The Tour de France is one of the most well known cycling races in the world. The Tour typically has 21 days of racing and covers more than 2,000 miles. This year marked the 98th Tour de France and was made up of 21 stages and covered a total distance of 3,430.5 kilometres. Over 500 towns and villages have hosted the Tour (about 2,000 stages and prologues). More than 10,000 riders have taken their chance on the Tour and over 6,000 have completed the race. 250 different riders have worn the Yellow Jersey (overall leader at the end of each stage). Raymond Poulidor may not have won the Yellow Jersey, but he has stepped onto the podium more then any other rider (he finished 8 times in the Top 3). Of course the all time leader for Tour victories is Lance Armstrong with 7. All these riders know the dangers of riding shoulder to shoulder and within arms lengths of spectators, but I think the results of the Tour would be different if they threw a Red Hartebeest into the mix. Just ask Evan van der Spuy.
And you thought winning the Tour de France was difficult after cancer.
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