When was the first Tour de France?

The Tour de France was created by the French sports newspaper L’Auto to boost its circulation, with editor Henri Desgrange backing journalist Géo Lefèvre’s idea. The first race ran from 1 to 19 July 1903 and covered about 2,428 km in just six stages, some of which lasted through the night. Sixty riders started, but only 21 reached the finish in Paris. Maurice Garin won by almost three hours, the largest winning margin in the race’s history. The famous yellow jersey for the leader was introduced in 1919, its colour matching the newspaper’s yellow pages.