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Tour de France Statistics You Probably Never Heard About (2023 TdF Included)

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Tour de France’s rich history goes back to 1903, when its first edition took place. Nowadays, it is the most famous cycling race globally. One day, I asked myself:

What will I discover if I visualize the data collected from over 100 editions?

The result is a unique set of charts and facts about the Tour de France that can provide valuable insights. And maybe, we can also better predict the future winners.

Learn more about the total distance, average stage length, rider’s height, weight, BMI, and other interesting data, and how they developed.

Let’s dive into one of the biggest sets of the Tour de France statistics.

Abbreviations used: GC – General Classification, GT – Grand Tour, TdF – Tour de France, BMI – Body Mass Index

I used publicly available data from wikipedia.org , procyclingstats.com , and the official Tour de France website letour.fr as data sources. Some data is not available (especially the rider’s weights/heights).

Please also keep in mind the following:

  • The Tour de France did not take place between 1915-1918 and 1940-1946.
  • Lance Armstrong was stripped of all his results and prizes from 1 August 1998; no alternative winners of TdF 1999-2005 have yet been declared.
  • The actual rider’s racing weight could vary.

Tour de France 2023 Summary

The overall winner of the 2023 Tour de France is Jonas Vingegaard (DK). He finished 7:29 ahead of Tadej Pogačar . Vingegaard covered the 3,401 km route, averaging 41.43 km/h.

The 2023 Tour de France points classification winner is Jasper Philipsen (BE). He accumulated 377 points and won 4 stages (stage 3, stage 4, stage 7, and stage 11).

The 2023 Tour de France mountain classification winner is Giulio Ciccone (IT). He accumulated 106 points.

The best young rider (under 25 years) for the 2023 Tour de France is Tadej Pogačar (SLO). He finished 7:29 behind Jonas Vingegaard.

Tour de France Total Distance

The Tour de France was the longest Grand Tour for decades. The first 3 editions were relatively short (2,428, 2,428, and 2,994 km). However, that changed with the 4th edition. For the next decades, riders had to cover an overall distance exceeding 5,000 km. Luckily for riders, this distance shortened over time.

The average Tour de France length of all editions is 4,190 km . The average length was 4,139 km between 1960 and 1980, 3,791 km between 1980 and 2000, and “only” 3,491 km between 2000 and 2020. The total length of the 2023 Tour de France is 3401.3 km .

Tour de France - Total Distance

Tour de France Average Speed

The average Tour de France speed of all editions is 34.62 km/h . The average speed was 27.67 km/h between 1919 and 1939, and 40.15 km/h between 1999 and 2019. The average speed of the 2023 Tour de France was 41.43 km/h .

The overall distance vs. Average speed of all Tour de France editions

The average speed improved mainly thanks to technological progress, better training methods, and nutrition specialists

Do you think we will ever see a Tour de France ridden with an average speed exceeding 45 km/h?

Number and Length of the Tour de France Stages

The number of Tour de France stages increased from 6-15 stages to more than 20, depending on the edition. For the last few years, it has remained the same (21).

The average Tour de France stage length of all editions is 218 km (time trials included). It went down from a whopping 286 km between 1909-1939 to 197 km between 1949-1979 and 173 km between 1989-2019. The average stage length of the 2023 Tour de France is 162 km .

The average stage distance vs. number of stages of all Tour de France editions

Historical Extremes of the Tour de France

Can you guess the longest and shortest Tour de France edition ?

The longest Tour de France took place in 1926. Riders had to cover 5,745 km (this is about the same distance as from New York to London).

The shortest Tour de France were the first two editions (1903 and 1904); they had the same length of 2,428 km .

The longest Tour de France stage was the 5th stage of the 1919 edition; it was 482 km long.

The fastest Tour de France took place in 2022. The average speed of the winner was 41.84 km/h.

The slowest Tour de France was the 22nd edition (1924). The winner, Ottavio Bottecchia, reached a winning time of 226h 18′ 21″ on an overall distance of 5,425 km. This results in an average speed of 23.97 km/h .

IMPORTANT NOTE : Many websites (including Wikipedia) list the 1919 Tour de France as the slowest TdF ever (24.06 km/h). This claim is incorrect because the 1924 Tour de France was even slower (23.97 km/h).

Interested in more statistics? I summarized Giro and Vuelta as well.

Tour de France Rider’s Height, Weight, and BMI (Over Time)

How do the Tour de France riders’ height, weight, and BMI develop over time? How do these data differ between riders for the general classification, climbers, and sprinters (all-rounders)? You learn in this section.

NOTE : The heights and weight data are unfortunately not available for all riders.

General Classification

Tour de France winners are getting taller but leaner. ..

A friend once told me I am too tall for cycling (I am 1.85 m). I thought he was right, but he was not. Even tall riders like Bradley Wiggins (1.90 m), Chris Froome (1.86 m), or Miguel Indurain (1.86 m) have won the Tour de France. And it seems that the Tour de France is being won by taller and taller riders (check the chart below).

The average height of a Tour de France winner is 1.77 m .

The tallest Tour de France winner ever was Bradley Wiggins (TdF 2012). He is 1.90 m tall.

The shortest Tour de France winner ever was Romain Maes (TdF 1935). He was 1.60 m tall.

The heights of the Tour de France general classification winners

Lower weight = Better Chance to Win Tour de France?

The average weight of a Tour de France winner is 68.1 kg .

The heaviest Tour de France winner was François Faber. He won the 1909 TdF, weighing 88 kg .

The lightest Tour de France winner was Marco Pantani. He won the 1998 TdF, weighing just 57 kg .

The weights of the Tour de France general classification winners

Of all the charts in this article, I like the BMI chart the most because it shows an interesting trend. Let’s quickly repeat what BMI means.

BMI uses your height and weight to work out if your weight is healthy. ( Source )

Here is a quick guide on how to interpret these values:

  • Below 18.5 – underweight,
  • 18.5-24.9 – normal,
  • 25.0-29.9 – overweight,
  • 30.0 and above – obese.

With this know-how, we get a better understanding of these values.

Tour de France winners have an average BMI of 21.70 .

