how many stages does tour de france have
Tour de France The Tour de France (French pronunciation: ​[tuʁ də fʁɑ̃s]) is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France,[1] while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists of 21 stages over a little more than 3 weeks.
Tour de France Traditionally, the race is held primarily in the month of July. While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same with the appearance of time trials,[1] the passage through the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps, and the finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.[7][8] The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments (stages) over a 23-day period and cover around 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi).[9] The race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France.[10]
Tour de France There are usually between 20 and 22 teams, with eight riders in each. All of the stages are timed to the finish; the riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times.[1] The rider with the lowest cumulative finishing times is the leader of the race and wears the yellow jersey.[1][11] While the general classification garners the most attention, there are other contests held within the Tour: the points classification for the sprinters, the mountains classification for the climbers, young rider classification for riders under the age of 26, and the team classification for the fastest teams.[1] Achieving a stage win also provides prestige, often accomplished by a team's cycling sprinter specialist.
Tour de France No teams from Italy, Germany or Spain rode in 1939 because of tensions preceding the Second World War (after German assistance to Franco in the Spanish Civil War it was widely expected Spain would join Germany in a European war, though this did not come to pass). Henri Desgrange planned a Tour for 1940, after war had started but before France had been invaded. The route, approved by military authorities, included a route along the Maginot Line.[114] Teams would have been drawn from military units in France, including the British, who would have been organised by a journalist, Bill Mills.[114] Then the Germans invaded and the race was not held again until 1947 (see Tour de France during the Second World War). The first German team after the war was in 1960, although individual Germans had ridden in mixed teams. The Tour has since started in Germany four times: in Cologne in 1965, in Frankfurt in 1980, in West Berlin on the city's 750th anniversary in 1987 and in DÃ¼sseldorf in 2017. Plans to enter East Germany in 1987 were abandoned.