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How Long Is the Tour de France?

The 2023 course has some big climbs and surprise locations.

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The Tour de France is cycling’s most well-known stage race, taking place over the course of three weeks. This year’s race starts on Saturday, July 1, 2023 through Sunday, Jul 23, 2023. A truly international race, this year’s event will begin in Bilbao, Spain, although it will, as it traditionally does, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

To that point, the race course is different every year. This summer, the riders will travel 3,404 kilometers, or just a few feet over 2,115 miles, according to the Amaura Sport Organisation (ASO), which announced the route in October 2022.

Remember, the United States is one of the few places that uses miles to measure distance so when you watch coverage, remember to “think metric.” One kilometer is equal to .621 miles. A 5K, for example, is 3.2 miles.

In other words, it’s not just the length of the course that’s challenging, but the terrain. This year’s race, many feel, is “for climbers.” There are also time trials to test the cyclists’ abilities.

How long is the average Tour de France?

The Tour de France is always three weeks long and typically split into 21 stages—days of riding—with one or two rest days. Depending on how the dates are organized, though, some years it’s been only 20 stages, while other years have had as many as 25 stages. The first two Tours in the early 1900s only had six stages.

The total mileage of the 21 stages combined tends to hover around 2,200 miles, which averages to around 100 miles of racing most days .

Is every stage the same length?

Not at all! Stages in the Tour de France vary wildly in length. Some days involve 180-plus mile long races while others are 30-miles fast and furious. The styles of racing also change: There are individual time trials, team time trials, and standard road races that take place with a mass start. Here are the stages of the 2023 Tour .

What’s the shortest Tour de France stage?

Since the entire course changes each year, so do the lengths of the stages. In 1988, the second shortest race of the modern era (2,042 miles) also had the shortest time trial and flat stage. The one-kilometer individual time trial from the prologue of the 1988 Tour de France is the shortest race ever run during the Tour. Guido Bontemp won it in 1 minute and 14 seconds. The 1988 race also contained the shortest flat stage at 23.6 miles. Adri van der Poel won that stage in 46 minutes and 36 seconds. Ardent cycling fans might recognize Adri as the father of multi-time cyclocross world champion, road and mountain bike superstar Mathieu van der Poel .

What was the shortest Tour de France?

Depends on what you mean by the shortest! The second Tour de France ever run—back in 1904—was only six stages long—but it covered 1,483 miles, so some stages lasted for nearly a full day. In the last two decades, the shortest Tour was in 2002 and covered 2,035 miles across 20 stages.

What was the longest Tour de France?

That would be the 1926 Tour de France, which covered 3,569 miles in an attempt to ride around the border of France... but close behind that is the 1919 Tour de France, which also has the dubious honor of being the slowest Tour de France in miles-per-hour.

Despite the fact that it was almost 200 miles shorter than the 1926 route, it was only a few hours faster in overall ride time for the winner. It also had the longest one-day stage—265 miles—and it reportedly took the winner almost 19 hours to complete it. That year’s Tour also only had 10 finishers out of 69 starters, the lowest number of Tour finishers ever. Yes, 1919 was rough.

What about elevation gain?

Remember, a lot of the stages of the Tour de France go up and down mountains, so not only are riders contending with 100-plus mile days in the saddle, they’re climbing thousands of feet in the process. In 2020, one stage included 14,435 feet of climbing over the course of 118 miles. That's a half-Everest in a single stage.

How fast do riders go?

In recent years, the average speed has hovered around 24.8 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour), though it changes a bit from year to year depending on the riders, the elevation gain, the temperature, and the length of the stages. But it stays fairly close to that 25 MPH speed.

Molly writes about cycling, nutrition and training, with an emphasis on women in sport. Her new middle-grade series, Shred Girls, debuts with Rodale Kids/Random House in 2019 with "Lindsay's Joyride." Her other books include "Mud, Snow and Cyclocross," "Saddle, Sore" and "Fuel Your Ride." Her work has been published in magazines like Bicycling, Outside and Nylon. She co-hosts The Consummate Athlete Podcast.

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How long is the Tour de France?

The Tour de France has changed dramatically since the first edition in 1903. We examine how the length and speed of the Tour de France has evolved with time

Words: Katy Madgwick

Photos: SWPix.com

The Tour de France is the world's biggest bike race and the leading event in the men's professional cycling calendar. Riders strive their whole careers to win stages, or even to just start and finish the race.

The 2023 Tour de France follows a standard formula of 21 stages, with a mixture of flat, hilly, and mountainous days. The difference in this edition though is that the Tour begins in the Basque Country with three stages before moving back to France.

With two rest days in the three weeks, this year's edition is back to the usual 23 days. Unlike last year, which saw an additional travel day between Denmark and France. The Tour begins on Saturday July 1, 2023 and ends in Paris on Sunday July 24, 2023.

How far is the 2023 Tour de France   in kilometres and miles?

This 110 th edition of the Tour de France covers a total distance of 3,405.6km, or 2,116 miles, making it the second longest of the three Grand Tours in 2023, with the Giro d’Italia the longest at 3,448km and the Vuelta a España is the shortest at 3153.8 km). 

This Tour de France is longer than last year’s edition, which totalled 3,328km. The first three editions of the race totalled less than 3000km but were spread across just six gruelling stages. Following that, the Tour tended to be much longer, covering distances in excess of 5000km in the 1920s and regularly exceeding 4000km right up until the 1980s, when distances began to be reduced. 

Now the race has found a happy medium – incorporating a variety of distances over the course of the three weeks that make for exciting and unpredictable racing, but remain within the capabilities of the modern peloton.

Compared to the 2022 edition, this year's route holds little surprise for the riders, with no cobbles, dirt tracks or team time trials. Instead, it is all about the mountains, broken up by one individual time trial, which is a 22.4km stage featuring a category two climb at 9.4%.

Tour de France distance over previous ten editions

• Tour de France 2023: 3,405 kilometres / 2,116 miles
• Tour de France 2022: 3,328 kilometres / 2,068 miles
• Tour de France 2021: 3,414 kilometres / 2,122 miles
• Tour de France 2020: 3,484 kilometres / 2,165 miles
• Tour de France 2019: 3,366 kilometres / 2,091 miles
• Tour de France 2018: 3,351 kilometres / 2,082 miles
• Tour de France 2017: 3,540 kilometres / 2,200 miles
• Tour de France 2016: 3,529 kilometres / 2,193 miles
• Tour de France 2015: 3,360 kilometres / 2,088 miles
• Tour de France 2014: 3,661 kilometres / 2,275 miles
• Tour de France 2013: 3,404 kilometres / 2,115 miles

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Tour de France: FAQs

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The Tour de France’s 109th edition covers a total distance of 3328 kilometers (2068 miles), making it the second-longest of the three Grand Tours in 2022, after the Giro d’Italia (3410.3 kilometers) (La Vuelta a Espana is the shortest at 3280.5km).

How long is each day of the Tour de France?

Nine flat stages, three hilly stages, seven mountain stages (including five summit finishes), two individual time trials, and two rest days make up the Tour de France. Every day, one stage is run, which spans around 225 kilometers and takes about five and a half hours to complete.

How do you win the Tour de France?

After 21 stages, the cyclist with the best overall time wins. Each day, a stage winner is determined by the first racer to cross the finish line.

How long is each race in Tour de France?

Each stage, or racing day, varies in length from 32 to 141 kilometers. The Tour’s itinerary varies from year to year, but certain iconic towns are always included.

Do Tour de France riders sleep?

On TV, you’ll frequently see them come to a halt en masse for a “nature break.” Then they’ll sleep at night because the phases are specified in length and they’ll all be staying in a hotel.

What was the longest Tour de France stage?

The longest Tour de France stage on record was the fifth stage in 1920, which was 482 kilometers (300 miles) long! Stages are currently averaging 175km / 109mi in length. Stage 3 is the longest this year, measuring 198 kilometers / 123 miles

What is a peloton?

The peloton, sometimes known as the “pack” or “bunch,” is the largest group of cyclists on the route. A rider consumes 30% less energy when riding in a group than when riding alone. A following peloton usually has the upper hand over a smaller escape group.

How many hours a day do Tour de France riders ride?