The Tour de France winner with the highest BMI was François Faber. He won the 1909 Tour de France with a BMI of 27.77 (1.78 m, 88 kg). Yes, the Faber won TdF while being overweight.

The Tour de France winner with the lowest BMI was Chris Froome. He won the TdF in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017 with a BMI of 19.08 (1.86 m, 66 kg).

The BMIs of the Tour de France general classification winners

Do you want to know how do you compare with pro riders? Feel free to calculate your BMI using the calculator below.

BMI CALCULATOR

Mountain Classification

The average height of a Tour de France mountains classification winner is 1.75 m .

The tallest Tour de France mountains classification winner ever is Mauricio Soler (TdF 2007). He is 1.90 m tall.

The shortest Tour de France mountains classification winner ever was Julián Berrendero (TdF 1936). He was 1.62 m tall.

The heights of the Tour de France mountain classification winners

The average weight of a Tour de France mountains classification winner is 64.4 kg .

The heaviest Tour de France mountains classification winners were Louison Bobet (TdF 1950) and Santiago Botero (TdF 2000). They won the mountain classification, weighing 75 kg .

The lightest Tour de France mountains classification winner was Luis Herra. He won the 1985 and 1987 TdF mountain classification, weighing just 57 kg .

The weights of the Tour de France mountain classification winners

Tour de France mountains classification winners have an average BMI of 21.14 .

The Tour de France mountains classification winner with the highest BMI was Sylvère Maes. He won the 1939 Tour de France mountains classification with a BMI of 24.80 (1.68 m, 70 kg).

The Tour de France mountains classification winner with the lowest BMI was Warren Barguil. He won the 2017 Tour de France mountains classification with a BMI of 18.42 (1.82 m, 61 kg). This means he was underweight.

The BMIs of the Tour de France mountain classification winners

You might also be interested How much does a Tour de France bike cost? How much does a Tour de France bike weigh?

Points Classification

The average height of a Tour de France points classification winner is 1.78 m .

The tallest Tour de France points classification winner s ever were Tom Boonen (TdF 2007) and Wout van Aert (2022). They are 1.90 m tall.

The shortest Tour de France points classification winner ever was Stan Ockers (TdF 1955, 1956). He was 1.65 m tall.

The heights of the Tour de France points classification winners

The average weight of a Tour de France points classification winner is 72.5 kg .

The heaviest Tour de France points classification winner was Tom Boonen. He won the 2007 TdF points classification, weighing 82 kg .

The lightest Tour de France points classification winner was Stan Ockers. He won the 1955 and 1956 TdF points classification, weighing just 61 kg .

The weights of the Tour de France points classification winners

A Tour de France points classification winner has an average BMI of 22.88 .

The Tour de France points classification winner with the highest BMI was Walter Godefroot (1.71 m, 73 kg). He won the 1970 Tour de France points classification with a BMI of 24.96 .

The Tour de France points classification winner with the lowest BMI was Bernard Hinault (1.74 m, 62 kg). He won the TdF 1979 points classification with a BMI of 20.48 .

The BMIs of the Tour de France points classification winners

TIP : Don’t you have a bike yet? Feel free to browse my selection of the  best bikes on the market.

Overall Victories, Stage Wins, Days in Yellow…

The riders with the most Tour de France GC wins (5) are Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil, and Miguel Indurain. Chris Froome is the closest active rider to these legends with his 4 TdF wins.

average tour de france stage length

Eddy Merckx also dominated another statistic as he is the rider with the most days spent in the yellow jersey * (Maillot Jaune).

*Including half-stages.

average tour de france stage length

The following table shows the three riders with the most Tour de France stage wins .

Who is the rider with the most Tour de France participation ? Sylvain Chavanel . The 2nd place belongs to George Hincapie, Stuart O’Grady, Jens Voigt, and the 3rd to Joop Zoetemelk and Haimar Zubeldia.

Riders with the Most Mountain & Points Classification Victories

The best climber , according to the number of Mountain Classification victories, was Richard Virenque. He won this classification seven times .

The best sprinter , according to the number of Points Classification victories, is the Slovak Peter Sagan with 7 wins .

If you are into cycling and numbers, make sure you also read these Incredible Bicycle Statistics .

I hope you enjoyed these Tour de France statistics as I did when putting them together. What is your favorite stat? Let me know in the comments section.

Be sure also to check my Cycling Grand Tours Statistics , where I compare all Grand Tours, or continue reading:

Tour de France Statistics FAQ

Not yet. However, Eddy Merckx was closest to this in 1969. He won the yellow jersey, polka dot jersey, and green jersey. The young rider classification was introduced in 1975. Only riders below 26 years of age are eligible. Eddy Merckx was 24 years old in 1969. This means he would have won all 4 jerseys in the same Tour de France edition.

Eddy Merckx is considered “the greatest” Tour de France rider and “the greatest” cyclist of all time. He won 11 grand tours (5 times Tour de France, 5 times Giro d’Italia, and once Vuelta a España). He won 3 TdF points classifications, 2 mountains classification, and 4 combativity awards. Together with Mark Cavendish, he also holds a record for the most stage wins (34).

This scenario happened only twice (in 1947 and 1968), and it likely will not happen again. It is a tradition that riders don’t compete for GC in the final stage.

This scenario happened four times (in 1903, 1924, 1928, and 1935). With the nowadays tough competition, it likely will not ever happen again.

wikipedia.org procyclingstats.com letour.fr lequipe.fr The preview picture ©A.S.O./Charly Lopez (cropped)

Browse Other Cycling Statistics

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About The Author

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Petr Minarik

4 thoughts on “tour de france statistics you probably never heard about (2023 tdf included)”.

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I just like the helpful information you provide in your articles.

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Thank you. 🙂 – Petr

Profile picture of Petr Minarik - the founder of cyclistshub.com

Impressive stats! That must have been a lot of work.

It sure was! – Petr

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How Long Is the Tour de France?

The 2023 course has some big climbs and surprise locations.

