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.
- Tour de France 2023 Summary
- Tour de France Total Distance
- Tour de France Average Speed
- Number and Length of the Tour de France Stages
- Historical Extremes of the Tour de France
- Tour de France Rider’s Height, Weight, and BMI (Over Time)
- Overall Victories, Stage Wins, Days in Yellow…
- Riders with the Most Mountain & Points Classification Victories
- Summary
- Tour de France Statistics FAQ
- Sources
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 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 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.
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 does the Tour de France rider’s 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 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.
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.
Of all 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).
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 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.
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.
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Points Classification
The average height of a Tour de France points classification winner is 1.78 m.
The tallest Tour de France points classification winners 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
The following table shows the three riders with the most Tour de France stage wins.
| # | Rider | Wins |
| 1 | Eddy Merckx Mark Cavendish | 34 |
| 2 | Bernard Hinault | 28 |
| 3 | André Leducq | 25 |
| 4 | André Darrigagde | 22 |
| 5 | Nicolas Frantz | 20 |
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.
| # | Rider | Participations | Finishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sylvain Chavanel | 18 | 16 |
| 2 | George Hincapie | 17 | 13 |
| Stuart O'Grady | 15 | ||
| Jens Voigt | 14 | ||
| 3 | Joop Zoetemelk | 16 | 16 |
| Haimar Zubeldia | 15 |
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.
| # | Rider | Victories | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Virenque | 7 | 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004 |
| 2 | Federico Bahamontes | 6 | 1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964 |
| Lucien Van Impe | 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983 | ||
| 3 | Julio Jiménez | 3 | 1965, 1966, 1967 |
The best sprinter, according to the number of Points Classification victories, is the Slovak Peter Sagan with 7 wins.
| # | Rider | Victories | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Sagan | 7 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 |
| 2 | Erik Zabel | 6 | 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 |
| 3 | Sean Kelly | 4 | 1982, 1983, 1985, 1989 |
If you are into cycling and numbers, make sure you also read these Incredible Bicycle Statistics.
Summary
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
Sources
wikipedia.org
procyclingstats.com
letour.fr
lequipe.fr
The preview picture ©A.S.O./Charly Lopez (cropped)
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Thank you. 🙂
– Petr