Feeding the world’s best riders during a Grand Tour is no easy task, with riders spending up to six hours a day on the bike with little time for recovery and only two rest days over the course of the event. “To fuel the journey riders need to consume an average of 5,000-plus calories per stage,” says one rider.

Are females allowed in the Tour de France?

The 2022 Tour de France Femmes, a widely anticipated new stage race for professional women, was announced at the event. From 2014 through 2021, the eight-day Tour de France Femmes will replace the single-day La Course by le Tour de France, which was conducted in various sites across France.

What is an echelon?

When the peloton is buffeted from the side, the riders form smaller angled formations to take advantage of each other’s draught. Echelons form a formation similar to that of flying geese, however the size of each echelon is regulated by the width of the road. In crosswinds, smart riders can employ echelons to put distance between themselves and their opponents.

What is a domestique?

A rider who puts his personal objectives aside in order to help his teammate. A domestique rides into the wind to protect his team leader, as well as carrying extra water bottles and snacks. If the leader suffers a puncture, the domestique has the option of abandoning his wheel or bicycle and waiting for the leader to rejoin the peloton.

What is the gruppetto?

During mountain stages, a group of riders forms towards the back of the race. They only ride fast enough to make the cutoff time for the day, which is based on a percentage of the winner’s time. Sprinters, wounded or sick cyclists, and riders wanting to conserve energy for the next day are frequently found in the gruppetto.

What is the purpose of the Publicity / PR caravan?

The PR caravan, a two-hour-before-the-race display of sponsor-emblazoned cars and floats, runs the entire route, handing away millions of souvenirs and sweets to the supporters along the way.

What is the fastest time for the Tour de France?

Rohan Dennis’ stage 1 of the 2015 Tour de France in Utrecht is the fastest time trial, with an average speed of 55.446 km/h (34.5 mph). In a team time-trial, the 2013 Orica GreenEDGE team won the quickest stage. At 57.7 km/h, they completed the 25 km time trial (35.85 mph).

How hard is Tour de France?

The Tour de France is often regarded as one of the world’s most arduous and tough sporting events. Cyclists strain their bodies to the limit for 21 stages over 23 days, day after day, after day, after day.

What is the race caravan?

The peloton is preceded and followed by a long line of team vehicles, broadcast and photographer motorcycles, and race official cars. Riders will return to team trucks for food, clothing, or mechanical assistance, and then slowly exit the vehicles to rejoin the peloton.

What is the broom wagon?

The vehicle that follows the Tour and “picks up” riders who drop out during a stage.

How do cyclists pee whilst racing the Tour de France?

Some cyclists prefer not to urinate on the bike, while others seek assistance in the form of a teammate pushing them from behind so they can maintain momentum while pedalling.

What is hors catégorie?

Climbs in the Tour de France are divided into categories based on their length, steepness, and location throughout the stage. The simplest is Category 4, which is usually less than 2 kilometers long. The most difficult climbs are referred to as “Hors Catégorie,” or “beyond categorization.” A climb is sometimes given this designation because of its vertical elevation rise or because it ends at the top.

How do professional female cyclists pee during a race?

Because many women’s races are under 5 hours, we normally pee 8 times right before the race and can hold it until the end if necessary. Other times, a rider will stop to potty and then get in the car to assist them in getting back. At least not on purpose, no woman pees herself while riding!

Can anyone ride the Tour de France?

Although the event is primarily for amateurs, it is available to anybody who is 18 years or older on race day. (Younger riders may enter with permission from their parents.) It is marketed to ‘amateurs,’ yet it also attracts potential and former professionals. It’s been ridden by Greg LeMond, Raymond Poulidor, and Miguel Induráin.

How fast do they go downhill in Tour de France?

To say the obvious, Tour de France riders are in excellent physical condition. They’re nearly twice as fit as the average non-Tour rider of the same age group who’s in fair to good form, according to the gold standard of cardiovascular fitness, V02 max (or how much oxygen your body can utilize per minute).

How fast do cyclist go in Tour de France?

The champion of the tour has averaged roughly 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour) over the last few years–but that is throughout the entire tour. Everything is averaged at 25 mph, including uphill, downhill, time trial, and flatland. Weirdly, they’re a little speedier than we are. Quite a bit.

How much weight do Tour de France riders lose?

Van der Stelt explains that in the event of an emergency, the maximum weight loss would be 0.5kg. Though calorie burn and consumption vary by person, she claims the riders consume up to 8,000 calories a day – “taking on 10% extra every day, just in case,” she says, which can lead to weight gain.

What do Tour de France riders eat during race?

Riders may eat carbohydrate snacks such as bananas or protein bars while travelling. They’ll refuel with a mix of homemade rice cakes and tailored items like snacks and gels during the race.

What is Autobus?

Every stage of the Tour de France has a time limit, and on mountainous days, the autobus forms as non-climbers from all teams fight together to finish within the cut-off. The grupetto is another name for it.

What is Bidon?

A bidon is an abandoned water bottle, and many roadside fans will try to gather them as mementoes.

What is Breakaway?

During a stage, a small group of riders (or an individual) surge away from the main bunch.

What is bunch spirit?

Flatter stages usually end in a bunch sprint, which is a high-octane, hell-for-leather contest for stage honours between the peloton’s fastest sprinters.

Despite the fact that the race comes at the finish line in a group sprint, the stage win is decided by the sprinters and their lead-out riders.

What is Combativity award?

According to the race commissaires, this prize is given to the most aggressive rider each day.

The combativity award honors the rider who enlivened the stage by forming a breakaway, attacking frequently, or staying out in front of the pack for an extended period of time. The winner can be easily spotted the next day thanks to their red race numbers. At the conclusion of the race, an overall combativity medal is granted.

What is Feed zone?

Lunchtime. Every stage has its own feed zone, when riders slow down to collect musettes (small bags containing food and drinks) from their team soigneurs.

What is Flamme rouge?

A red air bridge marks the one-kilometer mark, beneath which a red kite flies.

What is General Classification?

After each stage, the riders’ finishing times are tallied. The riders are sorted by their total time, plus or minus any bonuses or penalties, in the general classification. The famed yellow jersey is worn by the cyclist who has completed the race in the least amount of time.

What is Grand Départ?

The ‘Big Beginning.’ Riders will begin the Grand Départ in Copenhagen this year 2022.

What is Grand Tour?

The Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a Espana are cycling’s three most prestigious stage events, each lasting three weeks.

What is Intermediate sprint?​

Each stage has an intermediate sprint with points and prize money for the first riders across it, in addition to the finish line.

What is King of the Mountains?

The mountains classification, one of the Tour de France’s secondary prizes, ranks the first riders over each of the race’s classified climbs. The more difficult the climb, the more points are available for that climb. The King of the Mountains, who wears the polka-dot jersey, is the leader in the mountains classification.

What is Lanterne rouge?

The lanterne rouge is the final rider on the general classification, named after the red light attached on the back of a train.

What is Maillot jaune/yellow jersey?

The general classification leader wears the distinctive yellow jersey, or maillot jaune. Last year, the yellow jersey was won by Tadej Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates).

What is Maillot vert/green jersey?

The leader in the points classification is awarded the green shirt. Peter Sagan has won the sprinters’ classification seven times, owing to the fact that more points are available on flatter stages.

What is Maillot a pois/polka-dot jersey?

The leader of the mountains classification is awarded this characteristic white jersey with red polka-dots.

What is Maillot blanc/white jersey?​

The highest-placed young rider in the general classification wears the white jersey. This year’s youth classification is open to any riders born on or after January 1, 1996.

What is Musette?

A tiny cloth shoulder bag containing a rider’s food and extra bidons that is distributed in the feed zone.

What is Parcours?​

The race’s ‘course,’ or the route it will take.

What is Points classification?

Points are awarded to the top finishers in each stage and intermediate sprint, based on their position. These points are combined together to generate a points classification, with the green jersey worn by the leader.

What is Team time trial?​

This year, there will be no team time trial. The time of a team is determined when the fifth rider crosses the finish line.

What is Time trial?

Individual time trials will be held on stages 5 and 20 of this year’s Tour de France, totalling 58 kilometres between them – the most kilometres against the clock since 2013.

