Tour de France 2007 - History of the Tour
The world's greatest bicycle race originated in 1903 because of a feud between two French sports newspapers. In 1903, Le Vélo won a trademark suit against its competitor, and L'Auto-vélo was forced to become simply L'Auto.
Worried that the name change would kill the newspaper, its editor decided a publicity stunt was required and 'the greatest cycling trial in the world' was born.
On 19 January 1903, L'Auto announced that theirs would be a race over roads and through towns instead of on a track. Initially the response was poor, and the race was postponed to July 19th.
However the announcement that the first fifty riders were given five francs a day for expenses and that the prize money had been increased to 20,000 francs ensured it was an enormous success. The event saw 60 riders travelling 2,500 kilometres during 19 days on the basic cycle machinery of the day.
There were only six stages and no convenient breaks for sleep, competitors were expected to ride through the night.
The winner takes all
When winner Maurice Garin (nicknamed the 'Chimney Sweep') entered Paris, a crowd of 20,000 paying spectators greeted him. A special edition of L'Auto sold 130,000 copies, 100,000 more than the newspaper's circulation had been six months earlier, This publicity stunt was such a success it destroyed the paper's rival, Le Vélo, in the process.
The basic idea of a race through the country, broken into stages and based on cumulative time, has remained intact throughout the history of the Tour de France.
But Henri Desgrange L'Auto's editor felt that interest could be sustained only if the course changed from year to year.
The Tour's next big change was in 1910, with the introduction of the real high mountains of the Pyrénées and then the Alps a year later.
The origin of the yellow jersey
In 1919, the yellow jersey was invented to ensure the race leader was distinctive, since spectators aling the route often had no idea who was winning. A yellow jersey was decided on mainly because L'Auto was printed on yellow paper, so the famous maillot jaune was born.
Over the years the Tour de France has grown from the original 6 stages and 2,388 kilometres to 24 stages and 5,564 kilometres, but in recent years the distance has ranged from about 3,000 to 4,000 kilometres.
The Tour today
Nowadays the entry to race is by invitation only. The race organisers (Amaury Sports Organisation) invite about 20 teams, each with nine cyclists, to compete.
The total prize money has been raised to approximately £1 million to reflect what is commonly known as the most physically challenging athletic competition in the world. It is also arguably one of the best spectacles anywhere.
The Tour de France is now the biggest annual sporting event in the world. While the World Cup and the Olympic Games/Paralympics are undoubtedly larger events they only take place every four years.
Also unlike any other major sporting event, the Tour is free to view; it takes place on closed public roads from start to finish.
The race regularly goes outside France - it generally visits a neighbouring European country every second year. It was last in Kent in 1994 but has also visited Ireland.
The 1994 race included two stages in the UK. The first began in Dover and ended in Brighton. The second day saw a circular stage based on Portsmouth.
The two UK stages saw some of the biggest crowds of that year's tour with the exception of the finish in Paris.
