Le Tour de France is the most famous road bicycle race in the world. The Tour, as it is sometimes referred to, began as a public relations exercise in 1903 by Frenchman Henri Desgrange to promote his sports newspaper l'Auto.
This multi stage long distance road race is conducted annually over three weeks in July. Originally riders competed as individual athletes and the race only had six stages. Today's race is a 20 stage competition for professional cycling teams, although the winner is the individual who finishes in the least time.
The overall leader at the end of each stage is given a yellow jersey to wear. This allows him to be easily identified by other riders. American Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France a record seven times, from 1999-2005.
The Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and the World Cycling Championship constitute the Triple Crown of cycling.
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