Riders set off on specialised time trial bikes in reverse general classification order with the goal of finishing the stage in the shortest time.

Individual time trials, termed the “race of truth,” can cause significant shifts in overall classification. A time trial will be held on the Tour’s penultimate stage, as it was last year, and it might determine who wears the yellow jersey on the final day and rides into Paris as the victor.

What is a Rouleur?

A rouleur is an all-rounder and often one of the hardest riders in the peloton, capable of excelling on a variety of terrains and making a superb domestique.

What is a Soigneur?​

The soigneur is the unsung hero of a team’s backroom staff, in charge of looking after cyclists off the bike and handing out musettes, bidons, and extra layers of clothing during the race.

What is Sprinter?

On the flatter stages, sprinters battle it out with their peloton counterparts, capable of remarkable bursts of acceleration over short distances.

What is a Sprint Train?​

Before a group sprint, sprint trains form, with teammates offering a wheel for their sprinter to follow through the pandemonium.

The lead-out guy will be at the rear of the train, with the team’s sprinter on his wheel, ready to dash for the finish as soon as possible.

What is a Team Classification?

The team classification system assigns a score to each team based on the total time of their top three finishers on each stage. Yellow helmets are sometimes worn by team classification leaders to help them stand out in the peloton.

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2022 Tour de France: How Time Has Evolved The Tour

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The 5-minute essential guide to the Tour de France

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Reading time: 0 min Published on 8 January 2024, updated on 18 April 2024

It is the biggest cycling race in the world: a national event that France cherishes almost as much as its Eiffel Tower and its 360 native cheeses! Every year in July, the Tour de France sets off on the roads of France and crosses some of its most beautiful landscapes. Here’s everything you should know in advance of the 2018 race…

‘La Grande Boucle’

In over a century of existence, the Tour has extended its distance and passed through the whole country. Almost 3,500 kilometers are now covered each year in the first three weeks of July, with 22 teams of 8 cyclists. The 176 competitors criss-cross the most beautiful roads of France in 23 days, over 21 stages. More than a third of France’s departments are passed through, on a route that changes each year.

A little tour to start

The first ever Tour de France took place in 1903. It had just six stages – Paris-Lyon, Lyon-Marseille, Marseille-Toulouse, Toulouse-Bordeaux, Bordeaux-Nantes and Nantes-Paris – and 60 cyclists at the start line. At the time, the brave cycled up to 18 hours at a stretch, by day and night, on roads and dirt tracks. By the end, they’d managed 2,300 kilometers. Must have had some tight calves!

Mountain events are often the most famous and hotly contested. Spectators watch in awe as the riders attack the passes and hit speeds of 100 km/h. In the Pyrenees and the Alps, the Galibier and Tourmalet ascents are legendary sections of the Tour, worthy of a very elegant polka dot jersey for the best climber…

The darling of the Tour

In terms of the number of victories per nation, France comes out on top, with 36 races won by a French cyclist. In second place is Belgium with 18 wins, and in third is Spain with 12. The darling of the Tour remains Eddy Merckx, holding the record of 111 days in the yellow jersey. This Belgian won 5 times the Great Loop as Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Michael Indurain.

‘Le maillot jaune’

The yellow jersey is worn by the race winner in the general classification (calculated by adding up the times from each individual stage). This tradition goes back to 1919. It has nothing to do with the July sunshine or the sunflower fields along the roads; it was simply the colour of the pages of newspaper L’Auto, which was creator and organiser of the competition at the time.

The Tour de France is the third major world sporting event after the Olympic Games and the World Cup, covered by 600 media and 2,000 journalists. The race is broadcast in 130 countries by 100 television channels over 6,300 hours, and is followed by 3.5 billion viewers.

The Champs-Élysées finish

Each year the Tour departs from a different city, whether in France or in a neighbouring country. Since 1975, the triumphal arrival of the cyclists has always taken place across a finish line on Paris’ Champs-Élysées. It’s a truly beautiful setting for the final sprint.

And the winner is…

Seen from the sky and filmed by helicopters or drones, the Tour route resembles a long ribbon winding its way through France’s stunning landscapes: the groves of Normandy, the peaks of the Alps, the shores of Brittany and the beaches of the Côte d’Azur. In 2017, it was the Izoard pass in Hautes-Alpes that was elected the most beautiful stage, at an altitude of 2,361 metres. Which one gets your vote?

Find out more on the official Tour de France site: https://www.letour.fr

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2024 Tour de France Jun 29 - Jul 21

Statistics:

Total climbs: 70, top 100 world: 70, avg. fiets (top 5) : 8.9, sort by attribute:, showing all 70 climbs, pjamm trips adventure starter bundles, member comments.

2024 Tour de France: June 29 to July 21, 2024

Also visit our: (1)   All Time Hardest Tour de France Climbs , (2) Most Legendary and Famous Climbs of the Tour de France ,  and, (3) 10 Highest Climbs in Tour de France History  pages for more Tour de France inside information.

https://www.letour.fr/en/overall-route

2024 TdF Stage Statistics

Col du Tourmalet  -- Stage 13: July 6, 2024

Since 1910 - 90 appearances in the TdF - more than any other climb.

Official post-race summary for Stage 1 (June 29) -  Letour.fr - Stage 1  - TBD

TOP 10 MOST FREQUENT CLIMBS OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE

(AND 10 FAMOUS ONES AFTER THAT)

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Interesting 2023 TdF Facts (2024 Coming Soon)

• This is the 111th Tour de France;
• Start: Florence, Italy on Saturday, June 29, 2024 - this is the first time the Tour has ever started in Italy.;
• Finish: Nice, France on July 21, 2024 - this is the first time the tour has ever finished outside Paris.
• The tour is not finishing in Paris because of a conflict with the 2024 Summer Olympics which will be centered in Paris from late July to early August.
•  22 teams, 8 riders each - 176 total riders starting in Florence.
• Countries visited: Italy (3 stages), Republic of San Marino (1), France (19) and Monaco (1)
• Mountain ranges included in the 2024 TdF: The French and Italian Alps, Apennines (Italy) Pyrenees (France) and Massif Central (France);
• Categorized climbs:  Not yet named.
• Col du Tourmalet returns for the 90th time, by far more than any other climb featured in the Tour.
• Other notable climbs appearances:
• Col du Galibier  (64 appearances - fifth all time)
• Col de Peyresourde (69 appearances - number 4 all time)
•  Col de Portet Aspet (59 appearances)
• Distance: 3,492 kilometers (2,170 miles) - the longest tour was in 1926 at 5,745 kilometers (3,570 miles);
• Longest stage: Stage 3 - Piacenza to Turin, Italy 227 km / 141 miles);
• Total Elevation gained: 51,737 m / 169,741 ’(well below 2023 at 57,378m/188,248’ but above 2022 at 47,861m / 157,024’);
• Most elevation gained on a stage: Stage 15 (4,901 m / 16,079’’; includes Peyresourde and Plateau de Beille);
• Most elevation gained on a climb: Cime de la Bonette at 1,586 meters (5,203’) over 24 kilometers (15 miles);;
• Highest point on the 2024 TdF is Cime de la Bonette (Stage 19) at 2,802 meters (9,192’)
• This is the highest the Tour de France has ever gone.
• Cime Bonette has been featured 5 times in the TdF.
• This is the first time Bonette has appeared in the Tour since 2008.
• Steepest climb: Col de Portet d’Aspet  4.4 kilometers at 9.9% (Stage 15);
• Steepest segments: (you can filter yourself using the sorting tool in to the left of the map, above)
• 1 kilometer: 14% Pla d’adet (Stage 14)
• 2 kilometers: 12.5% Puy Mary (Stage 11)
• 5 kilometers:  103% Pla d’Adet (Stage 14)
• 10 kilometers 8.6% Plateau de Beille (Stage 15)
• 1 mile: 12.7% Pla d’Adet (Stage 11)
• 5 miles:  9.1% Pla d’Adet (Stage 14);
• This is the 111th Tour de France since its first edition in 1903:
• No TdF 1915-1918 (WWI)
• No TdF 1940-1946 (WWII)
• TdF postponed from 27 June 2020, to 29 August 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic;
• 7 mountain stages (4 summit finishes)
• 4 hilly stages;
• 8 flat stages;
• 2 individual time trials
• Two rest days (one after Stage 9 and one after Stage 15);
•  There is an individual time trial on the final day of the Tour, the first TT on the last day since 1989 when Greg LeMond edged Laurent Fignon by 8 seconds to win his second of three titles.  
• There are four summit finishes:
• Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet - Stage 14, July 13
• Plateau de Beille - Stage 15, July 14
• Isola 2000 - Stage 19, July 19
• Col de la Couillole - Stage 20, July 20
• The five hardest climbs of the 2024 Tour de France are:
• Cime Bonette (24 km at 6.55)
• Col du Tourmalet (18.7 km at 7.1%)
• Plateau de Beille (15.3 km at 7.9%)
• Isola 2000 (16.2 km at 7.1%)
• Col de la Couillole (15.9 km at 7.2%)        ;
• Time bonuses will be awarded at the finish of each stage: 10 seconds (first), 6 seconds (second), and 4 seconds (third).
• There will also be bonus seconds that will be located on climbs at strategic points: 8, 5, and 2 seconds for first through third riders past those points;
•  14 gravel segments on Stage 9 (Troyes to Troyes) with 32 of the total 199 kilometers consisting of strade bianche (white or gravel roads).
• No cobbles on this year’s Tour.
• HC & Category Climb: TBD
• Prize money:  Total $2,300,000 euros ($500,000 to the overall winner).

