Tour de France 2021 JUNE 26 - JULY 18 Cycling’s most prestigious race began in 1903 as a way to boost sales of a sports newspaper but soon became popular in its own right. The defining characteristic of the 2021 race is the inclusion of a double assault of the iconic Mont Ventoux and a visit to Andorra 2020 winner Tadej Pogacar Youngest winner of Tour de France since 1909 Elite Club Four riders have conquered Le Tour five times, with Bernard Hinault’s 1985 win providing most recent French victory. Four-time winner Chris Froome – missing from last two editions after career-threatening injury – returns, as road captain for Israel Start-Up Nation 5 Jacques Anquetil FRA 1957, 61, 62, 63, 64 15 5 Eddy Merckx BEL 1969, 70, 71, 72, 74 5 Bernard Hinault FRA 1978, 79, 81, 82, 85 15 5 Miguel Induráin ESP 1991, 92, 93, 94, 95 4 Chris Froome GBR 2013, 15, 16, 17 Race Classifications Jersey colours Overall leader: Yellow Awarded to race winner and worn by current race leader at start of each stage – calculated by totalling each day’s finishing time Points leader: Green Fastest sprinters compete for points at end of each stage – points adjusted by terrain, with flat stages awarding most points King of the Mountains: Polka dot Held by rider who proves to be best climber, with more severe climbs offering most points Best young rider: White Awarded to highest placed rider aged 24 or younger on first day of year. Prize returned in 2000 after 10-year hiatus Yellow jersey first awarded in 1919 to help spectators identify race leader. Instantly recognisable and highly sought after, it has since been worn by total of 274 riders from 25 countries HIGHEST NUMBER OF DAYS IN YELLOW JERSEY Eddy Merckx (1969-72, 1974-75) 97 Bernard Hinault (1978-82, 1984-86) 76 Miguel Induráin (1991-95) 60 Chris Froome (2013, 2015-17) 59 Jacques Anquetil (1957, 1961-64) 51 YELLOW JERSEY WEARERS BY COUNTRY France 85 Belgium 56 Others 34 Italy 28 Netherlands 18 Germany 14 Spain 12 Luxembourg 9 Switzerland 9 Britain 9 Total 274 wearers Le Tour: Start to finish 1903: Henri Desgrange (right), editor of L’Auto sports newspaper, creates Tour de France. Maurice Garin of France is first winner 1904: Cheating crisis – some riders take trains and sabotage rivals’ bicycles 1905 Inaugural mountain climb, on Ballon d’Alsace 1919 Desgrange introduces yellow jersey (L’Auto is printed on yellow paper) 1930 Manufacturers’ teams replaced by national squads 1937: Derailleur systems permit gear changes without removing wheels 1952 Italy’s Fausto Coppi wins by postwar record of 28 mins, 27 secs 1967: First drug tests after Briton Tom Simpson dies on Mont Ventoux 1969 In stunning debut, Belgian Eddy Merckx (right) wins all three main jerseys – only rider ever to do so 1986: American Greg LeMond becomes first non-European winner 1989: LeMond defeats Laurent Fignon by eight seconds, smallest margin of victory in Tour history 1991-95 Spaniard Miguel Induráin becomes first man to win five consecutive Tours 1998 Major doping scandal involving Festina team rocks Tour – team ejected from race 1999-2005: Lance Armstrong (above) wins seven Tours in a row but is stripped of his titles in 2012 after lengthy doping investigation 2012-18 Bradley Wiggins (right) becomes first British winner. Compatriots Chris Froome (4) and Geraint Thomas (1) win five of next six Tours for Team Sky 2019: Egan Bernal, 22, is first Colombian to win Tour de France 2021: Tour de France departs from north-west city of Brest – one week early – to avoid clash with Tokyo Olympics Coupe Omnisports Designed in 1971 2021 Route Stage Start Finish Start / finish Rest day Individual time-trial Mountain stage Transfer START: Jun 26, Brest Landerneau Perros- Guirec Mur-de-Bretagne Pontivy Lorient Redon Fougères Changé Laval Tours Châteauroux Vierzon Le Creusot Oyonnax Le Grand-Bornand Cluses Tignes Albertville Valence Sorgues Malaucène St-Paul-Trois-Châteaux Nîmes Carcassonne Quillan Céret El Pas de la Casa Andorra la Vella ANDORRA Saint-Gaudens Muret St Lary-Soulan Pau Luz Ardiden Mourenx Libourne Saint-Émilion Chatou FINISH: Jul 18, Paris Champs- Élysées 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Total race distance 3,417.5km Stage Jun-Jul km 1 26 198 2 27 183.5 3 28 183 4 29 150.5 5 30 27.2 6 1 161 7 2 249.5 8 3 151 9 4 145 10 6 191 11 7 199 12 8 159.5 13 9 220 14 10 184 15 11 191.5 16 13 169 17 14 178.5 18 15 130 19 16 207 20 17 30.8 21 18 108.5 Source: Le Tour, Encyclopedia of the Yellow Jersey Pictures: AP, Getty Images, Nationaal Archief, National Library of France © GRAPHIC NEWS