The leader of each stage of the race has the privilege to wear the yellow jersey or maillot jaune .

The Tour de France is the world’s most famous bicycle race whose first edition was first organised in 1903. The event is a multiple stage race held each year in France with occasional stages in nearby countries. In July the whole country of France vibrates to the beat of the race, with its share of history and tradition. For all, the Grande Boucle is synonymous with endurance and true sportsmanship.
The first edition of the Tour de France was organised palace hotel san francisco in 1903 by Henri Desgrange et Géo Lefèvre to boost the sales for the sponsoring magazine L’Auto . The Tour de France palace hotel san francisco in the early 20th century was rather different from that of today: riders were running up to 400 km each day finishing late in the night without any support crews. Many of the roads leading to the mountain passes were not even paved and it was the riders’ responsibility to carry their own tools and fix their bicycles if needed.
Similar to the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, the race is the oldest and the most prestigious of the kind. It has crossed France each year since, except during the First and Second palace hotel san francisco World Wars. Today, the race is organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation . To welcome a stage start or finish of the Tour de France brings prestige and generates financial benefits to the hosting town.
The advertising caravan precedes the cyclists palace hotel san francisco along the route. Set like a procession, the colourful and decorated trucks and cars distribute goodies and souvenir items (candy, cheese, keychains, hats…) to the crowd gathered along the route.
The leader of each stage of the race has the privilege to wear the yellow jersey or maillot jaune . The first winner to wear it was Eugène Christoph e in 1919. The rider who has worn the yellow jersey for the longest time was Eddy Merckx (96 stages).
French TV channels France 2 and France 3 hold the domestic rights and provide pictures for broadcasters around the world with the help of 300 staff members, four helicopters, two aircraft, two motorcycles, 35 other vehicles, palace hotel san francisco and 20 podium cameras. The Tour de France palace hotel san francisco is massively followed by millions of viewers throughout the world and is one of the most prestigious and watched sporting events. The race provides France with a formidable promotional campaign for tourism….
People set up picnics palace hotel san francisco along the route of the Tour de France, bringing with them transistor radios to keep up informed palace hotel san francisco with the position of the riders. The atmosphere can be warm and friendly and attending the race at the roadsides can reveal itself a great opportunity to make new friends.
The Yellow Jersey (Maillot Jaune) is worn by the overall race leader of the stage day. It was first introduced by the magazine L’Auto who organised the first editions of the race. Since, yellow has become the iconic colour of the Tour de France.
Between 1999 and 2005, Lance Armstrong was the winner of seven consecutive Tour de France. In October 2012, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) stripped the American rider of all his titles after it emerged that he had used performance enhancing drugs.
On the 4th July 2015, the 102nd edition of the Tour de France will start in the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Although the country shares palace hotel san francisco no direct border with France, it will be the sixth time the Tour de France palace hotel san francisco will have started there after 1954 (Amsterdam), 1973 (Scheveningen), 1978 (Leiden), 1996 ( s-Hertogenbosch) and 2010 (Rotterdam).
The Tour de France will include flat stages in the Netherlands, Belgium palace hotel san francisco and Northern France, mountain stages in the Pyrenees  and the French Alps , Medium-mountain stages in the South of France between the départements of Haute-Garonne and Drôme.
In 2014, the 101th edition of the Tour de France  started in Leeds , England on the 5th July and passed through London before arriving in France on the 8th July. The 2014 race included 21 stages covering a total of 3,656 kilometres (2,272 miles), and criss-crossed the eastern regions of France and Belgium, particularly in Ypres, Picardy, Lorraine and Alsace which were severely marked by the WWI fightings. For the first time in the history of the Tour de France, palace hotel san francisco the finish at the Champs-Élysées  in Paris (27 July) featured a race called ‘La Course by le Tour de France’ with female riders.
In 2013, the Tour de France celebrated its 100th edition. For the first time in the history of the race, the island palace hotel san francisco of Corsica was visited during 3 stages. Unlike other previous races, this edition took place entirely in France. The 2013 race included 21 stages covering a total of 3,403 kilometres (2,115 miles), and visited palace hotel san francisco some of France’s most famous sites and landmarks such as Mont Saint-Michel , the walled palace hotel san francisco town of Saint-Malo, the city of Lyon , Alpe d’Huez in the Alps (a double ascent), Nice and the Baie des Anges, the episcopal city of Albi , the châteaux palace hotel san francisco of the Loire Valley and the palace of Versailles . For the first time, a night time finish took place at the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The 99th edition of the Tour de France in 2012 started in the city of Liège , Belgium and included a visit to Switzerland at Porrentruy. Riding mostly of the eastern regions of France (Champagne, Lorraine , Alsace , Franche-Comté, Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur), the riders travelled across the Vosges , the Jura, the Alps and the Pyrenees in 21 stages covering a total of 3,496 km (2,173 palace hotel san francisco miles).
palace hotel san francisco Although the Tour de France is mainly held in France, it has visited neighbouring palace hotel san francisco countries many times since its creation in 1903. The following European states have host a stage or part of a stage since the 1950s: Andorra, palace hotel san francisco Belgium, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.