Tour de France

The Tour de France (French for Tour of France), often referred to as La Grande Boucle, Le Tour or The Tour, is an epic long distance road bicycle racing competition for professionals held over three weeks in July in and around France. It has been held annually since 1903, interrupted only by World War I and World War II. The most recent Tour was the 2005 Tour de France.

Related Topics:
French - Road bicycle racing - France - World War I - World War II - 2005 Tour de France

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Since 1984 there is a Tour de France for women, La Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale or simply Le Tour Féminin.

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The Tour de France is by far the most prestigious of all cycling competitions in the world. While the other two European Grand Tours are well-known in Europe and attract many professional cyclists, they are relatively unknown outside the continent, and even the UCI World Cycling Championship is only familiar to cycling enthusiasts. The Tour de France, in contrast, has long been a household name around the globe, even amongst people who are not generally interested in pro cycling, and is for cycling what the FIFA World Cup is to football in terms of global popularity. It is also the world's largest annual pro sporting event, measured in the number of viewers.

Related Topics:
Grand Tours - Europe - World Cycling Championship - FIFA World Cup - Football

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