109th tour de france 2022 stage 14

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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 .

le tour de france 2023 route map

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.

average tour de france stage length

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 Statistics: Dates, Stages, Average Speed, Length, Number of Entrants and Finishers

TDF volume 1

Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 is available as an audiobook here . Or, for the print and eBook versions, just click on the link to the right.

Here is a listing of the dates of each Tour with the starting (until 1952, it was always Paris) and finishing city (always Paris), the total length of each Tour, number of stages, the number of entrants and finishers as well as the winner's average speed over the entire Tour.

Click on any highlighted year for much more information about that Tour

The distances and average speeds for pre-World War I Tour are very inexact.

Back then stage lengths were often estimated.

Tour de France Winners, Podium and Times as well as links to all other Tour de France information on our site

Other competitions (points, KOM, green jersey, team classification)

Tour de France prizes, winners and total prize pools, by year

No Tours were held from 1915-1918 and 1940-1946.

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Tadej Pogacar puts the hammer down on the climb to La Planche Des Belles Filles in 2020.

Tour de France 2021: stage-by-stage guide

This year’s race begins in France’s cycling heartland before heading to the mountains and a climax in the Pyrenees

Stage one, Saturday 26 June, Brest – Landerneau 197.8km

The Tour opens with a loop through France’s cycling heartland, home to heroes of the past such as the five-times winner Bernard Hinault, and present-day aspirants such as Warren Barguil. A hilly route travels south to Quimper then returns north to finish close to the start, up a steep two-mile climb tailor made for France’s biggest current star, Julian Alaphilippe, who will be under intense pressure to deliver the stage win and yellow jersey. With more brief ascents approaching the finish crashes are inevitable as the field fights for position before the closing hill.

Stage two, Sunday 27 June, Perros-Guirec – Mûr-de-Bretagne 183.5km

More little climbs for a first reshuffle of the overall contenders. Again it’s Alaphilippe’s favoured terrain – another short, steeper ascent to the finish – but the Mur is tackled twice, the first time with 17km to go. Another favourite will be the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, cycling’s most exciting talent, who is making his Tour debut. The contest to be at the front for the climb is as daunting as the ascent itself; a crash or puncture will be costly. Earlier, the race visits Hinault’s old stamping ground of Saint-Brieuc, and the Badger would definitely have relished this finish.

Stage three, Monday 28 June, Lorient – Pontivy 182.9km

The first routine stage, with more nods to Brittany’s cycling past and present. The start close to Barguil’s home town of Hennebont will draw plenty of “Wawa” fans, and the route travels down the coast to Carnac of stone row fame, then passes Plumelec and the Cadoudal hill, a celebrated local race venue. A bunch sprint finish looks inevitable; Mark Cavendish returns to the Tour with Deceuninck-QuickStep after Sam Bennett was ruled out through injury, with Australia’s Caleb Ewan a big rival for stage wins and favourite for the green jersey.

Stage four, Tuesday 29 June, Redon – Fougères 150.4km

The race ventures towards Normandy but stops just short of the border at another town with cycling history, home of the late Albert Bouvet, the legendary “Bulldog”, who became a mainstay of the group that organises the Tour. By now the daily pattern will have been set: an early break of a handful of riders from the lesser French teams, scooped up in time for a bunch sprint finish. Along with Ewan, other favourites include the evergreen Peter Sagan, France’s Arnaud Démare, Tim Merlier of Belgium, the Norwegian Alexandr Kristoff and perhaps the Frenchman Nacer Bouhanni.

Stage five, Wednesday 30 June, individual time trial, Changé – Laval 27.2km

A first proper sort-out with a time trial long enough to create gaps but short enough that they shouldn’t be definitive. It’s a classic rolling course, climbing from the start and again towards the finish, an initial chance to assess 2021 winner Tadej Pogacar, runner-up Primoz Roglic, and 2018 winner Geraint Thomas, while short enough to suit Alaphilippe. It also suits specialists such as Belgian Victor Campenaerts and Swiss rider Stefan Küng. This stage is in the Mayenne, home turf of Küng’s FDJ manager Marc Madiot, so he knows what he has to do: win.

Stage six, Thursday 1 July, Tours – Châteauroux 160.6km

It’s 13 years since Cavendish won the first of his 30 Tour de France stage wins here and he will get the chance to add to his tally after he made Deceuninck’s Tour team following the injury to Bennett. The bunch sprint is inevitable, with the same cast as on previous days and by now it should be pretty clear who is on top. After three sprint stages in four days, however, it’s time for something different.

Stage seven, Friday 2 July, Vierzon – Le Creusot 249.1km

The longest stage of the race; stages over 240km were once relatively common but are now a rarity. The first 50km will be hectic, as every rider aiming to win a hilly stage will have this one on his list; the battle to get in the day’s break will be intense. In the final 50km there are two climbs long and hard enough to dislodge the sprinters; if Sagan has not won a stage so far, the chances are he and his Bora team will target this one and aim to bring the race together in the final hour.

Stage eight, Saturday 3 July, Oyonnax – Le Grand-Bornand 150.8km

Tao Geoghegan Hart

After a transfer, it’s suddenly mountain time. It’s not the rudest of introductions but the Col de Romme-Col de Colombière diptych will whittle the main group down to 15 at best. The mountains jersey should change hands so there will be riders seeking out the early break to stake their claim on the polkadots. Expect a show of strength over the final climbs from a team looking to control the standings – Ineos most obviously, or Jumbo-Visma – and a stage win for a climber who can sprint such as Rigoberto Urán of Colombia or Tao Geoghegan Hart.

Stage nine, Sunday 4 July, Cluses – Tignes 144.9km

Unusually, this year the Tour bypasses the highest and most iconic Alpine passes, and today’s gloriously scenic Cormet de Roselend is about the best we will see of the massif . The long descents after the Col des Saisies and the Roselend will give weaker climbers a chance to get back to the front group before the final sort-out. The winner will probably come from an early move – the likes of Barguil or Nairo Quintana are obvious candidates – but the draggy Tignes finish climb will suit a rider like Alaphilippe or Thomas rather than a lighter pure climber. Then comes a rest day.