Historical Tour de France Facts of Interest

• Climb most often featured in the Tour:  Tourmalet - 90 times as of 2024 with Col d’Aspin second as of 74.

From Campan: 16.9 km gaining 1267m at 7.5% average grade.

From Luz Saint Sauveur: 18.7 km gaining 1319m at 7.1%.

• Highest point ever reached in the Tour de France: Cime de la Bonette, at 2,802 meters

Cime de la Bonette is the highest point ever reached by the Tour de France.

2,802 meters - Stage 18 1962 (passed again in 1964, 1993, 2008, 2024).

Five highest points the Tour de France has ever reached.

Also see Top 10 Highest Points of the TdF

• Highest point of first (1903) TdF:   Col de la République (1,161m).
• Most TdF wins:
• Yellow Jersey - overall winner:
• 5 Jacques Anquetil  (1957, 1961-1964)
• 5 Eddy Merckx  (1969-1972, 1974)
• Merckx has the most Grand Tour wins of anyone (11 - 5 TdF, 5 Giro, 1 Vuelta)
• 5 Bernard Hinault   (1978-1979, 1981-1982, 1985)
• Has the second most Grand Tour wins (10 - 5 TdF, 3 Giro, 2 Vuelta)
• 5 Miguel Indurain  (1991-1995)
• 4 Chris Froome :  (2013, 2015-2017)
• Polka Dot (King of the Mountains - since 1933):
• 7 Richard Virenque : 1994-1997, 1999, 2003, 2004 (best tour finish #2 1997)
• 6 Frederico Bahamontes : 1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964; nine in Grand Tours  
• Green Jersey (most points; since 1953)
• 7 Peter Sagan
• 6 Erik Zabel : 1997-2001
• Most days wearing the yellow jersey:
• 111 Eddy Merckx
• 79 Bernard Hinault
• 60 Miguel Indurain
• Most days wearing yellow jersey in a single TdF:
• 21: Jacques Anquetil 1961 - held the yellow jersey from day one.
• Most stage wins:  
• 34 Eddy Merckx
• 34 Mark Cavendish
• 28 Bernard Hinault
• Most stage wins in a single tour:  
• 8 Charles Pélissier , 1930
• 8 Merckx 1970, 1971
• 8 Freddy Maertens 1975
• Most times atop the podium (top three TdF finish):
• 8 Raymond Poulidor
• First mountain stage and climbs in the Tour:
• Stage 10 July 21, 1910: Luchon to Bayonne
• 326 kilometers
• Circle of Death: Col de Peyresourde, Col d’Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, and Col d’Aubisque
• On arriving at the top of Col d’Aubisque Octave Lapize (TdF 1910 winner) yelled to tour organizers what is variously reported as: “murderers,” “assassins,” or “criminals.”  He also said he would quit the tour after descending to Laruns, but he rallied to complete the stage and go on to win the 1910 Tour de France.

Circle of Death

Tourmalet was the highest point the tour had ever reached as of 1910 (2115m)

Previous high point had been Col de Porte (1326m).

• First mountain-top stage finish:   Alpe d’Huez (Dutch Mountain/The Alpe) was the first mountain-top finish in the history of the Tour de France in 1952, Stage 10.
• Country wearing the yellow jersey most:  
• France (709)
• Belgium (434)

Frenchmen have been in the maillot jaune (yellow jersey)   far more than any other country.

• Winning TdF in first appearance:
• 11 between 1903 - 1983, but none since Laurent Fignon  (1983) until 2020 and Tadej Pogačar  
• Youngest winner of the Tour:  
• Henri Cornet : France, age 19 (1904)
• Tadej Pogačar: Slovenia, age 21 (2020)
• Oldest TdF winner:
• Firmin Lambot: Belgium, age 36 (1922)
• Most TdF appearances:
• 18 Sylvain Chavenel  (2001-2018 age 42; top finish 19 2009)
• King of the Mountains:  Mountain Classification victories (first recognized in 1933; jersey introduced 1975)

“Symbol of the mountains, of a rider pushing beyond their limits and of courage, the red polka dot jersey, which is sponsored by Carrefour, is awarded to the Tour de France’s leader of the best climber classification. Although this classification was introduced in 1933, its symbol, the polka dot jersey, appeared in 1975, which was also the year the Tour first finished on the Champs-Élysées and was won by Bernard Thévenet. It owes its appearance to track racing specialist Henri Lemoine, who competed between the 1930s and 1950s, and that Félix Lévitan, co-director of the Tour with Jacques Goddetwhich, had particularly noticed. While Belgium’s Lucien Van Impe was its first winner and claimed the mountains classification six times, just like his illustrious predecessor, Spain’s Federico Bahamontes, the so-called “Eagle of Toledo”, Frenchman Richard Virenque holds the record for victories with seven titles” ( Tour de France, Polka Dot Jersey ).

• Richard Virenque : 7 (1994-1997, 1999, 2003, 2004; best tour finish #2 1997)
• Frederico Bahamontes : 6 (1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964; nine in Grand Tours)  
• Triples (none ever in the same year):   Frederico Bahamontes  and Louis Herrera .
• Doubles same year (TdF+Giro):   Fausto Coppi , Charly Gaul , Lucien Van Impe , Claudio Chaippucci

King of the Mountains is designated by the red polka dot jersey.

• Most green jerseys (total points):
•  7 - Peter Sagan
• Most white jerseys (best young rider):
• 3 - Jan Ullrich  (1996-1998),
• 3 Andy Schleck  (2008-2010)
• Least finishers:  
• Shortest margin of victory:  
• 8 seconds: Greg Lemond  over Laurent Fignon in 1989.  Lemond overcame 50 seconds in the final time trial using aero bars for the first time in the TdF.
• Greatest margin of victory:
• 2h49’21” in 1903 between Maurice Garin  and Lucien Pothier .
• Country with most wins:
• France (36)
• Belgium (18)
• Britain (6)
• Luxembourg (5)
• USA and Denmark (3)
• Hardest climb ever in the Tour de France:  Col de la Loze (Meribel).
• See our All Time Top 10 Tour de France Climbs  page.

EXPLANATION OF KING OF MOUNTAIN, KOM POINTS, AND BONUS POINTS

FOR THE 2024 TOUR DE FRANCE

KOM DEFINED :  Climb-related points are accumulated during the race.  The rider with the most accumulated points at the beginning of the stage wears the red polka dot jersey that day, and the rider with the most points at the end of the race is crowned that year’s Tour de France King of the Mountains.

“ Category ”:   When the mountain classification (King of the Mountains) was introduced in 1933, there were points given to the first 10 riders over the summit (10 for first, 1 for tenth).  In 1947, the Tour introduced two climb “categories” with a certain amount of points for the second category and twice as many as for the first category.  Over the years “categories” were added, in addition to an “Above” category (Hors or HC) and since 1979 there have been a HC (hardest), Category 1 (second hardest) on down to Category 4 (least difficult climb).

