Le+Tour+De+France

The Tour De France is the oldest, most prestigious and grueling stage race in all of cycling. It changes year to year, but it is always finished in Paris. It lasts usually about 23 days to finish, being broken down into day long segments called, "stages".

Here is a [|MAP] of the route in 2009. This covers over 3000 kilometers which is equivalent to over 1800 miles and over 9,504,000 feet!

Lance Armstrong has won the tour the most times with 7 in a row. (He won his first in 1999) France has had the most winners in the race, and German Eddy Merckx has the most stage wins with 34. The race is so hard that just completeing it is an accomplishment. The tour is alot like what Lance went though during his chemo and when he began his comeback. It was a huge accomplishment for him to overcome cancer and then begin to dominate the toughest race in cycling. [|History Of The Tour] This is a photo of Lance after winning the tour for the 7th time in a row.

[|FUN FACTS:]The Tour De France attracts 15 million viewers yearly and about 5 million watch it on tv. The television coverage includes over 120 hours of footage. Germany, Belgium, and France have the highest percentage by population of people who know the race.

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