Stage 10, Tuesday 6 July, Albertville – Valence 190.7km

This might be more interesting than your average flat “transition” stage because there’s just enough climbing at key points to suggest that the sprint teams might not have it all their own way. If Sagan is feeling frisky he might try to burn off one or two of the heavier brethren, and if Ewan’s Lotto have lost riders who would normally work to control the stage, or if Deceuninck are marshalling Alaphilippe in the yellow jersey, the chances are a break will succeed with an opportunistic win for a rider like Thomas De Gendt or Søren Kragh Andersen.

Stage 11, Wednesday 7 July, Sorgues – Malaucène 198.9km

Given the reduced quota of climbing in the Alps, today’s unprecedented double ascent of the fearsome Mont Ventoux should be when a definitive picture emerges at the top of the classification. The second ascent of the “Giant of Provence” could do serious damage, particularly if the weather is hot. It’s a day for favourites like Pogacar, Roglic or Thomas to show what they have in the locker, but all eyes will be on Colombian Miguel Ángel López, winner of the Ventoux challenge in early June, posting the fastest time for the climb since 2004.

Stage 12, Thursday 8 July, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux – Nîmes 159.4km

There are two scenarios for this run through the gorges of the Ardèche and the hills to the west of the Rhône. Either the race will follow the usual pattern of doomed breakaway, late catch, bunch sprint. Or the mistral will blow from somewhere between north-west and east and all hell will break loose late on as the bunch splinters in the wind. The former scenario favours the sprinters, the latter the strongest team in the race: Ineos or Deceuninck, with Sagan as a wild card. A windy day will offer Thomas or Alaphilippe the chance to gain time on the climbers.

Stage 13, Friday 9 July, Nîmes – Carcassonne 219.9km

The second longest stage of the race – and a rare day of over 200km – has a similar look to the previous one, with no major hills and roads that are innocuous enough in clement conditions but can be brutal in a cross wind. By this stage it should be clear who is the best sprinter and if Ewan is heading to achieve his 2021 target of winning stages in all three Grand Tours, also whether Sagan is en route to take a record eighth Tour green jersey or if he’s being threatened by an all-rounder such as Aussie Michael Matthews or Italian Sonny Colbrelli.

Stage 14, Saturday 10 July, Carcassonne – Quillan 183.7km

Only a few stages in this year’s Tour are hilly enough to deter the sprinters and favour the all-rounders as opposed to the pure mountain goats. This is the second, through Cathar country in the rarely visited eastern Pyrenees. Narrow, twisting roads and constant up and downs favour a breakaway, and the battle to be in it will be desperate as even after two weeks the majority of teams will have yet to win a stage. One for a rider like Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet, Bauke Mollema or Simon Yates if they are not involved in the overall battle.

Stage 15, Sunday 11 July, Céret – Andorre-la-Vieille 191.3km

This stage is almost bound to see an early escape contest the finish, because although the late climb of the Port d’Envalira is the highest point on the Tour it’s not steep enough to cause huge damage, so any sparring for the overall standings will come within Andorra on the Col de Beixalis. The overall contenders should finish together unless anyone is having an off day; this is a good one for the stage hunters such as Yates or France’s David Gaudu, but also the best descenders such as Bahrain’s Matej Mohoric and old fox Vincenzo Nibali. There then follows a rest day.

Stage 16, Tuesday 13 July, Pas de la Case – Saint-Gaudens 169km

Julian Alaphilippe

Five days of climbing in the Pyrenees is almost unprecedented for the Tour, and each is very different: today involves shorter, steep ascents, with the main sort-out likely to come on the Col de la Core before the final shootout on the Portet-d’Aspet. By this point in the race, each day’s breakaway will include many of the same riders, with teams getting increasingly panicked if they haven’t yet won a stage. The overall contenders will want this to be a controlled stage, but these roads are eminently suitable for skirmishing involving the likes of Alaphilippe or Daniel Martin of Ireland.

Stage 17, Wednesday 14 July, Muret – Sant-Lary-Soulan 178.4km

The first of two mountain-top finishes that should decide the race. There’s a lengthy, flattish preamble where a large break should gain several minutes – in recent years these have involved as many as 30 riders – while the final 50kms includes a daunting trio of passes, culminating in the hardest finish of the Tour, the super-steep 10 miles to the Col de Portet. López, Roglic and Pogacar will be the main men here, and the stage win should go to the best climber out of the break – a rider like Gaudu.

Stage 18, Thursday 15 July, Pau – Luz Ardiden 129.7km

Shorter and more straightforward than the previous day; the Col du Tourmalet is arguably the most iconic climb in the Pyrenees and Luz Ardiden one of the classic finishes. There is always room for a surprise attack but on paper, this stage should replicate the verdict of the previous day as it will favour exactly the same kind of rider. Again there should be a massive early escape involving climbers who are out of contention overall, but the brevity of the stage means they are liable to be scooped up late on leaving the stage win for whoever is in the yellow jersey.

Stage 19, Friday 16 July, Mourenx – Libourne 207km

The sprinters will have been attempting to survive for the last few days, with this stage and Sunday’s run in to Paris in their minds. That’s enough incentive for most of them but the outcome of the stage may depend on how many of their teammates have got through the mountains as well. Five successive mountain stages may see off more of the domestiques than usual, and it might see off sprinters who really can’t climb like Kristoff or Ewan. So it’s a day for perhaps a rider like Matthews or Colbrelli, who will deal with the mountains better than most.

Stage 20, Saturday 17 July, individual time trial, Libourne – Saint-Émilion 30.8km

This stage visits the village of Montagne, which will seem like a bad joke to the big-boned types who have grovelled through the Alps and Pyrenees. Since last year’s reversal at La Planche des Belles Filles the Tour has fallen back in love with time trials and this one is long enough to create a surprise or two. In theory the Tour will have gone through more than enough mountains since leaving Brittany to ensure that the strongest climber has ample margin to relax on this stage. But that’s far from certain – and therein lies the great fascination of this race.