The category of the climb is significant for two reasons:

• The points awarded for the TdF KOM for each climb is based upon the category of climb - thus, “category” is the basis for the points that are used to determine each year’s King of the Mountains.
• Most cycling fans, particularly Grand Tour fans, are very interested in the climb “category” because that tells them how hard each climb on a stage is, where the riders will struggle more, and the point in a stage where that day, or even the entire tour, will be won or lost.

KOM HISTORY :  

• King of the Mountains : Mountain Classification victories (first recognized in 1933; jersey introduced 1975)
• 2020 & 2021 King of the Mountains:   Tadej Pogačar , Slovenia (also won the TdF and the Young Rider classification)
• 2022 -  Jonas Vingegaard (NED) - also won TdF.
• 2023 - Giulio Ciccone  (ITA)

POINTS :  KOM points are awarded in three ways on the Tour de France:

•  To riders first over the summit of categorized climbs (in descending order HC, 1-4).  
• The higher the category the more riders receive points (HC points are awarded to eight riders, while CAT 4 points are awarded to only one rider).
• Bonus point (see below).
• Points for altitude finishes.

TDF POINTS FORMULA : Wikipedia has the best summary and graph we’ve seen for TdF KOM points distribution:

The points gained by consecutive riders reaching a mountain top are distributed according to the following classification:

Wikipedia - Mountains Classification - Tour de France

BONUS POINTS :  These points go towards the King of the Mountain designation and are awarded to the first (8 points), second (5 points), and third (2 points) riders reaching designated summits in the race.  

• There are no KOM bonuses in the 2022 Tour de France.  

MONEY PRIZES FOR KING OF THE MOUNTAINS

• Prize for first to eighth place:
• Winner = €25,000
• 2nd = €15,000
• 3rd = €10,000
• 4th = €4,000
• 5th = €3,500
• 6th = €3,000
• 7th = €2,500
• 8th = €2,000
• Daily prize for wearing the Polka Dot jersey = €6,000
• Per category climb:
• Souvenir Henri Desgrange €5000 first to Col du Galibier pass Stage 11.

The maximum amount the KOM winner could earn if he won every stage and wore the jersey from Stage 2 to the finish is $60,300 Euros (62,773 USD)

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The Tour de France is the pinnacle when it comes to cycling competitions. It is one of the most-watched sporting events in the world and showcases some of the fittest athletes on the planet. The pure athleticism that is on display during this 21-day, 2,200-mile race is inspiring, enlivening, and these cyclists seem somewhat superhuman. 

You might be asking yourself, “So how fast are they even going?” Or, “How do I compare to these athletes?” Luckily for you, with today’s technology, various metrics can be tracked during these cycling competitions, so everyone can compare their statistics to those of the pros. As with any metric, the speeds at which the Tour de France pros cycle will vary, but there are averages that have been tracked for decades now. 

Here are a few of the average speeds for the professional cyclists that race in the Tour de France:

Average Speed on Flat Ground: 25-28 mph

The average speed for professional cyclists while traversing on flat terrain is 25-28 mph. The average amateur cyclist travels about 17-18 mph while on flat ground. For many pro athletes racing in the Tour de France, being able to maintain a fast speed on flat terrain allows them to simply stay competitive with the other athletes. It is in the climbing portions of the Tour de France that the best gain separation from the peloton. 

Average Cobblestone Speed: 22-24 mph

In every Tour de France, there is at least one section of cobblestone that the cyclists must ride through -- sometimes, though, this is replaced with a stretch of gravel pavement. The small grooves in the road and uneven terrain can be difficult to tread, but these athletes still average an impressive 22-24 mph.

Average Speed Climbing: 12.8 mph

In the 2019 Tour de France, the athletes averaged 12.8 mph while trudging through the infamous climbs of the race. These athletes are literally cycling up and through the Pyrenees and Alps during this phase of the Tour de France, making for some of the most memorable moments of the Tour.

Fastest Recorded Speed: 63.1 mph

The fastest recorded speed of the Tour de France came from German Nils Politt while descending Col de Vars during stage 18 of the race. This was the second of four climbs in the stage, and Politt was the first-ever rider to break the 100 km/hr barrier by traveling at a speed of 101.5 km.hr on this descent. 

Jonas Vingegaard Tour de France 2022 | Average Speed: 26.11

Jonas Vingegaard won his first Tour de France in 2022 on his second time participating in the tour. He spent the majority of the race trading leads back and forth with fan-favorite, Tadej Podacar.  Vangegaard pushed through stage 19 and crossed the finish line 2 minutes and 43-second ahead of Podačar. After a total of 79 hours, 33 minutes, and 20 seconds on the bike, Jonas Vangegaard became the first Danish Tour de France champion since 1996

Tadej Pogačar Tour de France 2021 | Average Speed: 25.5 mph

Tadej Podačar was only 22 years old when he earned his second consecutive win at the Tour de France. Podačar made the victory look easy when he also earned a polka-dot jersey for top climber and white jersey for best young cyclist. His quick rise to first place had people consider him one of the most exceptional young cyclists the Tour de France had seen in years. He finished the race in 82 hours, 56 minutes and 36 seconds. 

Tadej Pogačar Tour de France 2020 | Average Speed: 24.77

Tadej Podačar for UAE Team Emirates shocked fans at his 2020 Tour de France debut. At 21 years old he managed to break all expectations and snatch a victory from Primoz Roglic, who was expected to cruise to a first-place finish. In the final stage of the tour, Podačar sped through a 57-second deficit and earned his first yellow jersey, becoming the youngest Tour de France Winner in 111 years. 

Egan Bernal Tour de France 2019 | Average Speed:  25.2 mph

The 2019 Tour de France winner, Egan Bernal of Colombia, averaged 25.2 mph. He is the first Latin American to ever win the Tour de France. At age 22, he is also the youngest Tour de France winner in modern racing history. He finished the 2,091.4 mile race in exactly 82 hours and 57 minutes.

While not every cyclist has aspirations of ever racing in the Tour de France, having these metrics is a fun way for everyday cyclists to compare themselves to the superhuman riders that conquer the most famous cycling race in the world.

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How hard is the Tour de France?

We look at power, calories, recovery data, speed and more to compare a Tour de France rider's efforts to those of an everyday cyclist

Watching the Tour de France from the comfort of your own home, many of us have questioned if it'd be possible to ride the race ourselves. The world's best cyclists at peak fitness can make it look almost too easy at times, which could lead to a skewed perception of how hard the Tour de France actually is. 

Obviously, deep down, we are all aware that the race is light-years away from a Sunday coffee ride with your local cycling club, otherwise, we’d all be lining up at the start. But when you watch the likes of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) powering up an Alp, it’s hard not to feel inspired. 

It's not a huge logical leap to then wonder how we might compare, and whether we could keep up with the pro peloton. Any cyclist who is familiar with power numbers such as watts per kilo, FTP , etc, will likely have wondered at some point how their numbers would stack up when compared with Wout Van Aert and co. 

The question on all our lips is: exactly how hard is the Tour de France? Spoiler alert: it’s hard. Very hard. Of course it’s hard, it’s the Tour de France, arguably the pinnacle of any pro rider’s career. What we really want to know is 'how hard?' 

Over the course of this article, we will try to quantify just that: how hard the pros work during the three-week race and compare that, roughly speaking, with the efforts we mere mortals are capable of.

To provide you with meaningful answers, we dived into race road books from the last few editions of the race, dug through the power files of some of the riders to try and fathom their efforts, along with taking a look at their recovery files to gauge the relative strain that their bodies endure. Then, we gathered data from the general public – ‘normal’ cyclists such as you and I – in an attempt to gain some perspective on the difference. 

 The terrain 

At its close, the riders in the 2021 Tour de France covered 3,414 kilometres (2,121 miles) – not including the riding they did on the two rest days. The 2022 edition of the race was actually ever so slightly shorter with a total of 3,328km (2067 miles) of racing. 

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Put plainly, if you were to get in a car in New York and head west, that'd get you as far as Salt Lake City. If you were to get onto a plane in London, you could get to Paris and back again five times. If you were in Australia you'd make it from Melbourne right over to Perth on the western coast.

