The

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

is a

road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same laws as ...

stage race held since

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...

over a current period of three weeks, although it was not staged from 1915 to 1918 and from 1940 to 1946, because of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

respectively. The winner of the Tour de France is determined by the

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

. In addition, there are some secondary classifications. The mountains classification, first calculated in 1933 and first associated with the polkadot jersey in 1975; To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the race in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

, the

points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...

was reintroduced, having previously been the main classification from 1905 to 1912 inclusive. It rewarded the consistent finishers in individual stages by awarding points depending on the placing at the end of the stage and, from 1966 onwards, at any designated intermediate points along the route. From 1966 to 1989 inclusive, a separate classification was included solely for points awarded at these intermediate 'hot spots' or 'sprints' and from 1984 onward associated with the award of a red jersey. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, the Tour organisers launched the

young rider classification Young rider classification (french: classement général des jeunes) is a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, which awards the current leader by overall time for rid ...

, replacing the 'combination' classification run since 1968 for 'overall best rider' based on points awarded from the general, mountain and points classification- although the combination classification was subsequently reintroduced from 1980 to 1989 inclusive.

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

in 1969 is the only rider to win the King of the Mountains, the points and the overall title in the same year.

By year

By country

References