Stage 21, Sunday 18 July, Chatou – Paris Champs-Élysées 108.4km

The traditional apotheosis. The Tour organisers have meddled with the sprint format only once since first finishing on the Champs in 1975. However, the other Grand Tours have always experimented with time trials on the last day and perhaps it’s time the biggest race of all tried something different. The club run pace start, the champagne drinking en route and the final dash up Paris’s grandest avenue does have a slightly hackneyed feel. Love it or not, it’s still a fantastic sprint.

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How Hard are the Tour de France Stages for Cyclists?

By Jeremy Powers

How Hard are the Tour de France Stages for Cyclists?

We break down the difficulty of various Tour de France stages as riders take on the mountains, flat sections and time trials, using WHOOP data and other metrics.

The Tour de France is widely considered one of the most grueling and difficult athletic events on the planet. For 21 stages spanning 23 days, cyclists push their bodies to the max--day, after day, after day, after day. How hard are the various individual stages? We wanted to take a look at data we’ve been able to capture over the years from the big stages of the Tour de France, as well as the Giro d’Italia, another Grand Tour stage race that is three weeks long. We can use this data to better understand the incredible effort that these riders will undertake at this year’s Tour de France.  

The Strain and Exertion of Tour de France Stages

Generally speaking, a "normal" day at the Tour has a rider putting out somewhere around 230-250 watts on average (think of this as pressure on the pedals), which equates to about 900 kilojoules (a fancy way to say calories) per hour. Multiply that by 5 hours and it’s almost 5000 calories! And more often than not, this equates to a WHOOP strain score above 20 (strain is how we measure cardiovascular exertion, on a scale of 0-21). On some of the harder stages, this is closer to 300+ watts and 1100 calories/KJ per hour. Even for the fittest athletes in the world, this is a wild number and gets your cardiovascular system really fatigued. Strains over 20.5 are not uncommon.  

Daily WHOOP Strain Data from Each of Last Year’s Tour de France Stages

This graphic shows the average strain (in blue) for members of the EF Education - NIPPO Pro Cycling Team during each stage of the 2020 Tour de France:

daily tour de france strain

The average daily WHOOP strain and recovery for EF riders DURING THE 2020 TOUR DE FRANCE.

Below we’ll take a look at some of this year’s Tour de France stages (a mountain stage, a flat stage and a time trial) and break them down based on data we have from previous races.  

Mountain Stage & High Strain

Stage 8 of this year's Tour de France is the first true mountain stage: Distance: 94 miles (151 kilometers) Elevation: 11,000 feet of climbing ETA to Finish Stage: 5 hours, depending on weather, heat, etc.

Tour de france stage 8

The layout of Stage 8 in the 2021 Tour de France.

If we look at the last time we visited this stage, we actually have data from Lawson Craddock in 2018 . Back then, it was Stage 10 of the 2018 Tour de France. To give you a sense of things during that moment, at the time Lawson said this to us: “It was a rough day for me. I felt better than expected on the first climb, but that feeling was short lived. I suffered over the second mountain pass, but once we hit Col de Romme I was cooked.” Lawson had a solid 70% WHOOP recovery that day with a 20.6 strain, his most strenuous stage of the Tour to that point. His average heart rate for the ride was 146 beats per minute, his max heart rate was 183 bpm (near his top) and he burned around 4,600 calories/KJ. To use another example, Stage 6 of this year’s Giro d’Italia was also a very similar alpine stage--100 miles, roughly 5 hours of riding and 11,200 feet of climbing. Here’s a glimpse at some of EF rider Simon Carr ’s metrics from that stage: Recovery: 25% Day Strain: 20.5 Average HR: 145 bpm (nearly identical to Lawson’s mentioned above) The Giro’s Stage 6 had comparable terrain, mileage and elevation to Stage 10 of the 2018 Tour de France, and to what we’ll see in Stage 8 of the Tour this year. On these big climbing days there is no hiding. We can almost certainly expect the riders hitting strains of 20.6 and higher, and hopefully they’re waking up in the green ready to take on this massive day. But with it being the 8th straight day of competition, following a hectic first week and no rest days yet, chances are this is going to be a stage of attrition. Napping , blue light glasses, nutrition, hydration , massage, focussing on sleep consistency … literally every recovery method in the book is what the riders will be striving for leading into and after a huge stage like this.  

Flat Stage & Max Heart Rate at the Finish

Stage 19 of this year’s Tour fits this billing: Distance: 129 miles (207 kilometers) Elevation: 4,120 feet of climbing ETA to Finish Stage: 5 hours and should end in a sprint

2021 tour de france stage 19

THE LAYOUT OF STAGE 19 IN THE 2021 TOUR DE FRANCE.

Now that we’ve seen what a day in the mountains looks like, let's crunch a little data from some flat stages. These stages of a Grand Tour tend to be “easier” relative to what the riders are doing on the hillier days. Here’s a snippet of what we wrote during the 2018 Tour: “Lawson completed Stage 07 today, spending more than six hours on the bike. It was a long, mostly flat stage referred to as ‘boring’ by a few riders.” This is less true on days when certain riders have to “ride in the front” for the team’s sprinter or “get in the breakaway,” so let’s exclude those and just focus on a typical flat stage from someone who’s “sitting in the bunch.” At the Giro this year, the 13th stage was 126 miles long and flat as a pan. Simon Carr only burned 2700 calories/KJ with a WHOOP day strain of 15.9. This is an atypical stage of a Grand Tour, but it highlights just how different each day can be. Also, towards the end of these flatter stages it’s often very chaotic and dangerous as they come into the finish line, and it gets going fast . Looking at Simon’s heart rate data from this stage, you can see that he is full gas in the last 30-45 minutes and maxed out his HR just to finish in the pack.

flat stage heart rate

Simon Carr's heart rate during the flat Stage 13 of the 2021 Giro d'italia.

Time trial stage & non-stop elevated hr.

Stage 5 of the Tour this year is a time trial: Distance: 17 miles (27 kilometers) Elevation: 1089 feet of climbing ETA to Finish Stage: 30 minutes

2021 tour de france stage 5

THE LAYOUT OF STAGE 5 IN THE 2021 TOUR DE FRANCE.