Throughout this distance, riders face a whole host of climbs, from small hills to enormous mountain passes. For the 2023 edition this year, riders will cover 3,404km (2,115 miles) including ascents of the Puy de Dôme and the Grand Colombier in the Pyrenees.

According to data published to Strava by Tour debutant Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), in the 17 stages leading up to his impressive Stage 18 victory atop Alpe D'Huez last year, he had ascended a total of 43,110m. That's almost five times the height of Mount Everest. 

In addition, while it's easy and obvious to focus on the difficulty of going uphill, there's a level of difficulty involved in coming down the other side too. 

For us average Janes and Joes, coming downhill might seem like the easy part – you can often stop pedalling and simply let gravity do the work – but let's not forget these riders are in a race so will be sprinting out of corners and pushing the limits of physics to go as quickly as possible, which in itself takes an enormous amount of mental energy and focus. 

As an example of this, according to that same data from Pidock, the maximum speed he hit during Stage 18 of last year's Tour was 62.7mph (100.91km/h). Stage 18 will long be remembered in particular for the jaw-dropping descent of the Col Du Galibier that Pidcock executed on the way to a solo win atop Alpe D'Huez. Although he actually clocked his maximum speed later on in the stage on the descent of the Croix de Fer / Glandon. He also hit a huge maximum cadence of 200rpm during the stage. Descending like this takes a large amount of skill and concentration, it is hard to begin to imagine the amount of focus this requires and the cognitive load it creates. 

The training

The Tour de France is ridden by the world's best road cyclists, all of whom are full-time professionals that ride for around 20 to 30 hours per week. But wait, before you quit your nine-to-five job and start cycling all day, know that these riders aren't just riding their bike for fun, they are completing highly tailored structured training programs designed by some of the best physiologists and coaches in the world. 

Sadly, even if we did have that expertise at our disposal, most of us still couldn't quit the day job, because professional cyclists are also blessed with the right mix of genetic potential that enables them to respond to such a high training stimulus and recover quickly enough to go again the next day, day after day, week after week. 

To try and quantify this, we reached out to TrainerRoad – a popular training-based indoor cycling app turned all-around training platform that boasts a dataset of over a million users – to get a sense of the amount of structured training that the 'average' cyclist tackles. 

According to TrainerRoad's data, an average 'beginner cyclist' performs 3.53 hours of structured training per week, split at 3.61 hours for men and 3.06 hours for women. While 'experienced cyclists' perform 6.43 hours per week (6.5 hours for men, 5.46 for women). 

What this means is that your average beginner is performing just 10% of the training hours of a Tour de France cyclist. 

The time cut

To complete the Tour de France, you cannot simply commit to finishing the route, you'll need to do so within the constraints of a time cut on each stage. 

According to rule 2.6.032 of the UCI rulebook, exactly what that time cut will be is defined as follows: 

"The finishing deadline shall be set in the specific regulations for each race in according with the characteristics of the stage.

“In exceptional cases only, unpredictable and of force majeure [unforeseeable circumstances], the commissaires panel may extend the finishing time limits after consultation with the organisers."

So in layman's terms, the organisers will decide the time cut based on the difficulty of the stage. We won't go into the details of how they then calculate it, but depending on the difficulty of the stage and the pace of the fastest rider, it will usually be the winner's time plus anything between 4% and 18%.

To turn that into an example, if a stage took the winner exactly four hours to complete, the time cut would be anywhere between 9m36s and 43m12s later. 

It was a hotly discussed topic last year, with sprinter Fabio Jakobsen fighting on every mountain stage, and in particular on Stage 17, where he pushed himself to the very limit to make the time cut by a mere 15 seconds. 

This essentially means that to complete the Tour de France, you need to not only finish the route, you need to be able to do so within a percentage of the winner's time, which leads us nicely onto speed. 

In trying to work out how hard the Tour de France actually is, you will need to know what speed you'll need to be able to ride in order to keep up. The 2022 edition of the Tour was the fastest in the race's history. The average speed of winner Jonas Vingegaard for the 21-stage race set a new record at 42.03km/h (26.12mph)

Combining every edition of the Tour since 2007, the average pace of the winner has been 40.07km/h (24.89mph). Anyone who has ridden a local time trial will know that it's difficult to maintain this pace for 10 miles, let alone the 2000-plus miles covered in the Tour. 

However, of course, anyone who's ridden in a group will also know that there's an enormous benefit from being in the draft. That is, of course, until the road points up and gravity does its best to slow you down. 

After Ben O'Connor's victory into Tignes on stage 9 of the 2021 Tour, we analysed his performance and saw just how strong the AG2R Citroën rider had to be to win a stage of the Tour de France. The final climb on this stage was Montée de Tignes, which is 31.1km long with an average gradient of 4.1%. This climb took O'Connor 1 hour and 12 minutes, during which he rode at an average speed of 26kph (16.15mph), naturally taking the Strava KOM along the way.

But even if you're not vying for a win, and you're simply trying to make it to the finish line within the time cut, you'll still need to maintain a very high pace. In 2020, Roger Kluge finished at the very bottom of the GC standings, at 6:07:02 behind Tadej Pogačar's winning time of 87:20:13. With that, Kluge still maintained an average speed of 39.09km/h (24.29mph).

A commonly used and widely understood assessment of a rider's ability is FTP, or Functional Threshold Power, which is said to be the maximum amount of power that a rider can sustain for an hour. It is often tested with a sustained 20-minute effort, with the average power from this effort multiplied by 0.95.

Measured in watts, this can be quoted in an absolute figure, or in 'watts per kilogram' where the absolute figure is divided by the rider's weight. So for example, a 75kg rider with an absolute FTP of 300 watts would have a weight-adjusted FTP of 4w/kg. 

In our analysis of O'Connor's data, we calculated his absolute FTP to be 395 watts, and according to ProCyclingStats, his weight is 67kg, meaning he boasts an FTP of 5.89w/kg.

Similarly, during the 2020 Tour, we analysed the power file of Tadej Pogačar after his record-breaking ascent of the Col de Peyresourde and calculated his FTP to be 410 watts, or 6.2w/kg. 

To compare this to an average cyclist, we went back to TrainerRoad, who supplied the average FTP of its entire database.

• Male beginners, the average FTP sits at 214 watts (2.81w/kg)
• Experienced male cyclists, the average jumps to 271 watts (3.75w/kg)
• Female beginners, the average FTP sits at 146 watts (2.45w/kg)
• Experienced female cyclists, the average jumps to 189 watts (3.25w/kg)
• All beginner cyclists combined, the average FTP sits at 204 watts (2.75w/kg)
• All experienced cyclists combined, the average FTP sits at 266 watts (3.72w/kg)

That means Pogacar's 410w FTP is more than 50% better than the average experienced cyclist (266w), and more than double that of the average beginner cyclist (204w). Of course, beyond this simple metric, there are a lot of other factors at play too. Not least fatigue resistance, which is the ability to output the same high power numbers at the end of a long day or at the end of three weeks of back-to-back racing. 

For his ascent of Montée de Tignes in 2021, O'Connor needed to put out an average of 345 watts (5.1w/kg) for the 1h12 duration, on a day where, in total, he averaged 311 watts (4.6w/kg) for over 4.5 hours. 

And for Pogačar's ascent of the Col de Peyresourde in 2020, which came on stage 8, he averaged 429 watts (6.7w/kg) for 24h08 at the end of a four-hour stage that included three mountains. 

For a reference of just how good this is, anyone who's spent time racing on Zwift may be familiar with the five Zwift Power categories (A+, A, B, C and D). A+ is the highest here, and to get yourself into this category, you'll need an FTP of 4.6 W/kg.  

To maintain all this effort, a rider needs to eat. A lot. 

Going back to Tom Pidcock and adding up his calorie expenditure up to stage 18 during last year's race, the Brit had burnt a total of 59,609 calories. That's the equivalent of about 232 McDonald's Big Macs. 

So how hard is it for the professional riders?

By now we have a pretty good idea of just how hard the Tour de France is, but these are professional athletes, they're the best road racing cyclists in the world and this is their job. So while it might be an impossible task for us mere mortals to even consider getting round, surely it's just another day at the office for them. Not exactly. 

