History
The world's greatest bicycle race originated in 1903 because of a feud between two French sports newspapers.
Le Velo was the original publication. Its competitor, L'Auto-velo, was founded by a former advertiser who had become unhappy with some of Le Velo's editorial policies.
In January of 1903, Le Velo won a trademark suit against its competitor, and L'Auto-velo was forced to become simply L'Auto.
Fearful that the name change would kill the newspaper, L'Auto editor Henri Desgrange decided that a major race would create publicity and circulation. His cycling reporter, Georges Lefevre suggested a six-day race over roads and through towns rather than on a track.
On Jan. 19, 1903, L'Auto announced "the greatest cycling trial in the entire world. A race more than a month long: Paris to Lyon to Marseille to Toulouse to Bordeaux to Nantes to Paris." With a 20-franc entrance fee, response was poor. Only 15 riders had signed up by a week before the scheduled May 31 start.
Desgrange postponed the race to July 1, announced that the first 50 riders were given 5 francs a day for expenses, and increased the prize money to 20,000 francs.
That did it. Within a short time, 60 cyclists had signed. Even though the race had to be postponed once more, to July 19, for logistical reasons, it was an enormous success. When winner Maurice Garin entered Paris, a crowd of 20,000 paying spectators greeted him. And a special edition of L'Auto sold 130,000 copies, 100,000 more than the newspaper's circulation had been six months earlier.
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 Desgrange felt that interest could be sustained only if the course changed from year to year.
In 1910, he added a stage through the Pyrenees Mountains and the course went through the Alps the following year.
Partway through the 1919 race, it occurred to Desgrange that the race leader ought to wear something distinctive, since spectators along the route often had no idea who was winning. He decided on a yellow jersey, mainly because L'Auto was printed on yellow paper, so the famous maillot jaune was born.
The original race, in 1903, had six stages covering 2,388 kilometers (about 1,400 miles). The Tour de France grew to as many as 24 stages and 5,564 kilometers, but in recent years the distance has ranged from about 3,500 to about 4,000 kilometers.
The 2001 race included 20 stages and two rest days. There were ten flat stages, three medium mountain stages, four high mountain stages, two individual time trials, and one team time trial.
Entry to the race is by invitation only. Race organizers invite about 20 teams, each with nine cyclists, to compete. Total prize money is 16 million francs, equivalent to approximately $2.1 million.