Time trials are dubbed “the race against the clock,” which is a short (usually under 60 minutes) but constantly hard individual effort. The strain we see is different from any other days of a Grand Tour. If the riders pace it right, their heart rates will be lower at the beginning and progressively go up and up to the finish line. When you factor in what they do to warm up and cool down it can still end up being a “big day”--especially considering riders often need to finish within a certain time percentage of the winner in order to stay in the race. They can’t go out there and lallygag even for a moment, they have to keep moving even if they're not in the hunt for the overall or stage win. Lawson completed Stage 20 of the 2018 Tour (a 31-mile time trial) in just under 48 minutes, and his day strain still topped 16. Similarly, Simon hit a strain of 16.6 at the Giro’s Stage 21 time trial this year, despite being on the bike for only 18+ miles and 36 minutes. However, he spent 33 of those 36 minutes at 80% or more of his max heart rate, with his HR rarely dipping below 160 bpm the entire time.   RELATED: Pro Cyclist Heart Rate, Strain & Tour de France Data

average tour de france stage length

Tour de France 2019 Stages and Elevation

It has been quite a while since the last analysis and by now we are more than half way the Tour de France 2019. One of the most interesting Tour in years if you ask me. Julian Alaphilippe in yellow, no truly dominant team and many surprising stages. The past four stages took place in the Pyrenees. In this post we will take a look at the past mountain stages and their relative difficulties. For this we use Strava data from Thibaut Pinot and Sébastien Reichenbach.

Don’t forget to check out our Tour de France race page with a lot of race statistics

The first problem that we encounter is that the actual stage data from Strava does not include the Tour de France climb categorizations. All climb information is collected from the official Tour de France website. However, it appears that the climb location (kilometers since the start/beginning) does not really match with the Strava information. This is actually solved by manually aligning the official Tour de France profiles with the Strava profile that results from combining the gradient adjusted distance and elevation information. When aligning we always stuck to the official climb length from the Tour website. You can see the result of this exercise in Figure 1 . In this figure you can see the Stava profile in black and the categorized climbs as shaded yellow regions. In the subplot title you can also find the Tour stage label. Here FLA, HIL and MNT indicate, respectively, a flat, hilly and mountain stage. The abbreviations ITT and TTT are the Individual and Team Time Trials.

Tour de France 2019 profiles from Thibaut Pinot and Sébastien Reichenbach GPX data.

Figure 1: Tour de France 2019 profiles based on Thibaut Pinot and Sébastien Reichenbach Strava rides aligned with official Tour de France profiles.

As you can see stage 2 and stage 13 have no categorized climbs, since these were (team) time trials. Sometimes the alignment just took a few hundred meters, in other stages it was more than a few kilometers. When aligning we really tried to capture the most elevation within the official climb length. Note that the axis on all figures are different, so elevation differences between e.g. stage 1 and stage 1 are very substantial. Now we have the actual race elevation and categorized climb elevation aligned we can calculate stage-by-stage the total elevation and the part of this total elevation that is actually categorized. This is shown in Figure 2 .

The first noteworthy observations is that flat stages are definitely not that flat at all. The ‘flattest’ stages (stages 1, 4 and 11) still have close to 2000 meters of total elevation. Stages 7 and 10 are also classified as flat, but contain more elevation than some hilly stages. The only difference is that the categorized elevation is of a lower category. The same holds for the hilly stages. Take for example stage 8 - hilly according to the Tour de France organization. With nearly 4000 meters of total elevation it is comparable with mountain stages 6 and 15. The only difference is that this elevation is of a lower category.

This leaves us with the mountain stages 6, 12, 14 and 15. The first thing that distinguishes them is the percentage of climbing meters that is classified with category 1 or ‘H’. The second important aspect is stage length. In Figure 3 is identical to Figure 2 , except that we scaled total stage elevation by the stage length. So on the vertical axis you now see total elevation in meters per stage kilometer. Now the mountain stages really stand out. They pack a lot of climbing intensity in relatively few kilometers.

Tour de France 2019 stage elevation and the percentage of elevation that is categorized.

Figure 2: Tour de France 2019 total actual stage elevation based on Thibaut Pinot and Sébastien Reichenbach Strava rides split out for uncategorized and categorized climbing meters.

Tour de France 2019 stage elevation per stage kilometer and the percentage of elevation that is categorized.

Figure 3: Tour de France 2019 total actual stage elevation per stage kilometer based on Thibaut Pinot and Sébastien Reichenbach Strava rides split out for uncategorized and categorized climbing meters.

The last thing we will take a look at is the total cumulative elevation over the Tour de France until now. This is shown in Figure 4 . In this figure you can see the total Tour de France distance covered on the horizontal axis and the cumulative total elevation on the vertical axis. The odd stage numbers are shaded yellow to increase the readability of the figure. So far the Tour de France had about 40 kilometers of climbing up to and including stage 15! You can also see that:

  • Some stages start off with quite some elevation in the beginning, afterwards it flattens off. Take for example the flat stages 4, 7 and 10.
  • Although stage 6 and 8 are packed with climbs and tough you see that in the Pyrenees (stages 12 up to 15) climb length increased and, consequently, climb categories got heavier.
  • The slope of the line increased in the Pyrenees, this means more vertical meters per stage kilometer.

Stay tuned for the next post about the Tour de France mountains / polka dot classification.

Tour de France 2019 cumulative stage elevation with categorized climbs highlighted.

Figure 4: Tour de France 2019 cumulative elevation over all stages until now based on Thibaut Pinot and Sébastien Reichenbach Strava rides.

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How Long Is Tour de France – Total Distance, Longest Stages, and More

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Have you ever wondered how many miles the modern gladiators on bikes need to cover just to finish Tour de France? Do you know what the entire Tour de France distance is? Do you know how many stages there are in Tour de France? Or how long the longest stage is? Well, we give you all the information below.

How Long Tour de France

The 3 longest stages of the 2023 Tour de France have already been raced but when they were? How long they were? Who won? Read on to find out.

  • 1 How long is Tour de France? How many miles are there in the Tour?
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  • 3.3 The 3rd longest stage of the 2023 Tour de France

How long is Tour de France? How many miles are there in the Tour?