To quantify this, we reached out to Whoop , sponsor to EF Education-EasyPost , and makers of a wearable wrist strap that uses an optical heart rate sensor to continuously monitor heart rate and heart rate variability to quantify various metrics. 

For those interested in how this works, Dr Stephanie Shell, a Senior Physiologist specialising in recovery at the Australian Institute of Sport explained the science a little more as part of our Whoop 3.0 review but put simply, it uses these metrics to allocate a 'strain' and 'recovery' score. Both are calculated using proprietary Whoop algorithms, and strain is scored out of 21, while recovery is scored as a percentage out of 100. 

Whoop duly shared data for a number of its riders on various stages in the 2021 race. The most complete of these datasets is for time trialling specialist Stefan Bissegger. 

Looking at his data, we're able to see how these algorithms rate the difficulty of Bissegger's days in comparison to his own baseline, thus quantifying how hard the days must be for Bissegger himself. 

The data here is threefold, covering strain, recovery, and sleep performance data. 

Across the nine stages for which we have data, Bissegger didn't have a day with a strain score below 17.4, with all of stages 9 to 13 scoring above 20 out of 21. This suggests that even for him, racing the Tour de France put his body through extreme strain. 

Alongside this, his recovery ranged widely. His lowest score was 30%, with his highest being 81%. 

All in all, it's safe to conclude that the Tour de France is truly brutal in its difficulty. It's well in excess of the capabilities of the general public and still beyond the reach of experienced, trained cyclists. Even for many of the professional athletes who start the Tour de France, actually finishing it is an altogether different proposal, and each year, dozens of riders miss the time cut. 

For those who do make it to Paris, it's still right at the upper limits of their capability and that's what makes it such a thrilling sport for us viewers to consume. 

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Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton.

Josh has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews. On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years.

He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. 

These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.

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Tour de France: Too Fast To Be Clean?

Tour de france.

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard claimed his second Tour de France victory on Sunday, completing the grueling 3-week, 3,401 kilometer competition with an average speed of 41.12 km/h (25.55 mph). Even before officially getting his hands on the famous maillot jaune mascot though, Vingegaard was facing tough questions regarding his pace. How was he going so fast? How was it possible to be over seven minutes ahead of a cyclist of Pogačar's caliber? Some reporters even explicitly asking: "Are you cheating?".

Vingegaard's response? In a post-stage 17 press conference, the Dane proclaimed: "For me, it’s hard to tell what more you can say. I guess, I understand that it’s hard to trust in cycling with the past there has been. But I think nowadays everyone is different than they were 20 years ago. And I can tell from my heart that I don’t take anything. I don’t take anything I would not give to my daughter, and I would definitely not give her any drugs.”

Assuming he is indeed clean, it is unfortunate for this year's victor that it has become the norm, given cycling's deservedly bad reputation, for exceptional performances to raise suspicions. As this chart shows, the Tour de France has not slowed down since the doping-infested years of the early 2000s. Whether that's due to super-fast carbon bikes, favorable routing or the use of performance-enhancing substances is a question the sport is not yet fully able to answer.

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This chart shows the average speed of Tour de France winners since 1903, by decade (in kilometers per hour).

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This is what you have to eat to compete in the Tour de France

Three weeks, 21 stages, 3,351km, 176 cyclists and a combined burn of 25 million calories — so what exactly goes into fuelling the riders of the Tour de France?

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Described as one of the most gruelling endurance events on earth, the Tour de France is as nutritionally challenging as it is physical. With riders spending up to six hours a day on the bike with minimal time for recovery and just two rest days over the entire event, feeding the world’s greatest riders during a Grand Tour is no mean feat.

“To fuel the journey riders need to consume an average of 5,000-plus calories per stage. Maintaining such a huge energy intake is challenging,” says Corinne Mäder, senior sports nutritionist at PowerBar.

But it’s not just the calories. “Suppression of appetite and meal fatigue due to eating the same food every day for weeks must also be managed,” adds Mäder.

“Gastro-intestinal problems can also occur, especially during the latter part of the race, and sports nutrition products and food must therefore be selected carefully and tailored to the individual rider.”

Couple this with eating on the bike, ensuring adequate hydration and recovery, moving between hotels and the sheer length of the Tour de France and you’ve got a mammoth task on your hands. So how exactly is it done?

Diet of a tour rider

09:00: Breakfast

Riders will have breakfast around three and a half hours before the race, with carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, muesli, cereal, pancakes, rice pudding, smoothies, orange juice - and even noodles - to help top up glycogen stores. An accompanying strong cup of coffee almost goes without saying.

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Cycling is a team sport but there’s also individual needs during the race, with the riders playing different roles on each stage. 

“We adapt the food to the needs, not just for the stage and also for the individual rider,” Trek-Segafredo ’s nutritionist Stephanie Scheirlynck says. “And it’s not just day by day, it’s also about looking at the demands of the next block of stages.”

This means that the breakfast is adapted to the stage and the role that the rider has that day (or as part of an upcoming block).

“At breakfast we focus on the fuel for the stage that is coming,” Scheirlynck explains. “If it’s a mountain stage, we will go rich in carbohydrates because that’s your fuel for climbing, but we also make sure the food is low in fibre because you don’t want the food to cause any fluid retention.”

“Then, if it’s a flat stage, only the riders who are going for the breakaway will have more carbs and low fibre at breakfast. 

“For the sprinter, who needs to stay in the peloton the whole day and only in the last 200 metres goes all out, energy expenditure is not comparable to a hilly stage or a mountain stage and this is reflected in the food they have at breakfast.”

In those three weeks, riders also need vegetables and fruit, fibre and healthy fats, and it’s on the easier stages that Trek-Segafredo gives the riders this healthier food. “I call them the green days and these are days when we know these sorts of foods are going to be digested,” Scheirlynck says.

10:30: Pre-race snack

Transfers from hotels to stage starts can be long, offering an opportunity to top up carbohydrates and calories in the team bus - typically, rice cakes with honey, raisin bread, sports bars or bananas are consumed with fluid. 

Studies show Tour riders are consuming less on the bike (possibly due to more aggressive racing), meaning greater reliance on pre- and post-race nutrition.

12:00: During the race

Different stages at the Tour require different fuelling strategies, according to duration, intensity and temperature, and also on your role for the stage.

Fat metabolism can be utilised during mid-stage low intensity periods when a rider can shelter in the bunch and get towed along. In contrast, tougher stages will see the body rely on carbohydrates, which means more gels and energy drinks.

Solid foods consumed on the bike include small rolls with jam, rice cakes and energy bars, and most riders will opt for this on the easier days. 

Quick-to-consume gels - especially caffeinated ones - will provide the majority of calories as the pace increases as riders will struggle to chew and swallow solids. Trek Segafredo also ups the concentration of its energy drinks for these tougher stages.

Fuelling on the bike also depends on personal preferences and what the rider is used to. 

Scheirlynck gives Jasper Stuyven and Giulio Ciccone as examples of riders within Trek-Segafredo who fuel very differently. 

“Stuvyn likes it simple, with everything in his bottle and he only takes on extra gels,” Scheirlynck says. “He trains at altitude training camps like that and so we know we can give him lots of fluid food and he’ll still be okay after seven hours.”

Then, other riders prefer to eat something solid. “Guillo Ciccone never wants his drinks to be overdosed because he prefers to eat something with it,” Scheirlynck shares. “Even if it’s a mountain stage, he wants solid food.”

17:00: Post-race recovery

As soon as the stage ends, recovery begins. “Recovery drinks with 0.3 to 0.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, up to a maximum of 40 grams, are given to riders as soon as they finish a stage,” says Scheirlynck.

“We give this to riders in a shake because it’s easy to drink and it helps with rehydration too.”

They’re also freshly made. “We have a blender so we put in some fresh fruit, and some ice cubes too if it’s hot,” Scheirlynck adds.

Trek-Segafredo gives all its riders the same quantity for their recovery shake to drink while they’re cooling down, it’s the size of the recovery snack that riders also have that varies. 

Depending on how long the transfer is (which could be up to a few hours), riders shower and change in the bus before eating a snack or small meal prepared by the team chef — pasta salad, a wrap or sandwiches, something with cooked rice are all standard. “It’s around half of what we give them at dinner,” Scheirlynck says.

