The month of July has been packed with sporting action; things are only going to heat up. Strap up as Le
Tour de France cyclists hit the streets for a relentless and gruesome 3-week tour. Let’s take a look at some of the interesting facts of the Tour de France as this prestigious event goes into its 106
th edition.
How did it begin?
.jpg "Maurice Garin")
The first Tour de France took place from 1 July, 1903 and was originally meant to be a marketing scheme for the newspaper L’Auto in a bid to advertise it around the country. The plan was a 5-stage race starting in Paris and moving on to Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes before ending in Paris again.
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Maurice Garin was the first winner of the Tour de France in 1903 however he was infamously stripped of his title the following year for cheating.
Youngest winner
Henri Cornet, born in Pas-de-Calais, is the youngest Tour de France winner in 1904, shy of his 20
th birthday. Although the race took place when he was 18 years old, the tournament was marred by allegations of cheating and he was eventually awarded his title when he was 19 years and 3 months.
Bum a smoke
In the 1920s, cyclists were allowed to share a cigarette while on tour, claiming this helped “open up the lungs” for the climbs.
Alcohol was also consumed during the races to “ease the pain” however this was later banned in the 1960s as this was believed to be a stimulant.
Sexism in cycling
Women are not permitted to join and ride alongside males in the Tour de France however there was a female version created which occurred in 1984 and 1989.
Countries that popularly win the tour
As expected, the French have typically dominated the Tour de France with the most wins, Belgium follows suit, then Spain and Italy rounds up the top 3. Luxembourg and the US close up the 4
th and 5
th positions.
Cheating in the sport
The most famous and high profile cyclist caught cheating in the sport has to be Lance Armstrong who was stripped of his 7 titles, which he won from 1999 to 2005. These titles were only stripped in 2012 after a thorough doping investigation.
However Lance isn’t the only bad boy to have been caught, or even accused, of doping. Apparently, cheating and the Tour de France go hand-in-hand and its not a stretch to say that each year, a scandal is bound to break.
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