The 2023 Tour de France totals exactly 3,402.8 kilometres or about 2,115 miles. Compared to last year the 2023 Tour is slightly longer with the 2022 edition being 3,349.8 kilometres (2.081.5 miles).

The start of the tour was in the Basque Country of Spain for the 2nd time in history, the first one was back in 1992. The entire 3,402.8 kilometres will stretch over 3 days of riding in Spain and the rest will be in France. The 2023 Tour de France will visit 6 regions and 23 departments on French soil.

How many stages there are in Tour de France?

The 2023 Tour de France has 21 stages and 2 rest days. It all started on July 01st in Bilbao (Spain) with the final set to be once again on the iconic Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 23rd. The brief description of the 21 stages of this year’s tour is as follows: 8 flat stages; 4 hilly stages; 8 mount stages with 4 summit finishes (Cauterets-Cambasque, Puy de Dôme, Grand Colombier and Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc), 1 individual time trial and 2 rest days.

Now let’s look in more detail at all the 21 stages of this year’s Tour:

Stage 1: 182km (113.1 miles) Bilbao to Bilbao (hilly)

Stage 2: 209km (129.9 miles) Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint-Sébastien (hilly)

Stage 3: 187.4km (116.5 miles) Amorebieta-Etxano to Bayonne (flat)

Stage 4: 182km (113.1 miles) Dax to Nogaro (flat)

Stage 5: 163km (101.3 miles) Pau to Laruns (mountain)

Stage 6: 145km (90.1 miles) Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque (mountain)

Stage 7: 170km (105.6 miles) Mont-de-Marsan to Bordeaux (flat)

Stage 8: 201km (124.9 miles) Libourne to Limoges (hilly)

Stage 9: 182.5km (113.4 miles) Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dôme (mountain)

Rest Day July 10th

Stage 10: 167.5km (104.1 miles) Vulcania to Issoire (hilly)

Stage 11: 180km (111.9 miles) Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins (flat)

Stage 12: 169km (105 miles) Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais (hilly)

Stage 13: 138km (85.8 miles) Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne to Grand Colombier (mountain)

Stage 14: 152km (94.5 miles) Annemasse to Morzine Les Portes du Soleil (mountain)

Stage 15: 179km (111.2 miles) Les Gets Les Portes du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc (mountain)

Rest Day July 17th

Stage 16: 22.4km (13.9 miles) Passy to Combloux (individual time trial)

Stage 17: 166km (103.2 miles) Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc to Courchevel (mountain)

Stage 18: 185km (115 miles) Moûtiers to Bourg-en-Bresse (hilly)

Stage 19: 173km (107.5 miles) Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny (flat)

Stage 20: 133.5km (83 miles) Belfort to Le Markstein Fellering (mountain)

Stage 21: 115.5km (71.7 miles) Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to Paris Champs-Élysées (flat)

There you have it! The entire 21 stages, every mile, every city and mountain top the 176 riders in the field will visit during the 2023 Tour de France.

Which are the 3 longest stages of the 2023 Tour de France?

The 3 longest stages of this year’s Tour were early on, all 3 were in week 1 of the race. Here is a bit more about them and who won each of these 3 marathon stages:

The longest stage of the 2023 Tour de France

Stage 2 (July 02nd): 209km (129.9 miles) Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint-Sébastien (hilly)

Winner: Victor Lafay

Brief: At more than 200km this is the longest stage of the 2023 Tour. The entire day ride takes place in Spain’s Basque country. After starting at Bilbao the riders follow the picturesque coastline. As the stage progresses some small climbs begin to turn the terrain hilly. There are 5 categorised climbs in total with the Category 2 Jaizkible climb (8.3km) shortly before the finish guaranteeing some drama.

As things developed Victor Lafay won this stage after being part of a successful breakaway and attacking hard on the mentioned above final climb.

The 2nd longest stage of the 2023 Tour de France

Stage 8 (July 08th):  201km (124.9 miles) Libourne to Limoges (hilly)

Winner: Mads Pedersen

Brief: Stage 8 of this year’s Tour has the honours to be the 2nd longest and the only other stage over 200km. The first 130km of the profile as the cyclist head east of Libourne towards Bordeaux and Limoges are pretty flat. Things become much more hillier after that with the stage finishing with 3 short categorised climbs.

As expected a successful breakaway helped Mads Pedersen to claim the stage win. However, the day was sad for many as the legendary sprinter Mark Cavendish, chasing a historic 35th stage win, crashed out of the race on that day.

The 3rd longest stage of the 2023 Tour de France

Stage 3 (July 03rd): 187.4km (116.5 miles) Amorebieta-Etxano to Bayonne (flat)

Winner: Jasper Philipsen

Brief: Stage 3 was the first stage of the 2023 Tour de France profiled to suit the sprinters. This was also the only stage that started in Spain but finished in France. After a few small climbs in the opening 100km things flatten out for the second half of the stage and the fastest men will get their chance as they arrive in Bayonne.

As expected stage 3 produced the first sprint finish of the 2023 Tour de France. It saw the green jersey favourite Jasper Philipsen record his first stage win too. The Belgian went on a winning streak after this triumph.

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Instead, she focused all her energy on her other passion, writing. For over a decade, Iskra had been a freelance sports writer. Football, basketball and tennis are the main fields of her expertise.

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  3. Tour de France route and stages

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COMMENTS

  1. Tour de France Statistics You Have Not Seen Yet (2024)

    The average Tour de France stage length of all editions is 218 km (time trials included). It went down from a whopping 286 km between 1909-1939 to 197 km between 1949-1979 and 173 km between 1989-2019. The average stage length of the 2023 Tour de France is 162 km.

  2. How long is the Tour de France?

    Typically with two rest days, the Tour de France usually lasts a total of 23 days, typically taking in around 3,500km in distance. In the 2023 race takes place from 1st July to 23rd July and ...

  3. How Long Is the Tour de France?

    How we test gear. 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 ...

  4. How long is the Tour de France?

    This 110th 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 3153.8km). This Tour de France is longer than last year's edition, which totalled 3,328km.