20:00 or later: Evening meal

“Dinner depends on the next day, not the day they have just had,” Scheirlynck says. 

Post-massage evening meals start with salad, soup or juice for a nutrient boost, followed by meat or fish and carbohydrate-rich foods — but gone are the days of overcooked pasta. 

With long transfers this evening meal can end up being even later than 8pm. 

“The good thing is that the riders are used to eating late because it’s also the case for other races,” Scheirlynck notes.“It seems as though they can digest everything a little bit faster  than we would be able to. 

Eating so late could reduce sleep quality though, which is not what you want during a Grand Tour. "If the riders are arriving at the hotel so late, then the team will give more to the riders in the bus so they can have a slightly lighter dinner," Scheirlynck adds.

The calories

The most important nutritional consideration for riders is getting enough calories to meet the extreme demands of the race.  This can be anything from 4,000 calories a day on a flat stage to 9,000 calories on a hilly stage.

Guzzling around 6,000 calories a day might sound blissful, but the reality of consuming such huge quantities of food day in, day out for three weeks presents one of the biggest challenges for the riders.

“Nutrient-dense foods are needed to remove the bulk of large volumes of food, to make it easier for riders to maintain energy balance and get enough nutrients,” says Mäder.

So bulky salads and vegetables are swapped for fresh fruit and vegetable juices, and carbohydrate powders are stirred into food and drink to increase calories.

The amount of food needed is close to the body’s maximum capacity for digestion, so failure to keep up with the enormous calorie intake can spell disaster, because playing catch-up is near impossible. And ending up in calorie deficit is a no-no because riders risk losing precious muscle.

Carbohydrate consumption must begin as soon as the stage does. 

As the body relies on glucose for energy during hard exercise, a high proportion of the calories consumed by riders come from carbohydrate — around 70 per cent, or 1,100g a day for a 70kg rider, according to Emma Barraclough, senior sports nutritionist at SiS.

“Carbohydrate is needed for high-intensity efforts, such as breakaways and tough climbs,” explains Barraclough.

Swallowed in energy bars , gels and energy drinks , riders consume around 250 calories or 60g of carbohydrate per hour. “Riders take in energy little and often — 36g of carbohydrate from their drink every hour with a gel or bar every 30 minutes as well,” says Barraclough.

During the longest stages, carbohydrate intake can jump to 80 or 90g per hour — but the key is to start early. “If riders don’t fuel and drink properly, they will not be in contention when it comes to the critical part and finale of a stage,” says Pete Slater, co-founder of OTE Sports.

“Riders start taking drink, food and gels on board as soon as they get going.”

Food logistics

Race food must be easy to eat, but variety is necessary too. 

Food consumed during the race needs to be portable and easy to consume on the bike. Riders start with food and gels in their jerseys, picking up additional supplies from musettes around halfway through the stage, packed by soigneurs at the start of each day.

Teams will label bottles so riders know what’s inside and can calculate what they need based on their role within the team for the day’s stage. 

“In the musettes we put everything so the riders can choose what they like themselves,” Scheirlynck explains. “You can’t have bottles or musettes with names on because you never know who is going to come first.”

A typical musette bag may contain two 500ml bottles, one of water and one sports drink for hydration and fuel, an energy bar to eat when the pace is less intense, and isotonic gels with caffeine for that extra lift when needed.

There’s homemade rice cakes or fruit cakes to prevent hunger, and help with variety on long stages. This solid food is all low in fibre and rich in carbs. 

There’s also always one small can of coke in the musettes Trek-Segafredo gives its riders. “From a nutritional point of view, it doesn’t make any sense to put a coke in there, but if taking a few sips helps the riders morale then that effect is more important than the disadvantage that doesn’t exist,” Scheirlynck explains, “and that’s why we leave it in there.”

Bars and sandwiches are kept for the flat stages, with gels and drinks used on climbs as it’s more difficult to take on food then. Bottles with a sports drink and three gels taped on are picked up from team cars, with sandwiches and gels available from support teams on the side of the road.

Food consumed off the bike is just as important. Most teams travel with their own nutritionist and chef, a practice that has helped improve the quality of food and prevents one of the biggest blights of the high calorie regime — food fatigue. The chef and nutritionist work together to plan menus, taking into account rider preferences, with some requiring gluten or lactose-free meals.

Providing food that the riders like helps ensure that they eat enough for the efforts they have coming up and this is why the teams put effort into making functional food into a package that looks good, such as pizza.

“Food is also more than just functional,” Scheirlynck notes. “It gives you the energy to do the race but if you’ve had a bad day, or you crashed, it can make you feel better.” 

Avoiding dehydration in hot weather is another challenge — sweat losses can be in excess of three litres during hard stages, and riders may need to consume up to 10 litres a day to maintain fluid balance.

Fluid is lost through sweat and breath, and losses are exacerbated in hot weather. But it’s not just fluid — electrolytes such as sodium and potassium also need to be replaced to avoid the risk of hyponatremia, or low sodium levels, a potentially fatal condition that can be caused by overdrinking plain water.

“The sodium content in an electrolyte drink is crucial in helping the riders keep fluid balance in their body. Up to a litre an hour can be lost in the heat at altitude in the mountains,” explains Barraclough.

“Pre-hydrating starts in the morning by putting extra electrolytes in the rider's drinks,” Scheirlynck says. Taking on fluids then becomes an all-day task whether the riders are on their bikes or not.

On particularly hot days, Trek-Segafredo also freezes the gels to help riders cool from the inside.

After each stage recovery takes precedence, with the priority on replenishing glycogen stores and helping muscles recover as quickly as possible.

Most teams drum into their riders the importance of the nutritional 20-minute ‘golden window’, which starts as soon as exercise stops.

Recovery involves three parts: carbohydrate, protein and fluid. A cyclist’s body needs carbohydrates to replenish depleted glycogen stores, high-quality protein for repairing the damaged muscle tissue and fluid plus electrolytes for effective rehydration.

A recovery drink is ready to go so riders can consume while cooling down. 

As training techniques and bike design advance, so do the nutritional products that support the riders. “Research findings are translated into practical application — not just the ingredients but also factors such as mouth feel, taste, packaging and application — for example, how easy a product is to open and consume during a ride,” says Mäder.

Many transportable carb-based products contain multiple forms of sugars (glucose plus fructose) which help riders absorb and use more carbohydrate per hour than conventional nutrition products, maximising delivery to the working muscles.

Multi-day racing batters immune function, but probiotics can bolster the body’s defences. “Probiotic drinks are also used to aid immune function, as the rider’s body will naturally be under a lot of stress,” explains Slater.

While the team nutritionist helps the riders judge how much carbohydrate and protein they should take to recover and fuel for the next day, Scheirlynck notes that some things aren’t easy to calculate and that the riders have control here.

“If you’ve crashed you need more energy to recover and we can’t really estimate how much, but if the riders listen to their body they can at least take a bit more if they feel like they need a bit more.”

Caffeine is one of the only legal performance-boosting aids available, and riders will often have a coffee with their breakfast or take a caffeine gel before the start of the race.

“It helps lower the perception of effort,” says Barraclough, “so it can be useful on a long hilly day.”

Riders will also take another caffeine gel during the race, around 30 to 45 minutes before they need it.

“The timing depends on your task,” Scheirlynck points out, “because sometimes you need to start working earlier than someone else.” 

This is also why many riders start with a caffeine gel in their jersey pocket and keep one reserved for when it really matters.

“If you’re suddenly in a position where you didn’t expect to be, but you have the opportunity to win, you can be flexible,” says Scheirlynck.

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I’ve been hooked on bikes ever since the age of 12 and my first lap of the Hillingdon Cycle Circuit in the bright yellow kit of the Hillingdon Slipstreamers. For a time, my cycling life centred around racing road and track. 

But that’s since broadened to include multiday two-wheeled, one-sleeping-bag adventures over whatever terrain I happen to meet - with a two-week bikepacking trip from Budapest into the mountains of Slovakia being just the latest.

I still enjoy lining up on a start line, though, racing the British Gravel Championships and finding myself on the podium at the enduro-style gravel event, Gritfest in 2022.

Height: 177cm

Weight: 60–63kg

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