was a powerful fleet of armed ships and transports that tried to invade England. The defeat at Gravelines ended Spain’s hopes of invasion. The failure of the Armada was a great blow to the prestige of Spain, then the world’s most powerful country. Spain remained a major power after the battle, but English merchants and sailors challenged the Spaniards with greater confidence throughout the world.

British warships defeated the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Gravelines 430 years ago on Aug. 8, 1588. Credit: Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 8 August 1588 (1796), oil on canvas by Philip James de Loutherbourg; National Maritime Museum

Bad feeling between Spain and England had existed since the 1560′s. Spain was taking gold and silver from lands it had claimed in the Americas, and England wanted some of this wealth. Queen Elizabeth I encouraged Francis Drake and other English seamen to raid Spanish ships and towns, even though the countries were not at war.

Religious differences also caused conflict between the two nations. Spain was a Roman Catholic country, and most of England was Protestant. In the 1560′s, the English began to aid Dutch Protestants rebelling against Spanish rule in the Netherlands. In the early 1580′s, King Philip II of Spain started planning to send a fleet and army to invade England. He hoped to negate English help for the Dutch, end the English raids on Spanish shipping, and make England a Catholic country.

Philip began to assemble the Armada in January 1586. Spain built many new warships and armed its existing ones more heavily. It also rented many foreign ships. In 1587, the British raided the important Spanish harbor of Cadiz and destroyed about 30 ships. Work continued on the Armada however, and the fleet was brought together in May 1588 at the Portuguese port of Lisbon, which at that time was ruled by Spain. The fleet had about 130 ships and more than 29,000 men, most of them soldiers. Some of the ships lacked guns and experienced gunners; others carried no weapons at all, serving only as troop and supply transports. Philip named the Duke of Medina Sidonia to command the Spanish Armada. The duke was an experienced military planner but an inexperienced seaman.

As Spain planned for invasion, England prepared to defeat the Armada at sea. The British Navy armed many merchant vessels and added them to its fleet of warships. They gathered some 200 ships and nearly 16,000 men, most of them sailors rather than soldiers. Admiral Lord Howard of Effingham commanded the fleet, and his squadron leaders included the notable sailors Drake, John Hawkins, and Martin Frobisher.

The Armada left Lisbon on May 30, 1588. It entered the English Channel on July 30 and fought long-range gun duels with English warships during the next few days. On August 6, the Armada anchored at Calais, France. Medina Sidonia had planned to meet barges carrying Spanish troops from nearby Dunkerque, a port then in the Netherlands. But Dutch gunboats prevented the barges from meeting the Armada. This act doomed the Armada to failure.

In the early hours of August 8, the English sent eight fire ships (vessels filled with gunpowder and set on fire) toward the Armada. The Spanish ships sailed out to sea to escape the flames. Later that morning, about 60 English ships attacked an equal number of Spanish ships off the French port of Gravelines. The English sank several Spanish ships and damaged others.

The crippled Armada fled to the North Sea. It returned to Spain by sailing north around the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. High winds wrecked many ships off Ireland’s coast, and only about two-thirds of the fleet safely returned to 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.