  5. Tour de France 2023 stages: How far riders cycle, longest stage

    The longest stage of this year's Tour de France came nice and early. Stage 2 saw competitors ride 209 km (129.86 miles) from Vitoria-Gasteiz to San Sebastian. Classified by organisers as a 'hilly ...

  6. The 21 stages of the 2022 Tour de France including altitude profile and

    The second Tour de France stage in Denmark runs past fjords and over some hills. ... is very demanding, and also the finale itself leads uphill to the Cote des Religieuses - with an average gradient of 5 percent on 1.6 km. Map of the 6th stage of the 2022 Tour de France ... the Mur de Péguère with a length of 9.3 kilometres and an average ...

  7. Tour de France Statistics

    Bicycles & Cycling Lifestyle. Tour de France Statistics: Dates, Stages, Average Speed, Length, Number of Entrants and Finishers. Bill & Carol McGann's bookThe Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 as an audiobook here. Or, for the print and eBook versions, just click on the link to the right. Here is a listing of the dates of each ...

  8. How Long Is The Tour de France?

    In modern times, Tour de France organizers aim to keep the 21-stage race around a total of 3,500 km (2,175 miles), although the exact length varies a little each year. However, across more than a hundred years of Tour de France history, the distance has varied wildly.

  9. What are the Tour de France 2022 stages? How far riders cycle, longest

    Stage 11 is again the host for the Col du Granon, appearing on the Tour de France for the first time since 1986 and offering the steepest climb on a 9.2 percent gradient. Tour de France 2022 route ...

  10. Tour de France

    The Tour de France (French pronunciation: [tuʁ də fʁɑ̃s]; English: Tour of France) is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest of the three Grand Tours (the Tour, the Giro d'Italia, and the Vuelta a España) and is generally considered the most prestigious.. The race was first organized in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper L'Auto and ...

  11. Tour de France 2021: Full schedule, stages, route, length, TV channel

    The Tour de France will cover 3,414.4 kilometers, or 2,121.6 miles during the 21 days of bicycling. Last year's race came in at 3,482.2 kilometers, or 2,163.7 miles.

  12. Tour de France 2021: stage-by-stage guide

    Stage one, Saturday 26 June, Brest - Landerneau 197.8km. The Tour opens with a loop through France's cycling heartland, home to heroes of the past such as the five-times winner Bernard Hinault ...

  13. How Hard are Tour de France Stages for Cyclists?

    Here's a glimpse at some of EF rider Simon Carr's metrics from that stage: Recovery: 25% Day Strain: 20.5 Average HR: 145 bpm (nearly identical to Lawson's mentioned above) The Giro's Stage 6 had comparable terrain, mileage and elevation to Stage 10 of the 2018 Tour de France, and to what we'll see in Stage 8 of the Tour this year. On ...

  14. Tour de France 2019 Stages and Elevation

    The same holds for the hilly stages. Take for example stage 8 - hilly according to the Tour de France organization. With nearly 4000 meters of total elevation it is comparable with mountain stages 6 and 15. The only difference is that this elevation is of a lower category. This leaves us with the mountain stages 6, 12, 14 and 15.

  15. Tour de France records and statistics

    The fastest time-trial is Rohan Dennis's stage 1 of the 2015 Tour de France in Utrecht, won at an average pace of 55.446 km/h (34.5 mph). The fastest stage win was by the 2013 Orica GreenEDGE team in a team time-trial. They completed the 25 km time-trial at 57.7 km/h (35.85 mph). The fastest climb of Alpe d'Huez was by Marco Pantani in 1997 ...

  16. Tour de France

    Countries with the most Tour de France titles as of 2022. Premium Statistic. Winner average speed in the Tour de France 1903-2023. Winner average speed in the Tour de France 1903-2023. Tour de ...

  17. Tour de France 2022 stages

    Follow live coverage of the 2022 Tour de France, including news, results, stage reports, photos, podcasts and expert analysis - stages Page - Cyclingnews

  18. Tour de France stage length statistics by decade

    To simplify, I extracted the median stage for each decade, along with the average maximum distance for each decade. Again the trend is clear. The median stage length has been dropping. But more dramatically the truly monster stages from decades past has been diminishing. A lot of this probably has to do with the changing nature of the Tour.

  19. Longest stages in Tour de France history

    1998. 2002. 2006. 2010. 2014. 2018. 2022. Stage 21 | Clermont-Ferrand - Fontainebleau in 1967 is the longest stage in Tour de France history.

  20. How Long Is Tour de France

    The longest stage of the 2023 Tour de France. Stage 2 (July 02nd): 209km (129.9 miles) Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint-Sébastien (hilly) Brief: At more than 200km this is the longest stage of the 2023 Tour. The entire day ride takes place in Spain's Basque country.

  21. Average speed per stage Tour de France 2023

    Average speed per stage. The average speed over all stages is 41.408 km/hour. The average speed for the whole race is computed by dividing the total distance by the sum of stage times of the final GC winner. In the last column the average speed up to that stage is shown. This is the average speed for the leader in the race at that stage. Stage.

  22. Stage profile Tour de France 2023

    Overview of the stage profiles per stage, showing the number of climbs, intermediate sprints, vertical meters and KOM sprints. ... Tour de France (2.UWT) Profile type. Date 01/07. Stage Stage 1 | Bilbao - Bilbao (182 km) Vertical meters 3221. ProfileScore 166. Date 02/07. Stage Stage 2 | Vitoria-Gasteiz - San Sébastián (208.9 km) ...

  23. 5 unmissable stages of the 2024 Tour de France

    July 21: Monaco - Nice, 34km (ITT) The profile for stage 21 of the 2024 Tour de France. For the first time in the history of the Tour de France, the race will finish away from Paris, and for the first time since 1989, we'll have a competitive final day. Those memories from 35 years ago will only whet the appetite for this 35km time trial ...

  24. 2024 Tour de France

    The 2024 Tour de France will be the 111th edition of the Tour de France. It will start in Florence, Italy on 29 June, and will finish in Nice, ... Instead, the tour will finish in Nice with an individual time trial—the last time a time trial was the final stage in the Tour was in 1989.