Tour de France facts you need to know
The 113th edition of the Tour de France sets off this summer, with teams of riders from all over the world set to compete for the yellow jersey.
But how much do you know about the tournament? Check out this article from BBC Bitesize and see if you could be a tour de force at the Tour de France! Bonne chance!
1. What is the Tour de France?
Well, put simply, it's a giant bike race!
Taking place over 23 days, riders from a number of countries compete to take home the prestigious yellow jersey. There are two rest days over the famous three-week event.
It's made up of 21 stages, with the better part of 200 riders taking part from year to year. Despite what its name would suggest, the race isn't exclusively confined to France, as a matter of fact the 2027 Tour will kick-off right here in the UK!
This year's Tour will see 23 teams taking part, with a total of 184 riders split between them.
2. When does the Tour de France start?
The 2025 Tour de France begins in Lille on 4 July 2026 in Barcelona, with the race speeding on until 26 July 2026.
The end of one Tour signals the beginning of another, with the Tour de France Femmes getting started on 1 August 2026 and coming to a close on 9 August 2026. The race begins in Switzerland.
3. How many stages is the Tour de France?
The 2026 Tour de France is made up of 21 stages, segmenting the journey from Barcelona through to Paris. In addition to these stages, the Tour will feature two designated rest days - 13 July in the Cantal region and 20 July in the Haute-Savoie.
Of the 21 stages at this year's Tour, there will be seven flat stages, four hilly stages, eight mountain stages - including five summit finishes - and two time trials.
The overall winner of the Tour will be the rider with the lowest combined time across all 21 stages, with each stage also having its own individual winner.
And we know what you're thinking! Yes, this does mean that, while unlikely, it is possible to win the Tour de France without winning a single stage!
4. What is the route of Tour de France 2025?
This year's Grand Depart (literally Great Departure) will be in Barcelona, with 23 teams (or a total of 184 riders) setting off on a gruelling race to the Tour's final destination - the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The overall route for this year's Tour is as follows:
- Stage 1: Barcelona - Barcelona
- Stage 2: Tarragona to Barcelona
- Stage 3: Granollers - Les Angles
- Stage 4: Carcassonne - Foix
- Stage 5: Lannemezan - Pau
- Stage 6: Pau - Gavarnie-Gèdre
- Stage 7: Hagetmau - Bordeaux
- Stage 8: Périgueux - Bergerac
- Stage 9: Malemort - Ussel
- Stage 10: Aurillac - Le Lioran
- Stage 11: Vichy - Nevers
- Stage 12: Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours - Chalon-sur-Saône
- Stage 13: Dole - Belfort
- Stage 14: Mulhouse - Le Markstein Fellering
- Stage 15: Champagnole - Plateau de Solaison
- Stage 16: Évian-les-Bains - Thonon-les-Bains
- Stage 17: Chambéry - Voiron
- Stage 18: Voiron - Orcières-Merlette
- Stage 19: Gap - Alpe d’Huez
- Stage 20: Bourg d’Oisans - Alpe d’Huez
- Stage 21: Thoiry - Paris Champs-Élysées
5. How long is the Tour de France?
In total, this year's Tour de France will span 3,333km, which is approximately 2,071 miles. Riders will traverse this over the course of 23 days, with two rest days, in an effort to be crowned the winner.
The longest Tour de France on record took place in 1926, with the race spanning a total of 5,745km - approximately 3,569.77 miles.
The shortest Tours, on the other hand, were held in 1903 and 1904, with the total distance coming in at a measly 2,428km (around 1,508 miles)!
6. Who's won the Tour de France?
The defending champion is Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar, who won the 2025 Tour de France.
The all time record for Tour titles is shared by four other riders, with Jacques Anquetil (France), Eddy Merckx (Belgium), Bernard Hinault (France) and Miguel Indurain (Spain) all boasting five Tour victories.
American cyclist Lance Armstrong was the record holder, having won the Tour seven consecutive times between 1999 and 2005, but had his titles stripped from him in 2012 after being found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs.
The most successful British cyclist is Chris Froome, who won the Tour on four occasions between 2013 and 2017. Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas are the only other Brits to win the Tour, each achieving one title.
7. Who are some famous riders from the Tour de France?
Whether they've won it five times, or never won it at all, the Tour de France has played host to a number of iconic riders over its 122 year history!
One rider with a particularly famous, or perhaps we should say infamous(!), story was Eugène Christophe.
During the 1913 Tour, Eugène's bike was clipped by another cyclist, snapping his front fork in two. Race rules dictated that riders were not permitted any outside assistance, so Eugène was forced to assemble himself a brand new fork in order to get back into the race.
His misfortune proved costly, as despite going into that year's Tour as a firm favourite, he ended up finishing 7th place!
Another iconic rider was Gino Bartali, nicknamed King of the Mountains. Bartali was an Italian cyclist, who was compelled to compete in the Tour during the reign of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Bartali won two Tours in his career, but it was the work he did away from the competition that made him a true icon.
During World War Two, Bartali used his cycling career as a means to aid in the rescue of Jewish people, persecuted under the Nazi regime. Bartali would hide falsified identity cards, documents and photographs in his bike, using his long distance training rides as cover to deliver these to resistance members, helping Jews seeking refuge in Europe. It's thought that Bartali's efforts helped save hundreds of lives, with his activities only coming to light after his death.
This article was published in June 2025 and updated in June 2026
